On Tuesday, Feb. 14, Texas A&M softball hosted a press conference featuring coach Trisha Ford, senior pitcher Shaylee Ackerman and junior infielder Trinity Cannon. This came as the team prepared for its tournament in Clearwater, Fla., which starts this Thursday, Feb. 15, at 9 a.m..
Level of competition
Hearing first from coach Ford, the first question revolved around the level of competition the Aggies will play this weekend, given that the teams they beat this past weekend were not necessarily the strongest.
“We know we are playing a bunch of ranked teams,” Ford said. “We know we’re playing a bunch of post season teams. For me, this is a great opportunity for us to really dive into A&M softball: our process, what we work on, what our plan is. There’s some things we did this weekend, regardless of who we’re playing, like we didn’t give up a lot of free bases in the circle, that are going to be key for us.”
Ford said the opening weekend revealed many positive things about the team, things will be tested in the next tournament. This was ideal for Ford, as she expects the team to learn from the tournament and improve before beginning SEC play.
This is the first of three-straight weekends of road tournaments for the Aggies. Ford, however, was confident the experience will be beneficial in the long run for this young team.
Ford was quick to praise some of her players, including junior catcher Julia Cottrill, freshman infielder Amari Harper, and freshman outfielder Keely Williams. These all are players who impressed during the opening weekend and there is excitement to see if they can continue this performance.
Reflection of opening weekend
Cannon and Ackerman emphasized how exciting it was that they finally got to open the season and play as a team. They discussed how proud they were of the young players and their performance to open the season.
“I love watching all the freshmen,” said Cannon. “For us, it’s like we see this every single day at practice and we know they have it in them. But for them to do it on the big stage, and for us to have some fun with the Howdy hat was pretty cool.”
Ackerman also acknowledged that the Aggies are more interested in focusing on themselves rather than the highly ranked teams that they will be competing against this weekend. They instead are excited to experience these games as good reps that will be helpful in preparing for the teams in the conference.
The Aggies open the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational on Thursday, Feb.16 9 a.m. against the No. 5 Oklahoma State Cowboys.