No. 17 Texas A&M Softball on the Road at No. 21 Mississippi State

News release from Texas A&M Athletics:

STARKVILLE – The No. 17 Texas A&M softball team is set for its first SEC road series against No. 21 Mississippi State beginning at 4 p.m. at Nusz Park.

Game two of the three game set is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the finale at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Each game of the series can be streamed on SEC Network+, while all Aggie games can be heard on the 12th Man Mobile app or locally on Gospel 97.3.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Texas A&M (23-2, 3-0) is 15-11 all-time against Mississippi State (20-4, 2-1), including winners of the last four. Since joining the SEC, the Aggies have won two of three series in Starkville, including series wins the last two trips in 2021 and 2018. The Aggies swept the Bulldogs in Aggieland last season, including a six inning run-rule, 9-1, to open the series, followed by winning game two 2-1 and the finale 5-1. Allie Enright hit 4-of-8, including one double, one RBI and one run, while Julia Cottrill homered, while driving in four runs and Koko Wooley was 5-of-11 with a double, triple and three RBI in the series. Emiley Kennedy led the pitching staff striking out eight in 8.1 scoreless innings, while earning two wins. Emily Leavitt tossed 4.2 innings, while yielding a run and two hits in a win and Shaylee Ackerman recorded a save, totaling 4.1 innings and five strikeouts on the weekend.

NATIONAL RANKINGS

Texas A&M owns an RPI ranking of 12 and boasts a top 25 ranking in all four nationally recognized polls, including No. 13 in the NFCA and Softball America rankings, while sitting at No. 17 in the ESPN/USA Softball and D1 Softball polls. Statistically, the Aggies rank top 15 in the nation in numerous categories, including No. 7 in ERA (1.38) and No. 10 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.89), while the offense is No. 10 in slugging percentage (0.583), No. 11 on-base percentage (.433) and No. 11 in home runs (34). Individually, Emiley Kennedy leads the nation with 12 wins and six shutouts, while her 99 strikeouts are fourth most. The junior owns a 0.72 ERA, good enough for 16th best in country. Jazmine Hill and Amari Harper rank in the top 25 in on-base percentage, Hill at No. 19 (.560) and Harper at No. 25 (.547). Trinity Cannon’s eight home runs is 22nd most in the country, while her .859 slugging percentage is 26th best.

COUNTRY JAZ MAKING NOISE

Hill has made her presence felt in Aggieland hitting .413 at the dish with seven home runs, while leading the team with a .560 on-base percentage, 26 hits and 29 runs. The graduate is riding a team best 16 game on-base streak and has scored a run in all but three games this season, including at least one run in the previous 12 games. Hill has started every game in center field showcasing her range and flashing the leather, while keeping runners from advancing with 19 putouts and one assist with an unblemished 1.000 fielding percentage. The Arizona State transfer came to Texas A&M to be reunited with head coach Trisha Ford and her staff after their departure from Tempe following the 2022 season. Under Ford and her staff’s guidance from 2020-22, Hill batted .344 at the dish with a .673 slugging percentage, including 30 home runs and 30 doubles.

WE LIKE IT WITH 2

Texas A&M has found success facing two outs batting .349 and driving in 66 runs, both rank second most in the SEC. Allie Enright leads the team in 2-out RBI with 14, followed by Jazmine Hill driving in 13. The duo also leads the team in 2-out batting average with Hill hitting .478 and Enright registering at .406. The Aggies have scored 41% (69-of-168) of their runs with two outs, including 13 home runs when facing the final out. Enright, Hill and Cannon lead the team with three round trippers and two outs.

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