COLLEGE STATION – The No. 16 Texas A&M softball team will open the SEC Tournament against No. 12 LSU on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at Nusz Park in Starkville, Miss.
“We are on a roll and feeling good about ourselves,” head coach Jo Evans said. “We carried momentum from the Florida win into our series at Auburn. We played very well at Auburn in all three games. Anytime you have a chance to get a sweep on the road is pretty special. Right now, I think our kids are feeling really good about themselves.”
Texas A&M (37-17, 9-15 SEC) is coming its first road series win over a top-10 team in program history, in which the Aggies won games one and two against No. 6 Auburn, 6-5 and 13-6, respectively.
At the top of the lineup, reigning SEC Player of the Week Keeli Milligan is hitting .382 with her SEC-leading 51 steals. Sophomore Kristen Cuyos leads the team in home runs with 16 and in RBI with 58. SophomoreTori Vidales paces the Aggie offense in batting average (.408), slugging (.750), OBP (.526), walks (38) and is second in home runs.
In the circle, freshman Samantha Show is 23-9 with a 3.69 ERA and 156 strikeouts. Show’s 23 wins are tied for first in the SEC. Sophomore Trinity Harrington is 7-7 with a 3.81 ERA and senior Katie Marks is 7-0 with a 3.93 ERA.
LSU is currently 42-12 (13-11 SEC) on the season and is led by Bianka Bell, who is hitting .395 on the year and Sahvanna Jaquish, who has a team-high 12 home runs and 65 RBI. Carley Hoover is 15-7 on the season with a 2.43 ERA, while Allie Walljasper is 9-5 with a 2.01 ERA. Sydney Smith holds a 12-2 mark with a 0.59 ERA.
The Aggies hold a 0-2 record at the SEC Tournament since joining the conference in 2013. Texas A&M fell to Alabama, 10-9, in 2013 and dropped a 6-3 decision against South Carolina last season.
Coverage of Wednesday’s game can be seen on SEC Network and heard locally on KWBC 1550 AM or online at www.RadioAggieland.com.
To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to 12thMan.com or follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.
Head coach Jo Evans
Tori Vidales
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics