Softball Tasked with Early Season Challenge

No. 25 Texas A&M softball is slated to face No. 5 Oklahoma State Thursday morning at 9 a.m. on ESPNU, to open the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational at the Eddie C. Moore Complex.

Each year the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational is recognized as one of the elite tournaments symbolizing softball season is in full swing. The 16-team field features 15 teams that qualified for the NCAA Softball Championship.

Texas A&M opens with No. 5 Oklahoma State, followed by No. 18 Arizona Friday morning at 9 a.m. on ESPN+. Each of Texas A&M’s first two opponents were Women’s College World Series qualifiers in 2022. The Aggies then take the diamond against No. 19 UCF Friday evening at 6 p.m. on ESPN+, before wrapping the weekend with matchups against USF (9:30 a.m., SECN) and Nebraska (12:30 p.m., ESPN+) on Saturday. All three were NCAA Regional qualifiers, including UCF who made an appearance in the Norman Super Regional.

NATIONAL RANKINGS

Texas A&M is No. 25 in the latest D1 Softball national poll and is receiving votes in the ESPN.COM/USA Softball rankings. The ranking marks the first appearance in a national poll since February 22, 2019, when the Aggies were No. 22 in the USA Today/NFCA rankings. Statistically, the Aggies own the nation’s second-best slugging percentage (.769), and third-best batting average (.441) and are fourth in scoring averaging 11.3 runs per game. In the circle, the Maroon & White boasts the country’s fourth-best ERA at 0.21.

SEC WEEKLY HONOR

Junior Trinity Cannon was named the SEC Co-Player of the Week on February 13, marking the first recognition of her career. Cannon posted an impressive .810 on-base percentage after registering eight hits and eight walks while also scoring 11 runs. The Forney, Texas, native accumulated a .667 batting average and 1.083 slugging percentage with two doubles and a home run while driving in six runs.

EARLY AND OFTEN

Texas A&M has gotten the bats going early and often scoring 85% of their season run total (68) within the first three innings. In the six games to start, the Aggies have scored 15 runs in the first, 16 in the second and 27 in the third. Most recently, Texas A&M tallied 21 runs in the first three innings against Texas A&M-Commerce, before adding on four more in the fourth inning to set a school record in runs in the 25-0 win on February 12.

STRICTLY BUSINESS

There’s no tomfoolery when Aggie pitchers step in the circle as seniors Shaylee Ackerman and Madison Preston and sophomores Emily Leavitt and Emiley Kennedy have given up only one earned run through six games and have a combined 0.21 ERA. Opposing hitters are batting .122 with 14 hits and have been sat down 49 times in 34.0 innings of work.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

Oklahoma State transfer Julia Cottrill leads a group of newcomers behind the plate that includes true freshmen Gracyn Coleman and Riley Valentine. Cottrill has started 127 games in 133 appearances and boasts a .994 career fielding percentage while only allowing seven passed balls. The junior leads the team with 18 total bases, 10 hits, three doubles and nine RBI.

Credit to 12thman.com

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