Spring sports are underway in Aggieland at last. The ladies of the Texas A&M softball team have been working hard all offseason and are ready to make waves in the 2017 season among conference rivals and non-conference teams alike. In the 2016 season, the team finished with an overall record of 39-20 and advanced to the NCAA Regional for the 15th consecutive season. The team is looking to keep the streak alive as they head into the 2017 season.
Head coach Jo Evans is looking forward to the upcoming games and is confident her girls have put in the hard work necessary to succeed.
“We are all really excited to start the season,” Evans said. “We have 8 returning starters on defense, 2 returning starting pitchers and we have added depth to the mound as well. We are a pretty experienced team but we are also young and full of enthusiasm.”
Texas A&M was selected to finish sixth in the Southeastern Conference preseason poll, as voted on by the league coaches. They are also ranked #18 in the first national poll, and are one of nine SEC teams ranked in the top 25.
A few individual players have even received some prestigious recognition, such as Samantha Show and Tori Vidales being named to the Southeastern Conference’s 10th annual Preseason All-SEC team. Last season, as a freshman, Show tied for the most recorded wins in the circle with 25 and hit .274 with 13 home runs and 31 RBI. As a sophomore, Vidales led the Aggies in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and walks for the 2016 season.
It was recently announced that the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved construction of a $28.6 million softball stadium to be completed in Spring of 2018.
Coach Evans is looking forward to having all of the coaches, staff and athletes under one roof in the new facility.
“The plan is for the new facility to be ready by opening day of the 2018 season,” Evans said. “However, there have already been some delays with construction, so worst case scenario, we can begin playing in the new stadium for the opening day of SEC play.”
With this new and exciting future home in the back of their minds, the team plans to continue making history in their current stadium for one final season.
Come on out and support the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Softball team as they start their season on February 10 and take on Lamar, Central Michigan, and Ohio State in the Aggie Classic tournament.
