Thursday, February 9
Bryan-College Station
4:00 PM
Texas A&M
12
vs
2
Tarleton
Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics
Trisha Ford Era Begins with Dominating Win Against Tarleton, 12-2
Feb 09, 2023 | Softball
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M softball team (1-0) opened its 2023 slate with a 12-2 win against the Tarleton Texans on day one of the Texas A&M Invitational at Davis Diamond Thursday evening.
The pitching staff of Emily Leavitt and Emiley Kennedy held the Texans to zero earned runs. Leavitt made her Aggie debut, pitching for 4.1 innings, tallying four strikeouts, and limiting Tarleton to only two hits and no runs. Kennedy relived her in the top of the fifth to close out the five-inning victory.
Texas A&M turned it on in the opening frame when Julia Cottrill tripled to right field driving in Koko Wooley. Trinity Cannon followed with a double of her own to help Cottrill complete her journey around the bases to give the Aggies an early 2-0 lead.
The Aggies poured it on in the third inning scoring six runs on four hits after sending 12 batters to the plate, including an RBI single by Allie Enright and a two-run single from Cottrill.
Momentum continued to favor the Maroon & White after Star Ferguson hit a two-run double scoring Keely Williams and Enright. Cottrill followed suit hitting a two-run double to send Aiyana Coleman and Ferguson to home plate, pushing the Aggies' lead to 12-0.
Tarleton made a final effort at the top of the fifth as the Texans utilized throwing errors to gather two unearned runs.
The win moved Texas A&M to 38-5 all-time in season openers since 1980.
TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
PITCHING BREAKDOWN
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head coach Trisha Ford
On tonight's game….
"We were excited to get out and play. We had some cobwebs to break out. I thought we did an excellent job of executing our plan. (Emily) Leavitt came in and made some excellent pitches. I was proud of our hitters not chasing balls out of the zone. Julia Cottrill had a day. I told her that is my expectation now."
On Julia Cottill's performance…
"She's like an eight-year-old kid playing softball for the first time every game. She just enjoys it. She gets it. She's mature. She's a great teammate and she brings a lot of those intangibles to the game."
On Emily Leavitt's performance…
"She is somebody that I am hoping doesn't have a lot of walks. Her change up was a little off today, but she has a really good change up. It was just the first game jitters, but I thought she moved the ball on both sides of the plate, elevated and had some really good sequences that I felt confident with."
Catcher Julia Cottrill
On hitting 4-for-4 …
"The biggest thing I've been working on since I got here is my pitch selection: being able to control my strike zone and hunt a pitch I want to hit versus hitting pitchers pitches. That's something we've worked really hard on with Coach Harger. My goal going out today was to go out there and get a feel for it again."
On her Aggie debut…
"It feels really good. I'm excited and really want to keep it going. I think being able to contribute to my pitcher any way I can is a big help as well whether that's behind the plate or hitting."
Starting Pitcher Emily Leavitt
On what was working for her this afternoon…
"Today I think my screwball was working very well for me. That's usually my go-to pitch, so it's nice when it's working. That was really my go-to throughout the game, and then I got my curveball after the first inning, and that helped a lot."
On if the nerves hit her getting the first start of the season…
"My adrenaline was definitely pumping going into the first game. It's different being a transfer, it's like the first day all over again. So, it [the adrenaline] was pumping, but I got into a groove there after the first inning."
On how much help the offense gave her…
"It definitely makes it a lot more comfortable, that's for sure. As long as I can be comfortable out there, because I know whatever I'm doing, they're going to have my back and keep scoring. It makes it a lot easier when you don't have to worry about it."
UP NEXT
Texas A&M returns to Davis Diamond to continue the Texas A&M Invite Friday at 5 p.m. as theycompete against Northern Kentucky. The Aggies will then face Tarleton at 7:30 p.m.
The pitching staff of Emily Leavitt and Emiley Kennedy held the Texans to zero earned runs. Leavitt made her Aggie debut, pitching for 4.1 innings, tallying four strikeouts, and limiting Tarleton to only two hits and no runs. Kennedy relived her in the top of the fifth to close out the five-inning victory.
Texas A&M turned it on in the opening frame when Julia Cottrill tripled to right field driving in Koko Wooley. Trinity Cannon followed with a double of her own to help Cottrill complete her journey around the bases to give the Aggies an early 2-0 lead.
The Aggies poured it on in the third inning scoring six runs on four hits after sending 12 batters to the plate, including an RBI single by Allie Enright and a two-run single from Cottrill.
Momentum continued to favor the Maroon & White after Star Ferguson hit a two-run double scoring Keely Williams and Enright. Cottrill followed suit hitting a two-run double to send Aiyana Coleman and Ferguson to home plate, pushing the Aggies' lead to 12-0.
Tarleton made a final effort at the top of the fifth as the Texans utilized throwing errors to gather two unearned runs.
The win moved Texas A&M to 38-5 all-time in season openers since 1980.
TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
- Julia Cottrill: 4-for-4, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2B, 3B
- Star Ferguson: 1-for-1, R, 2 RBI, 2B
PITCHING BREAKDOWN
- Emily Leavitt: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
- Emiley Kennedy: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head coach Trisha Ford
On tonight's game….
"We were excited to get out and play. We had some cobwebs to break out. I thought we did an excellent job of executing our plan. (Emily) Leavitt came in and made some excellent pitches. I was proud of our hitters not chasing balls out of the zone. Julia Cottrill had a day. I told her that is my expectation now."
On Julia Cottill's performance…
"She's like an eight-year-old kid playing softball for the first time every game. She just enjoys it. She gets it. She's mature. She's a great teammate and she brings a lot of those intangibles to the game."
On Emily Leavitt's performance…
"She is somebody that I am hoping doesn't have a lot of walks. Her change up was a little off today, but she has a really good change up. It was just the first game jitters, but I thought she moved the ball on both sides of the plate, elevated and had some really good sequences that I felt confident with."
Catcher Julia Cottrill
On hitting 4-for-4 …
"The biggest thing I've been working on since I got here is my pitch selection: being able to control my strike zone and hunt a pitch I want to hit versus hitting pitchers pitches. That's something we've worked really hard on with Coach Harger. My goal going out today was to go out there and get a feel for it again."
On her Aggie debut…
"It feels really good. I'm excited and really want to keep it going. I think being able to contribute to my pitcher any way I can is a big help as well whether that's behind the plate or hitting."
Starting Pitcher Emily Leavitt
On what was working for her this afternoon…
"Today I think my screwball was working very well for me. That's usually my go-to pitch, so it's nice when it's working. That was really my go-to throughout the game, and then I got my curveball after the first inning, and that helped a lot."
On if the nerves hit her getting the first start of the season…
"My adrenaline was definitely pumping going into the first game. It's different being a transfer, it's like the first day all over again. So, it [the adrenaline] was pumping, but I got into a groove there after the first inning."
On how much help the offense gave her…
"It definitely makes it a lot more comfortable, that's for sure. As long as I can be comfortable out there, because I know whatever I'm doing, they're going to have my back and keep scoring. It makes it a lot easier when you don't have to worry about it."
UP NEXT
Texas A&M returns to Davis Diamond to continue the Texas A&M Invite Friday at 5 p.m. as theycompete against Northern Kentucky. The Aggies will then face Tarleton at 7:30 p.m.