Trisha Ford addresses pitching plan for Texas A&M

The No. 16 seed Texas A&M Aggies handled their competition in the Bryan-College Station Regional the past few days, punching their tickets to their first Super Regional since 2018. They handled the Texas State Bobcats 8-0 on Sunday in the Regional Final to advance. That one ended early as the Aggies run-ruled Texas State in just five innings of work. Recently, Texas A&M head coach Trisha Ford addressed the plan for her pitching staff moving forward.

“Yeah I think, at the beginning, we’re gonna have a plan first game or two. But I have pulled her aside and said lefty, like, you’re our dog. We’re going until you can’t go no more. And you can go. And so, she wants the ball. When you talk about the evolution of Emily Kennedy, that’s it right there. She’s always really wanted the ball but she didn’t know how to execute the game plan. And I think now, she knows how to execute the game plan at a high level,” Ford explained.

“So, she knows. We’ve talked in great detail this week of what my expectation looks like going forward. And who’s gonna get the ball. And at any point in time, she has to be ready. And she’s excited about it. I think that’s the other thing. You have some pitchers, it’s like oh my gosh, I’ve thrown every single inning. And Emily’s like, give me the ball. I want it, I want to be part of this. I want to help this team,” Ford continued.

“And she’s not selfish. She’s all about how she can help us win a ball game. So, our pitching staff, I’m really fortunate. This is the tightest pitching staff I’ve ever coached in my career. And so, they are really encouraging. They help each other out. And a lot of that has to do with the insert, I think, of Brooke Vestal. And then, obviously, Emily [Leavitt] and Shaylee [Ackerman], who’ve been here, you know, forever,” Ford finished.

With the win on Sunday, Texas A&M advances to the 2024 Austin Super Regional, which will be played in Austin, Texas against the Texas Longhorns. It will be played at McCombs Field. Both teams will clash for a spot in the Women’s College World Series, which begins on June 1st in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Super Regional series will be a best of three matchup.