2017 College Station Regional Preview
The College Station Regional will begin on Friday. Texas A&M (42-10) will face Texas Southern (25-19) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN3 while Texas State (41-15) will square off against Texas (31-24) at 4:00 p.m. on the Longhorn Network.
Top Seed
Texas A&M is the top seed coming in at No. 9. The Aggies will be making their 16th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division I Softball Championships. This will be the Aggies 28th appearance in the tournament and hold a 77-60 all-time record. Under current Head Coach Jo Evans, the Aggies have appeared in the tournament 18 times. The Aggies will bring leadership and experience to their hosted Regional. They head into the weekend with a 42-10 overall record and a 28-6 home record on the season. The Aggies have been using a pitch by committee rotation this season. Sophomore pitcher Samatha Show has logged the most innings with 119.2 and is 17-6 overall on the season. On the offensive side, the Aggies have a team batting average of .299 heading into the weekend. The offense has been led by Riley Sartain and Kaitlyn Alderink. Sartain is hitting .354 in 144 at bats with 33 runs, 51 hits, nine doubles, 11 home runs, and 41 RBI. Alderink is close behind in batting average, she is hitting .335 on the season in 164 at bats, 32 runs, 55 hits, and 22 RBI. Four Aggie players are batting over .300 and six are batting over .250.
Best Shot at the Upset
Texas State has the best shot at the upset in this Region. Coming in as the No. 2 seed in this Regional, the Bobcats are 41-15 on the season as a team. Texas State will face off against the Texas Longhorns in game one. The Bobcats and Longhorns have met 58 times on the softball diamond. The programs met twice during the regular season with the Bobcats winning each (2-1 in Austin and 2-1 (9- inn.) in San Marcos). The Bobcats also faced Texas A&M during the regular season in College Station with the Aggies picking up a 5-1 victory. TXST and Texas Southern have never met.
Players to Watch
Aggie pitcher Samantha Show is predicted to be the go-to pitcher this weekend. The Sophomore enters the weekend with a 1.87 ERA, 12 complete games, and 110 strikeouts. Another player to watch is Texas State’s Ariel Ortiz who has hit 15 home runs on the season, with 47 RBI, 58 hits, and a respectable .343 batting average.
Prediction
Texas A&M should be favored to advance out of the region. They have the playing and coaching experience as well as the advantage of playing in front of their home crowd.
