Maroon Weekly

by Chelsea Reber

Control the controllable: three words that mean a new beginning for Coach Jo Evans and her Texas A&M softball team. With a disappointing season in 2009, the Aggies are taking a new outlook on the way they play, work and act on and off the field. These changes will hopefully lead to a Big 12 Championship and a third appearance to the Women’s College World Series in four years.

A big influence on the success of this season will be the three seniors, Alex Reynolds, Macie Morrow, and Bailey Schroeder. All three have been to Oklahoma City two times during their career at A&M and have the most experience in winning softball games while wearing maroon and white.

After two consecutive trips to the tournament in Oklahoma City in 2007 and 2008, A&M hit a slump in 2009. The Aggies finished their season 32-22, sixth in the Big 12, and did not make it past NCAA Regionals. This year, things will be different; a new team will step onto the field.

“Coach Evans is not letting what happened last year, happen again,” Third baseman Alex Reynolds said.

The change started this fall when Aggie softball began off season. Along with their fall season and their highly-valued Maroon and White intra-squad scrimmage, everyday consisted of intense workouts. New rules and expectations to be better and strive for greatness were set for everyone.

“We worked a lot in the weight room, and she definitely kicked our butts on the field. We focused on a lot of the little things that some teams look past,” Middle infielder Macie Morrow said.

The little things, the controllable things, are what Coach Evans is looking for her Aggies to really concentrate on making better. If you control what you can, everything else will fall into place. This includes taking care of business in the classroom, working hard during practice, and even being clean.

“It is even the small things like keeping the area around your locker neat because your locker room represents your team,” Reynolds said.

Even though these three seniors were only freshmen the first time they stepped on the field in Oklahoma City, they have three years under their belts and are ready to step up and be leaders this year. Their experience is incomparable and their knowledge is plentiful.

“We have been there and know what it takes to succeed and also how we have failed in the past,” Morrow said.

The seniors will also be welcoming several new players who are either freshmen or transferred to A&M.

“We need to show confidence in tough situations so the younger players can look up to us and feel comfortable,” Schroeder said.

However, it cannot just be the seniors who win games this year as there are usually 10 names on a line-up card. A&M definitely needs their underclassmen and even freshmen to contribute. The good thing is, this is one area they definitely have some depth in.

“Meagan May has been ripping the ball and has a great arm behind the plate. All of our freshmen look great and are going to contribute a lot this season,” Schroeder said.

Texas A&M also added two transfers to their roster this year with Missy Siegel from Blinn College and Lindsey Sisk from Arizona.

It is a new team and a new season, but they have a similar goal every year.

“Our biggest goal is staying consistent and taking it one game at a time,” Reynolds said. “We have to know that every game counts toward where we are going to be ranked in the end and it is so important for us to host regionals and super regionals. The home field advantage is huge; we have never played at another field that compares to ours.”

“Walking on the field with everyone behind us is a great feeling and you just know you are going to win that game,” Schroeder said.

This year’s team will be led by the three seniors who feel that they have so much to prove. They have all the confidence in the world with a coach that is pushing them to strive to be even better every day they step onto the field.

“We are going to be relentless,” said Reynolds. “There is no turning back; we will dominate every team that we play. When things aren’t going our way, we have to find a way.”

The relentless season began last weekend with the Kajikawa Classic in Tuscon, Ariz. The team won four of its five games in Arizona with wins over Wisconsin, Cal-Northridge, Nevada and No. 11 California.

The Aggies are at home Feb. 19-21 for the Aggie Classic for five games against Mississippi State, Oregon State and Louisiana-Monroe. Games Feb. 19 & 20 are at 3p.m.and 5:15p.m., Feb. 21 the game will be at 12:15p.m.