Texas A&M coach Trish Ford tells starter Emiley Kennedy to 'rely on her spin' vs. South Carolina

Emiley Kennedy has pitched into the fifth inning so far for Texas A&M in their quarterfinal matchup of the SEC Tournament against South Carolina. She has given up a handful of hits and runs in that time, which is why Trish Ford wants her starter to get back to her basics.

Ford spoke with the SEC Network before the bottom of the fourth with the Aggies down 2-1. In speaking about Kennedy, she hopes to see the junior get back into a groove by throwing what she knows in order to stay in front of the Gamecock lineup.

“Just keep working,” suggested Ford. “I feel like she’s overthrowing a little bit so just rely on her spin and make sure she’s ahead in the count.”

Kennedy has thrown nearly 90 pitches to this point over 4.1 innings of work. In that effort, she has given up four hits and a pair of runs, including a home run. She has eight strikeouts and a 1.71 ERA but has walked some in throwing 38 balls to go with her 50 strikes.

As for offense, the Aggies also haven’t found much success with one run by the time they come up at the bottom of the fifth. It came from a home run by Trinity Cannon, the senior infielder, in her one appearance at the plate of the game.

With that bring the case, Ford is looking for better from her entire batting order. She’s wanting better swings and improved execution to at the very least tie this matchup up soon.

“I think everybody could (provide offense) to be honest with you, so we just have to come out and execute our game plan,” said Ford. “Right now we’re underneath the ball a little too much.”

The No. 3 seed in the tournament has had a rough half of softball with this elimination game heading toward the sixth inning. That’s causing the sense of urgency from Ford as she tries to get Texas A&M back into it both at the plate and on the mount.

Beverly Smith gushes over early success from Zoe Laneaux, Sage Mardjetko

Beverly Smith of South Carolina joined Alyssa Lang for a mid-game interview during the Gamecocks’ showdown with Texas A&M in the SEC Softball Tournament.

Zoe Laneaux helped give South Carolina the lead with a home run, and Smith loves what she’s seeing from the infielder against the Aggies.

“I’ll tell you, I love her lefty swing,” Smith told Lang. “She got her swing off there, but I think our seniors are playing great. For Zoe to get a pitch there, she’s been looking great.”

As for the pitching matchup, it’s Sage Mardjetko on the bump for the Gamecocks. Smith believes she’s been aggressive, and that’s exactly what she wants to see from the South Carolina flamethrower.

“Sage has great stuff,” Smith added. “So, for me, our pregame was about, you’ve had a season now, that she can go into the post-season, and take her experiences from the year. She’s been attacking, and looking great.”