UConn Softball faces Texas A&M to open NCAA Tournament
The UConn Huskies softball team is just days away from kicking off the NCAA Tournament with a tough regional match-up in College Station.
After a successful 31-win season and a Big East Tournament title defense, the Huskies earned a chance at competing in the NCAA Tournament. UConn will travel down to College Station for the opening double elimination regional. Standing in the Huskies way early will be Texas A&M, the hosts of the regional and a perennial contender in the SEC.
Joining UConn in the College Station Regional will be Arizona State and McNeese to form one of the tougher four-team brackets in the tournament. Both teams are also conference tournament winners this season.
Arizona State fought to an impressive 41-16 record this season before winning the Big 12 Conference Tournament. McNeese, meanwhile, recorded 40 wins en route to a Southland Conference Tournament Championship.
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Before the Huskies can develop a plan to take down the other strong opponents in the College Station Regional, the team must first defeat the Aggies. The double elimination tournament gives the Huskies some leeway but a win to open the tournament would give the team plenty of momentum moving forward.
Despite falling short of winning an SEC Tournament Championship after a loss to Auburn in the second round, the Aggies are both a dangerous and skilled team that could put up quite the fight.
Leading the fight for Texas A&M this season has been sluggers Mya Perez and Micaela Wark. The duo have a combined 36 home runs and 115 runs batted in as the Aggies have relied heavily upon the offense produced. The scoring would not be as successful without the speedy Kennedy Powell, who has 57 runs, two triples, and 76 hits this season.
Another big part of the success of the Aggies this season has been the dominant pitching duo of Sidne Peters and Sidney Lessentine. Peters has an earned run average of 2.72 with 14 wins, four saves, and 124 strikeouts in 113.1 innings of work. Lessentine has also been a workhorse for the Aggies with 124 innings pitched, 22 starts, and eight complete games.
The Huskies will certainly have a challenge ahead and perhaps the most straightforward way for the team to secure the win is behind the bats. Cat Petteys and Kaitlyn Breslin share a combined 30 home runs and 104 runs batted in on the season as the Huskies offense relies on the production the two bring in. UConn will need big performances out of Petteys, Breslin, and other players at the dish to advance in the winners bracket.
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