Aggie Softball Starts Fall Camp
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M softball team started fall camp yesterday at the Aggie Softball Complex, in preparation for the 2012 fall exhibition season and the team's first year in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
"Our kids are fired up and ready to go," head coach Jo Evans said. "It's funny when the season ends, you're kind of like 'Oh boy, I'm worn out.' And then it doesn't take any time to get itching to get back. So we're excited."
The team is getting ready for a competitive fall schedule that includes six home games, a Maroon & White Series, and an appearance in the Spring-Klein Classic.
The No. 10 (final RPI) Texas A&M softball team finished the 2012 season in the NCAA College Station Regional and garnered a No. 19 final national ranking in both the USA Today/NFCA and the ESPN.com/USA Softball top 25 polls.
The Aggies worked to an 11th-straight and 23rd-overall NCAA Tournament berth, earning a No. 8 national seed and hosting the College Station Regional for the second year in-a-row. A&M walked away from the NCAA Regional in the championship series with a 41-18 overall record for a seventh 40-win season under Evans.
"Forty wins in a season is great for us," Evans said. "We're excited about that. The season ended too short. We have both things to remember - that we're a 40-win team and return most of our starters, so we're excited about that. And then we have that we have that reminder that this ended too quickly. We didn't take care of business when we needed to, so that's really a motivator for us."
The team returns 16 letterwinners and eight starters from the 2011 season, including All-Big 12 selections Mel Dumezich, Nicole Morgan, Cassie Tysarczyk, Emily Albus, Meagan May and Brittany Walker. Dumezich and May, both All-Americans, will lead a four-player senior class while welcoming three incoming freshmen in Cali Lanphear (Montgomery, Texas), Breanna Dozier (Rowlett, Texas) and Alex Masek (Giddings, Texas).
The Aggies will kick off the fall season at home with a doubleheader against Blinn College on Wednesday, October 3 at 5 p.m. To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to AggieAthletics.com and follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.
