Texas A&M softball earns top-16 seed; sets up showdown with Longhorns in second round

Aggie softball rewarded for huge rebound year with NCAA tourney berth; could face rival Longhorns in super regional

Texas A&M softball has not been a huge topic on this blog this year, which is a faux pas on my part. Trisha Ford has worked wonders this year out on Davis Diamond, leading her team to a 40-13 record.

Now, they are already beginning to reap the fruits of their labor. The Aggie women have been awarded a 16-seed nationally, and will host a regional in College Station, where they are 24-2 on the year. The other teams rolling into town are Albany, Penn State, and Texas State. Get 3 wins, and you move on to the super regional.

Some fans are complaining that the softball squad was under-seeded. A winning percentage over 75% is nothing to sneeze at in the slightest, and the Aggies had better records than several of the teams seeded ahead of them.

A possible reason for this is the second-round matchup. The undisputed top seed in this years field is the Aggies' hated rival, the Texas Longhorns. If both squads end up winning their regional, then the two teams will face off down in Austin for the right to head to the Women's College World Series.

While the Aggies would be heavy underdogs there, you have to like the prospect of playing with such stakes in a rivalry with such passion—it would be quite the spectacle. Nevertheless, it is true that the Aggies likely deserved a higher seed based on their body of work.

I don't want to close this article without once more giving props to Trisha Ford for what she's done this year. Before she got here, this team was sitting at 31-28 (6-18 in conference play) and going nowhere fast. She has absolutely turned things around and gotten results quickly. Now, she faces her biggest challenge yet.