Ford & Co. embracing the target on their back as nation's No. 1 team

After a dominant weekend against LSU, Texas A&M rose from No. 3 to the unanimous No. 1 team in the country. Third-year head coach Trisha Ford joined Wednesday's edition of TexAgs Live to recap A&M's first-ever sweep of the Tigers and preview a three-game set at Missouri.

Key notes from Trisha Ford interview

• This team has worked really hard to be where they are at. They deserve it. Now, you have to earn it every single week. I don't think people are used to being at the top, so there have been some comments coming out. I said, "Hey, let's go out. This practice, let's really focus, go out, and play our game."
   
• We forget KK Dement is a freshman. She has been tremendous. We were talking postgame, and she said she knew there were runners at first and second. She said, “I was thinking they were going to pound me, and so they were trying to get a ground ball and tag at third base.” She goes, "I knew I had to elevate the ball." This is coming from a freshman. She continues to work, is very humble and wants to do well for her team.
   
• It doesn't matter how they get on. They just get on. They understand how to pass the bat. We had the top of our lineup do great things. Mac Barbara and Mya Perez had great weekends. Koko Wooley had a big hit on Sunday. Kramer Eschete had a double that cleared the bases. Everybody is contributing. You are seeing that in the pitching circle. Emiley Kennedy did “Lefty” things. Kate Munnerlyn came in and got outs when we needed outs. You had Emily Leavitt, as well. That start was huge. You had a lot of pieces that came in and executed.
   
• Practice was funny yesterday. I was talking to Kylei Griffin, and I was checking in. They are in a good headspace. They are feisty. I love that about them. They are ready to go out and compete.
   
• I think with Leavitt this last year, when we have seniors, they really start to realize, “This is it.” She has made an effort to connect with her teammates. We meet weekly, talk about things other than softball, how she can be better for the team, and what is working. I think there is a level of maturity you see with her. We were joking in her conversation. She said, "I pitched OK, but I didn't pitch great, but what I did was I was able to maneuver through, and if I didn’t throw a pitch where I wanted, the next pitch was." That was a huge growth. In other years, she would've panicked. Now, she is working through it and understanding the art of pitching.
   
• That's my psychotic kid. Kennedy has adrenaline. I need her to live in that 68 to 70 mph range. She was really good at 74. If she elevates the ball and puts the ball in the zones that she is successful with, I'm not going to tell her she can't throw 74. I would like her to calm down a little and control the zone. She did, and she was fantastic.
   
• In our first couple of years, our Sundays were a little wonky. Something that we have talked to them a lot about. Wins in the SEC are hard. When you have the opportunity to go out there and take a win, you have to take it. That's what great teams do. I think we have been a very great team in the last couple of years, but if we want to elevate, we have to be great. Sunday's game was hard. It was 3-0 for most of the game. Barbara hit a hard ground ball and busted her tail to get to first so they couldn't double her off, and then Kennedy Powell wheeled around and scored that insurance run. That's the game. That's a huge insurance run. It all comes from hustle and grit.
   
• Missouri, if you watch them, they get really hot at the end of the year. They are always the team that ruffles feathers at the end of the year. Every team in the SEC is good, and it is important for us to go out and play our game. The thing that has made us successful over the last couple of weeks is that our strike zone has gotten really tight. We have been able to make big pitches in big situations. If we continue to control that strike zone both offensively and defensively, we will be alright. 
   
• I sent Michael Earley a text message with some inappropriate language after Saturday’s walk-off. I was in the office after our game to prep for Missouri, and I stopped prepping because I had never seen two grand slams in the ninth inning. It was electric. I was so excited for them and everything going on in athletics in Aggieland. It is a special group. Great group of coaches. 
   
• I don't think people are used to being comfortable at the top of the softball world. We have to keep earning that and keep playing our game. We play hard. We play fast. We are rough around the edges. I think we have to continue to keep playing that brand of ball and be successful.
   
• We don't play for No. 1 in April. We play for No. 1 in May. We have an alumni group that is fired up, and I am sure the girls are, too. You can't run from it. You have to embrace it, and really, they have earned this. Everything that you do moving forward, you have to also have to earn. You have a huge target on your back. Let's roll with it. Our group has to get tighter. As things get closer to the postseason, we as a group have to get tighter.