Ford's No. 2 Aggies ready for 'big weekend' hosting No. 9 Arkansas

Davis Diamond will host another top-10 series as the No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks face off against Trisha Ford's No. 2 Aggies. The head coach joined TexAgs Live to speak on the Maroon & White's final midweek contest, provide an injury update and preview a big weekend ahead.

Key notes from Trisha Ford interview

• Missouri, that last game, we got our butts handed to us. It was important for us to bounce back and play our type of ball. Grace Sparks did a good job. We brought in Sydney Lessentine, and Emiley Kennedy came in to finish it. Some long balls showed up last night, so the coaches are always excited to see those. Overall, it was a good comeback.
   
• I wish we wouldn't always rely on comebacks. It is what it is. Great teams find great ways to win ball games, and Missouri was playing with its back against the wall, and they had nothing to lose. They are a really good team. I thought we did a good job of just coming out. Some things didn't go our way.
   
• At the end of the day, you have to figure out how to get one more run than the other team, and we did do that. We learned on Friday that we can't always come back, and that is always a good lesson as well, but I am very happy with getting a series win. We haven't done really well at Missouri, so it was good to set a different precedent.
   
• I could talk about Kennedy for hours. Her growth, taking this team on her shoulders... I have talked a lot about her and Koko Wooley this last week of just kids that committed to A&M and wanted to elevate this program and bring it to the top of the softball world. They have done that. Kennedy has been huge, and she continues to get better. I think she is starting to feel good, and we are heading into the right part of the season to be hot.
   
• With Sidne Peters, we are progressing well. She is still listed day-to-day, but we are moving our arm around. I feel good about that.
   
• Unfortunately, we lost Ojo Johnson for the rest of the year. My heart breaks because it is Senior Weekend. That kid has been huge for our program. She is the glue of our team, and I know she will continue to do that. You never want to see a kid get hurt right before the end of the season.
   
• I keep telling KK Dement, if she keeps hitting the ball over the fence, she can do that at any time. It’s been great situational hitting. She is getting her A swings off, which is huge. I know that sounds simple, but it is hard to identify a pitch, and get your A-swing off. Yesterday, I think she hit the top of the pillar of the scoreboard. Dement is wired well. We need her to keep doing what she is doing. Stay calm in the box, moving runners over, hitting balls in the air and score them.
   
• That part of our lineup has been huge with Mac Barbara and Mya Perez. The reason why we moved Wooley to that five-hole was to get her RBI opportunities.
   
• Moving Wooley in the five-hole has made our lineup more of a nightmare. She adds such a unique dynamic. She can short game. She can beat out a ground ball to second base. She is beating our ground balls to pitchers. She can hit the ball over the fence. Kennedy Powell, in that leadoff role, is her natural position. She can bunt. All of those pieces, I think, we have finally found where everybody fits, and now it's just about getting that role a little bit more.
   
• For Arkansas, they have youth. They were trying to figure out how that fits. I think their pitching staff has settled down, and they are very similar to us. They have Bri Ellis, who is having a heck of a year. They have Courtney Day, who played at Texas, and can do damage in the box. We are going to have to play good defense, pitch well, and get that timely hit.
   
• Wooley and Kennedy are the foundation of where Texas A&M is today. They have been huge. Both have just elevated this program. I talk about Rylen Wiggins and Trinity Cannon and what they did for us as well. We are not there without them. Then you talk about Allie Enright and Kramer Eschete. All of those pieces are what have helped us really grow this program in three short years.
   
• Senior Day is going to be an emotional day, I know. Our season is not over, and they have worked their tails off for it not to be over. I want us to come out and have excitement about it. We get to come out here and really put on display another day of Aggie softball.
   
• This weekend is going to be wild. I wish coach Michael Earley and the boys immense amounts of luck. Go out there and kick tail.
   
• You hope for 27-2 in non-conference play. Louisiana was a little tricky. It is the last midweek of the year. They are really good. They are scrappy. They have a good short game. They bunt. They run bases well. I was interested to see, after the Missouri game, how we finished and what yesterday was going to look like. I was pleased that we came out and focused on what we should have done.
   
• I think the other thing is they are balancing the academic piece. The reason why a lot of Fortune 500 companies hire athletes is because they can handle all of this. They understand how to manage their time. They understand the importance of recovery and sleep. I have talked to them in detail over the last few days about the importance of recovery and getting things organized. Iron sharpens iron. We played all these super regional-type series in the SEC, so when we get to that point, we know how to do it, execute it and what it takes for us to keep going.
   
• I was talking to Wooley last week. She was like, "I am coming in. I am doing some extra work." Kylei Griffin goes in with her. They have done a better job, and it is important to bring their teammates in. Enright does so many things from a leadership standpoint that people don't see, that I see, which has been why I think we have shifted where we are today.
   
• Arkansas’ Ellis can't beat us. That is going to be the bottom line. She is from the state of Texas. They have a lot of kids from Texas. We go recruiting against them and LSU quite a bit.
   
• It's a big weekend for a lot of reasons. I think for us is we just have to go play our game. We are where we are in the rankings because they have earned it, and Arkansas is a great team, but so are we. We've got to pitch well. I think it is going to begin and end there, and I think there are things offensively we can take advantage of.