Intrastate rivalries come down to a lot more than head-to-head matchups on the field, and the Longhorn and Aggie fanbases take a lot of pride in the differences between their respective softball programs.
However, for institutions that have such a strong distaste for one another, they have overlap in one critical area — the recruiting trail.
As a talented No. 15 Texas A&M softball team prepares for its two-hour expedition west to take on No. 2 Texas in Austin this weekend, Longhorn head coach Mike White braces to take on several players that he encountered during their high school careers.
“There’s several kids that we cross over on the recruiting trail, and sometimes you don’t even know how they’re going to turn out until they turn out on the field,” White said.
He identified Aggie senior infielder Kennedy Powell and sophomore infielder Ariel Kowalewski as two players he had a special eye on from the recruitment standpoint, who both have accumulated batting averages at or above .400 this season.
“Kowalewski was one I really liked, but she turned us down,” White said with a chuckle in a recent media availability. “She wanted to go to Florida and obviously transferred (to A&M).”
Kowalewski will be a player for Texas to keep an eye on, tallying 74 putouts on the defensive side of the ball, along with 38 hits and six home runs offensively.
However, despite how strong certain elements of Texas A&M’s play look, the Longhorns have excelled all season both at home and on the road. Most recently, they built momentum in a thrilling 3-2 victory over Texas State on the road, a feat the Aggies failed to accomplish three weeks earlier.
The advantage Texas has in the rankings is a result of the team’s ability to close tight matchups like these, along with its consistent offensive production against tough opponents.
Texas and Texas A&M have each embraced 10 games against top-25 ranked teams this season, but the Longhorns have fared quite a bit better record-wise. They are 9–1 against ranked opponents, while the Aggies have a record of 3–7.
With the momentum of a series victory over No. 17 LSU two weeks ago and a 3-0 sweep against Kentucky last weekend, Texas A&M seems to be establishing a rhythm in Southeastern Conference play.
The series will belong to whichever team can get hot at bat and make less errors on the defensive side of the ball. White was less than impressed with his team’s ability to prevent errors against the Bobcats on Wednesday, and he emphasized how critical it will be against the Aggies.
“(Good defense) is what we’re going to need against a team like A&M and anybody in the SEC, or anybody in the country, to tell you the truth,” White said. “I’ve always said that every time you have an error, it’s one-third of an inning. So three errors in a game is one extra inning versus yours, so we’ve got to limit those.”
The first game of the series is set for 6 p.m. on Friday at the Red & Charline McCombs Field.
