‘We’re built very similarly’: Coach Trisha Ford explains keys for No. 8 Texas A&M at No. 11 Florida

The No. 8 Texas A&M softball team (39-9, 15-6 SEC) has a three-game conference series in Gainesville at No. 11 Florida (40-12, 14-7) this weekend to conclude the regular season.

“We’re built very similarly to be honest with you,” Aggies coach Trisha Ford said Wednesday. “We have some speed at the top of our lineup just like they do with (Kendra) Falby and (Skylar) Wallace, Korbie (Otis) actually runs pretty well too. We are very similar so there is some athleticism. I think we’re going to have to play clean defense. For us, it’s about limiting their free bases.

“If you look at Florida, there is a lot of walks and hit by pitch. They tend to score those free runners at a very high rate. That’s really going to be where our focus is and we’ve been talking to the pitchers for the last couple of days. It’s just being able to throw the ball over the white, being comfortable with it and these are the reasons why.

“I think we’re going to have to play clean defense though because I do believe that they’re going to try to cause havoc with some short game, putting runners in motion, maybe some fake bunts, steals, delayed steals, we’ve talked to the team about all of that.”

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