COLLEGE STATION -- The 7th-ranked Texas A&M softball team will play host to the Florida Gators this weekend in the 2007 College Station Super Regional. The first game of the best-of-three series is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Friday at the Aggie Softball Complex.
All of the weekend’s games will be televised by ESPN. Live audio will also be available on AggieAthletics.com through the new Aggies All-Access. Fans in the Bryan/College Station area can listen locally on Sports Radio 1150 The Zone.
“Our team is really excited to have the opportunity to host a NCAA Super Regional,” A&M head coach Jo Evans said. “Our kids have been giddy for the last couple of weeks, just getting ready for this. It is something we have talked about a lot. We have worked really hard to get homefield advantage and be able to host, so I am excited for our kids.”
The Aggies (44-11) enter the series after defeating Houston (5-0) in the championship game of the College Station Regional.
The Gators (49-20) shutout the Texas Longhorns (3-0) to claim the Gainesville Regional title.
This will be the first match-up between the two programs. Florida and Kentucky are the only two Southeastern Conference teams that A&M has not faced. A&M is the only Big 12 school Florida has not played since joining the NCAA in 1997.
A&M senior centerfielder Sharonda McDonald went on a tear in the College Station Regional, hitting 12-for-16 at the plate with 12 runs scored, two RBIs and five stolen bases. McDonald’s performance at the plate was the best by any single individual in hits (12), average (.750) and runs scored (12). The Dobie High School product was tied for first in stolen bases (5).
Stacy Nelson leads the Gators with 33 wins in the circle and a 0.88 ERA. Nelson threw a one-hit shutout against Georgia Tech to advance Florida to the championship game against Texas last Sunday. In 301.1 innings of work, Nelson has struck out 273 batters, holding opposing hitters to a .180 average.
The second game of the series is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday. If a third game is necessary, it will be played 30 minutes following the conclusion of the second game Saturday afternoon.
The winner of the College Station Super Regional will advance to the Women’s College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City to face the winner of the Knoxville Super Regional, which features Tennessee (57-5) and Hawaii (49-11).
“Florida has a great team,” Evans ended. “It is going to be a great match-up between the two programs. We both have great pitching and speed. I think it is going to be nice to play in front of our home crowd. Hopefully we will get a lot of the 12th Man out and get them fired up. It should be a great weekend. There is nothing more motivating than knowing you are two wins away from going to the Women’s College World Series.”
