Coming off a trip to the Women's College World Series and with pitching coach Kara Dill entering her second season with the Aggies, there is a lot to look forward to for the Aggie pitching staff in the 2018 campaign.
The success from last year brought beneficial experience and confidence to Dill's rotation.
"The four returners all had some part in helping us make it to the World Series. It's a big deal to make it there," Dill said. "They saw that we were able to make it there because of the success that we had all season. Without that success all season, we wouldn't have had a high RPI, we wouldn't have had a high seeding and we might not have gotten to host regionals. All of those things made up our road to the World Series, so I think understanding that will help them moving forward."
After pitching 194 innings as a freshman, Show threw just 137 innings and appeared in 15 less games due to the addition of Smith and McBride, which allowed her to rest physically and mentally.
"It was a big deal to be able to have them around her because it makes her more successful. She was only having to throw to a team one game a weekend which increased her statistics tremendously," Dill stated.
Show enters her junior season as the Aggies' primary starter, starting 24 games last season and 56 games in her career at Texas A&M. The East Bernard, Texas, native led the team in wins (19), strikeouts (119) and shutouts (6) all while holding a 2.20 ERA in 2017.
"Sam is working on sharpening up her pitches and trying to get a third speed. She has a great change up already and she throws fairly hard, 66-67 mph, so we are working to get a speed in between those two," the second year coach added.
During Texas A&M's 2017 campaign, Harrington made 20 starts in 24 appearances. Her season was highlighted by her performance at Tennessee in the Super Regionals where she held off the Vols in game two and threw a complete game in game three to send the Aggies to the Women's College World Series.
"Trinity was obviously a huge part in our team battling back to win games two and three. She saw a lot of innings in those two games. It wasn't an accident that she did so well. She worked her butt off every single day to get to that point and succeed in those moments," Dill said. Trinity Harrington and Kara Dill after the Aggies clinched a berth in the Women's College World Series (Photo: Matt Osborne)
The Greeley, Colo., native posted a 14-4 record and a 2.13 ERA in her second season with the Aggies. In the offseason, the senior has worked on adding a new speed to her arsenal in addition to her fastball.
Smith recorded 118 strikeouts, averaging more than one per inning, and five shutouts as she went 12-1 in her first season in Aggieland. The Temple College transfer led the staff with the lowest ERA, 1.63, through 107.2 innings of work.
"Lexi was a great contributor on our staff last year. She is a fierce competitor. When she is throwing her best, she is tough to beat. Her focus this fall was to sharpen up her location and accuracy with the goal of cutting down walks," Dill said. "Lexi is an unbelievably mature and selfless teammate, and the defense loves playing behind her. We are expecting great things from her in the circle this season."
Although McBride started only one game last season, she saw playing time in key situations including game two of the Super Regional and at the Women's College World Series. Against the nation's No. 1 offense, Louisiana, McBride stifled the Ragin' Cajuns, allowing just one baserunner in 4.1 innings of relief.
"I think playing in Oklahoma City is a big deal for Payton who was a freshman last year. She still has that goal and experience to work towards for three more years. I think she and the pitching staff are hungry this year to not only make it there but to win some games over there," said Dill. "This offseason, Payton has been working on location and spinning the ball." Payton McBride was clutch in key situations for the Aggies last season as a freshman. (Photo: Josh Gateley)
The left-handed pitcher accounted for three of the six saves by Aggie pitchers, earning the staff second in the SEC for that category.
Mayo joins the Aggies from Carroll High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. The right hander earned all-state honors in 2014 and 2015 and was named MVP of her district in 2015 and 2017.
During the fall season, the freshman recorded eight strikeouts in 11.2 innings, allowing only six hits and posting a 1.80 ERA.
"Hannah is very intelligent. She is a thinker and has such a good game sense out there. She's one of the best at spinning her pitches of all the staff," Dill stated. "She has the great ability of understanding what she needs to do when she's out on the mound and where she needs to throw the pitch and adjust to the hitters throughout their at bats."
Joining Payton McBride as the second lefty on Texas A&M's pitching staff is Maddie MacGrandle from Frisco, Texas. MacGrandle brings with her a long list of accolades highlighted by All-American honors from various national outlets including FloSoftball, NFCA, USA Today, MaxPreps and PGFSW throughout her high school career. The newcomer was named the Texas Gatorade Player of the Year for her performance in 2016 where she led the area in wins and strikeouts and concluded the season batting .533 with 16 doubles, 10 home runs and 57 RBIs. MacGrandle held a 1.29 ERA and went 2-0 in the fall for the Aggies as she recorded six strikeouts and allowed only eight hits.
"Maddie throws hard and she throws different spins than Payton does which is very helpful for us," Dill said. "She gets the ball on you quicker and she hides it well. She throws a really good off-speed pitch so that'll be beneficial for her as well."
Rounding out the new faces on the pitching staff is Loganville, Ga., native, Kayla Poynter. Kayla was twice named the Pitcher of the Year in her region and was the Georgia Pitcher of the Year once while receiving all-state honors twice.
"Kayla is a right-handed pitcher and she throws hard. She'll be a power pitcher for our team," Dill asserted. "She's so unbelievably competitive that nothing is going to get in the way of her being very successful in this league."
Dill returns for her second season as the Aggies' pitching coach after her first season in which she helped the Aggie pitching staff lower its ERA from 3.86 in 2016 to 2.08 in 2017 as Show and Smith each earned NFCA All-Region honors. Show and Harrington saw significant improvement under Dill, as Show's ERA fell from 3.67 to 2.20 and Harrington's dipped from 3.86 to 2.13.
"I can see that our pitchers are really comfortable with her, especially those four returners. They trust her," head coach Jo Evans said. "She calls a great game for them. She has a very good sense of who each of them is individually so she is very good at tailoring the game and pitch calling to that particular pitcher. She's made them better, and they can see that."
Depth should not be an issue for the Maroon & White as they head into their 2018 campaign with one of the largest pitching staffs in the last decade. Dill and her staff open the season Feb. 9 at 3 p.m. against Houston at the Aggie Classic in College Station.
