Who Do You Think Will Be The Last 8 Standing To Go To OKC???

[TropicalSooner]

Who are your favorites to be the last 8 teams standing that will wind up in OKC at the WCWS???

Who will be upset?

Who is your Cinderella Team? [ Edit: Well, I guess no real 'Cinderella Teams this year....everyone is a power team--more or less....except maybe Baylor--that was not expected by me. ]

Who will wind up taking all the marbles??

Is there a particular Pitcher who you DON'T want to face??

Here is the lineup for the Super Regionals---
I'll be looking this over and making my decisions a bit later

But here-we-go.

#1 Texas v #16 Texas A&M - Austin, TX (Big 12 v SEC)
Friday 6pm Eastern
Saturday 5pm

#8 Stanford v #9 LSU - Palo Alto, CA (Pac 12 v SEC)
Friday 10pm
Saturday 9pm

#5 Oklahoma State v Arizona - Stillwater, OK (Big 12 v Pac 12)
Friday 8pm
Saturday 7pm

#4 Florida v Baylor - Gainesville, FL (SEC v Big 12)
Friday Noon
Saturday 11am


----------------------------------

#3 Tennessee v #14 Alabama - Knoxville, TN (SEC v SEC)
Friday 4pm
Saturday 3pm

#6 UCLA v #11 Georgia - Los Angeles, CA (Pac 12 v SEC)
Thursday 9:30pm
Friday 10pm

#7 Missouri v #10 Duke - Columbia, MO (SEC v ACC)
Friday 2pm
Saturday 1pm

#2 Oklahoma v #15 Florida State - Norman, OK (Big 12 v ACC)
Thursday 7pm
Friday 8pm



Thoughts????

[SoonerGirl1201]

There definitely isn't that cinderella team this year like the past few. I thought it was going to be Omaha but that didn't come to fruition. I'm not seeing a ton of upsets in the Supers. I do think Duke is underrated - so I'm guessing they win out over Missouri. Maybe Georgia over UCLA or even possibly something like Bama over Tennessee. Stanford v LSU is interesting because I don't think Canady is as quite as dominant as she was last year but I haven't really paid much attention. Also, I think LSU is a dangerous team if they ever put it all together. Lastly, Baylor has come on strong, so I suppose it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for them to upset Florida. I think OSU handles 'Zona but they have kind of been sneaky good - so it wouldn't completely shock me if Zona wins (probably not though)

I don't feel super great about playing FSU, but they are no where what they were last year and really I can't say I would want to play anyone else on the board really either. I think our pitching is really starting to hit its stride (at least Maxwell and May). I just want to see our hitting take off as well this weekend. We were on a pretty good clip until Sunday. So hoping that was just a blip in the road and come Thursday we get right back to it with 5-6+ runs.

[jmac11]

I think all the host teams advance except missouri. I look for duke to beat them.

I'll have to watch more softball this weekend to predict who will win it all. I've caught a couple of florida games, and they are hot right now. Tennessee is solid. Oswho and texass are solid. OU is the 3 time defending champ and won't go away quietly. I have not seen ucla, stanford, or lsu play this season. Anxious to watch ball this weekend.

[inconnu]

UCLA has been on a tear! They are MUCH better than they were earl in the season. To me, any of the teams you mentioned could get there

[TropicalSooner]

Here's Mine:

Texas vs A&M== Texas
Trisha Ford has done amazing things for the Aggies and they do have a very capable pitcher in Emiley Kennedy so I think they will be able to push the whorns as well as anybody in the Super Regionals. And the Aggies do have 7 starters hitting over .300. But I think Texas just has too much firepower, and their own pitching staff will be more than able to keep pace. I'm not sure Texas ends it in two games or not, especially since their errors are starting to surface in higher level competition, but in my view, they'll win the series.

Stanford vs LSU== Stanford
Canady. Any more need to be said?
Yeah, I'll add this: LSU does have a very good pitching staff with Berzon and Lynch. But they have had some noticeable difficulty putting runs on the board toward the end of the season, and I'm not convinced that their relatively better outings in their Regionals with Jackson State and Southern Illinois indicates their offense has returned to stay. Stanford has never been known for its offense, but with Canady, all you need is one run. Canady won't pitch all three games, so the Tigers will probably take the middle game of the series. But Canady will get them to OKC.

Okie Lite vs Arizona== OSU
Zona has 7 starters hitting over .300 but that doesn't mean a lot when you're up against Lexi Kilfoyl. Just ask Texas. Heck, ask the Sooners!
Okie Lite takes the series, probably in two games.

Florida vs Baylor== Florida
The Bears have made a really nice end of season push but I really don't think they will overcome the pitching of Rothrock and the Gators offense.
Florida probably wins in two games also.

Tennessee vs Alabama== Tennessee
At least Bama wasn't given a 5 seed this year. Even so, I don't think they will be able to do very much with Gottshall and Pickens in the circle for the Vols. Plus the Vols offense has a strong pulse. Bama's doesn't.
The Vols in 2.

UCLA vs Georgia== UCLA
I like the Dawgs. I really do. I had them in my pre-season top 5. They are a very veteran team--lots of Seniors, and added Jr LHP Lilli Backes from N Car to vets Kerpics and Walters on the pitching staff. But somewhere along the way Senioritis must have set in and the anticipated Bulldog offense just evaporated...kind of like LSU. Give credit to those teams though, even though they've had recent struggles, they have made it to the Super Regionals. But for the Dawgs, I just don't see their offense coming alive against the maturing pitching staff of Tinsley and Terry for the Bruins, and you can bet the Bruins offense will show up. They were embarrassed in last year's regionals and again this spring getting run-ruled by two B12 teams plus losing to Baylor. They thought by not playing OU this spring, they'd have an easier time. But since then, they have gradually put together a team that now looks to be one of the finalists in OKC.
Sadly, I think the Bruins take the series in 2 games.

Missouri vs Duke== Duke
This one is a toss-up to me. I don't know a lot about Mizzou, but we've seen Duke up close and personal. I do think pitchers Krings and Harrison can buy them a game somewhere, but their offense is a bit tepid and I think Duke has been underrated all season.
I think Duke takes the series in 3 games.

OU vs FSU== Sooners!!
Love the Noles. Great program and great coach. But they don't have Kat Sandercock anymore and Soph pitcher Makenna Reid is out with an injury. That is big load for the rest of the staff to carry. Freshman Ashtyn Danley and Sr Allison Royalty will anchor the circle and the Noles do have a very good offense and can put up a lot of runs on the board. But I really think they got lucky. They beat Auburn in the Regional Final 10-4, but probably only because Auburn had to throw their Ace Maddie Penta against UCF the night before in a marathon game that went for 12 innings until 3am with Penta throwing 224 pitches that game--after throwing 33 pitches in an earlier game that day. The Noles were able to capitalize on the tired pitching staff of Auburn and ran away with the win. They won't be so lucky against the Sooners. I expect Maxwell to keep things well under control and our offense will tee-off on the reserve pitching staff of Fla St, especially if Royalty is also injured(which she appeared to be in the final Auburn game).


Feel free to throw darts at my picks or put up your own thoughts. Nothing is set in stone....that's why ya gotta play the game.
All of these teams deserve to be in the Super Regionals and most would represent well in OKC.

Boomer!

[TN Sooner]

It feels very “chalk” to me - the only non-chalk I see is Duke over Mizzou, and that is really an mis-seed situation, in my opinion.

Texas
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Florida, tho Baylor is finally fulfilling preseason thoughts, so this one is tricky.
OSU, tho Arizona has track record of over-performing in post season the last couple of years
UCLA, tho they showed some softness in the regional
Duke
Stanford - but go LSU - wear that arm out!

[waddy's ghost]

OU and the Seven Dwarfs ?

[OUBeliever56A]

I will list the winning teams in the order of who should win their series based upon the biggest advantage.

The most likely team to win their Super matchup is the #4 Seed Florida over the winner of the #13 regional Baylor who upset Louisiana. The Florida offense is just very strong and while Baylor is built upon their pitching, the Baylor pitching is not as good as the Florida pitching (mainly Keagan Rothrock, as freshman). Baylor probably will not be able to score enough runs to win the series. If Rothrock pitches well, the series is a lock for Florida. Florida has a 5.10 run differential (offense/pitching) while Baylor has a 0.48 run differential.

#2 Seed Oklahoma has the second best odds to win their Super over Florida State. The run differential for OU is 2.72 runs better than what Florida State has. That difference is almost all created by the pitchers for OU against the pitchers for FSU. The chance to win is squarely on the offense for FSU. If the hitters for FSU can come out an hit the Sooners with big innings, the Seminoles do have a chance. But even if they do that, the Seminole pitchers have to slow down the Oklahoma offense to win. It is a two-sided problem for FSU. If OU just goes out an hits the ball against an average pitching staff and then knocks them in, it is doubtful that the FSU offense can score enough to win the series.

#3 Seed Tennessee is the next best bet to win their regional over Alabama based upon the numbers. Tennessee has a 4.26 run differential, Bama has a 1.58 run differential. The key in the seires is Kayla Beaver for Alabama. If she is able to outpitch the duo of Pickens and Gottshall for Tennessee, then Bama has a chance. But the Tennessee offense is still so much better than the Bama offense.

The 4rd best choice for a winner is an underdog (if the seeding is correct) in #10 Seed Duke who should defeat Missouri. Duke's run differential is 5.11 vs the Missouri differential of 2.46. It might surprise you but Duke scores 2 more runs a game than does Missouri. The one chance for Missouri to win is if Krings can pitch even better than she did in the Regionals for Missouri. But the Duke offense is built as much on speed as it is other parts. I think the Duke offense is very versatile and therefore difficult to stop. The group of pitchers for Duke is underrated IMO.

#1 Seed Texas is the 5th best bet to win their regional over Texas A&M. Texas has a 2.44 run differential over A&M. Most of that advantage comes from the Texas offense which is the #2 offense of the 16 teams. The chance that the A&M team has is their pitcher, the lefty, Kennedy. If she can pitch well and win Game 1 over whoever starts for Texas, the Aggies have a shot to win. I think one more factor is the A&M speed on the bases against the defense of Texas. Maybe the pressure of the A&M speed causes a few errors by Texas that makes a difference. A "long shot bet" to make would be A&M could win this series.

#5 Seed Oklahoma State has the 6th best chance to win their Super over Arizona. Their run differential is 1.23 more than Arizona's. That difference is all in the OSU pitching versus the Arizona pitching. The Arizona offense is actually more productive in runs per game than the OSU offense. So, the OSU pitching staff must pitch well in the Supers to win, and that will require more than just a great effort than from Kilfoyl. Either Rosenberry or Aycock will have to help Kilfoyl. For Arizona, they need to get enough pitching to slow down the OU offense a little while their bats simply do what they do, hit the ball.

The next two matchups are really toss ups.

#6 Seed UCLA looks to be the better team over Georgia, but it is close as UCLA's run differential is only 0.24 more than Georgia's. The two offenses are very equal in results but UCLA scores slightly more runs. Surprisingly, the Georgia pitching is better overall than UCLA's. But the pitching will boil down to the duo of Tinsley and Terry for UCLA vs the trio of Backes, Walters and Kerpics. Who ever pitches the best, will win the game. In most cases, three good ones is usually better than two good ones, right. But UCLA probably does have the two best pitchers in the series. This series will be very interesting to me. Does the Georgia power on offense win the series or does the UCLA pitching duo? Can Georgia close games successfully win they get the lead? If I were to choose, I might take Georgia if they can hit a couple of 3-run HRs, but I will go with the duo pitchers of UCLA to be the difference.

The #8 Seed Stanford and LSU series is much the same. LSU's offense is slightly better than Stanford's but Stanford's pitching (Canady) is a little more better than the LSU pitching (Berzon, Lynch and Chaffin). The run differential is only 0.18 in favor of Stanford. But with 'only' Canady pitching the numbers skew towards Stanford. The first game or the last game of the series if it goes 3 games will be the key. If Berzon can win a game vs Canady, LSU has a chance. I think due to Canady, the Cardinal win the series. But it is not a given at all.

[OUBeliever56A]

On Thursday night here were the results of the two games played.

Oklahoma defeated FSU 11-3 in 5 innings. Oklahoma's bats were on display against the FSU pitchers with Maxwell being effective enough to get the win for the Sooners in the circle.
UCLA defeated Georgia 8-0 in 6 innings. Kaitlyn Terry pitched very well for UCLA allowing just 4 hits (all singles) with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. So much for those Georgia bats leading the way to their victory in the regional.

[OUBeliever56A]

Here are the Friday results in the Supers.

Florida (1-0)defeated Baylor 4-2 in a close game with Binford pitching well against Rothrock of Florida.

Duke (1-0), the better team, defeated Missouri 6-3 as Cassidy Curd came in the game in relief in the second for Duke to lead the way to victory. Frelick's 2-run HR also helped a Duke to the win.

Tennessee (1-0) used both Pickens and Gottshall to outpitch Beaver for Alabama 3-2.

Texas A&M (1-0) defeated Texas with Emiley Kennedy outpitching Gutierrez and Morgan. Yes, Texas made a late run, and two coaches were tossed in a very big, tense game in the end.

Oklahoma State (1-0) run-ruled Arizona as Kilfoyl pitched well for the Cowgirls.

LSU (1-0) surprised Canady and defeated Stanford 11-1 in 5 innings. Macy Bergeron and Ali Newland both hit HRs off of Candy.

UCLA (2-0) got another good pitching performance as Tinsley this time, silenced the Georgia bats as the Bruins advance to the WCWS with a 6-1 win.

Oklahoma won 4-2 over FSU on Friday night to punch their ticket to the WCWS.

Can LSU and Texas A&M deliver again today? We will see.

[OUBeliever56A]

Well, this is what I thought about the Florida - Baylor Supers:

The most likely team to win their Super matchup is the #4 Seed Florida over the winner of the #13 regional Baylor who upset Louisiana. The Florida offense is just very strong and while Baylor is built upon their pitching, The Baylor pitching is not as good as the Florida pitching (mainly Keagan Rothrock, as freshman). Baylor probably will not be able to score enough runs to win the series. If Rothrock pitches well, the series is a lock for Florida. Florida has a 5.10 run differential (offense/pitching) while Baylor has a 0.48 run differential.

Sometimes you just have to admit that your post was not complete or maybe even accurate. As I did not say, Florida is dependent upon Rothrock. When she is off or when she is not in the circle, Florida is vulnerable. Rylie Crandall pitched a whale of a game on Saturday and Baylor jumped on Rothrock for a 3-run HR in the first to steal a game 5-2. One thing is true though -> Glenn Moore is a terrific coach. He continually gets more out of a player than most every other coach out there. He does a great job at Baylor in every way. I tip my hat to Baylor and to Coach Moore and Sneed-Newman and the rest of the staff. They are playing Florida tough and have a shot at a large upset.

"Mia-Culpa" on my part.

[TN Sooner]

My wish for today is that all 6 losers (from yesterday) force the “if necessary” games tomorrow.

Baylor
Mizzou
Alabama
Texas
Arizona
Stanford

[SoonerGirl1201]

You've almost got your wish save Arizona. Who was the 12th ranked team that they beat to get to Stillwater. Somehow the cowgirls always luck out in that area - the tougher team loses and gives them the somewhat easier road to OKC. Although I won't complain too much, we got kinda gifted with the pitching injuries to FSU.

EDIT: #12 was Arkansas. That was a weak overall Regional in my opinion. You can't tell me that Arkansas really should have been ranked that high. Oh well - it played out the way it was supposed to I suppose.

[OUBeliever56A]

Here are the Saturday Scores from the Softball Supers:

Baylor upset Florida 5-2 with Rylie Crandall pitching a very nice game for Baylor.

• Can Baylor pull a second upset win over the Gators today? Binford must outpitch Rothrock. Rothrock did not get out of the 1st inning or even get 1-out on Saturday.

Missouri defeated Duke 3-1 as the Mizzou trio of pitchers pitched very well. Krings, McCann and Pannell were the key yesterday for Mizzou.

• Does Krings start again for Missouri, probably. Who does Duke start? Curd has had to relieve Wright twice for Duke. Will Duke just start Curd today? Duke needs to create some runs with their speed today.

Alabama won a marathon 14 inning game 3-2 over Tennessee as the two relievers, Beaver for Bama and Pickens for Tennessee both pitched over 9 innings in relief. What has happened to the Tennessee offense in this series.

• Can Beaver possibly start the game today against Tennessee? At least Tennessee has a 'rested' Gottshall who only pitched 3.2 innings on Saturday. Briski pitched 4.o for Bama on Saturday.

Texas completed the comeback on Saturday after falling just short on Friday. Texas won the 9 inning game 9-8 to even the series between the two rivals in Austin. A&M lead 5-1 going into the 6th. Texas took a 3 run lead into the bottom of the 7th only to give up a 3-run HR to Mya Perez of A&M in her first HR in her career to tie it up. Texas scored 1 in the top of the 9th to win.

• Can Kennedy pitch well enough for A&M to win on Sunday. she has faltered twice in the final two innings to give life to Texas. Who starts or Texas? Is it Gutierrez again or is it Morgan for Texas? Lots of drama in Austin.

Oklahoma State defeated Arizona 10-4 to send the Cowgirls to the WCWS. The Zona pitching is not all that good. The game had a significant weather break as storms entered the Stillwater area.

Stanford, with Canady being Canady, defeated LSU 3-0. LSU choose Lynch to start and she did not pitch badly, but gave up 3 runs.

• The 3rd game today, will likely be Canady vs Berzon.

[TN Sooner]

My wish for today is that all 6 losers (from yesterday) force the “if necessary” games tomorrow.

Baylor
Mizzou
Alabama
Texas
Arizona
Stanford

Well I got 5 out of 6 of my wishes - 5 of 6 in the lotto pays something, right?

Love having 5 win or go home games today. Interesting conference questions:

Big 12 already has 2 and can get 2 more today.

SEC is guaranteed 1 and can get as many as 5.

PAC has 1 and can add 1.