Time permitting, I think I have it this weekend. There are the 'other' series I will be watching. (D1 Softball Rankings are listed.)
SEC:
#7 Florida (9-3) at #16 Missouri (5-7) - Florida needs to win at least 2, probably sweep Missouri this weekend to stay at the top of the SEC standings. For Florida, with Rothrock topping 135 innings and Brown over 80 innings the duo is trying to carry the load for Florida but their loss to South Florida in the midweek game may be the crack in the dam for them. Missouri, ranked at #16 is under .500 in the SEC and needs a couple wins to get closer to .500.
#6 Tennessee (10-2) at #15 Mississippi State (8-7) - Tennessee is at the top as their pitching (Pickens in particular) is stronger than I expected. The challenge for Mississippi State is to hit the ball against Tennessee and to pitch well enough to slow down Tennessee.
#13 Texas A&M (10-5) at #17 Alabama (6-6) - Life in the SEC has proven to be a challenge for Alabama with one top-rung pitcher and an offense without much power. A&M has surprised and are still in the hunt for the SEC title. The first game is the most important with two top-ring pitchers in the circle, Kennedy for A&M and Beaver for Bama. The winner has a chance to win 2 or 3 in the series.
ACC:
#5 Duke (13-2) at #19 Clemson (11-4) - This is the moment for Duke. They are on top of the ACC standings with Florida State 1 game behind and VA Tech two games behind tied with Clemson. Duke needs to assert itself in the conference with a series win on the road at Clemson. Clemson, on the other hand, needs to win the series to stay in the race. FSU host Notre Dame while VA Tech host Boston College. So the top is busy and a series loss for either of Duke or Clemson will be felt.
PAC 12:
#25 Oregon (9-5) at #25 Arizona (7-8) - Oregon is in 4th in the PAC and need a series win on the road to have a chance at the Top 2 in the conference. Arizona is somehow ranked, and needs to series win to reach .500. Not a big series, but a series to pay attention to.
Big 12:
#1 Texas (11-4) at/hosts UNR Baylor (5-10) - Can Baylor actually play well enough to win the series over Texas? Can they win one with their pitching? The series is played with one game in Baylor (Fri) and the last two in Austin (Sat-Sun). Baylor needs to win on Friday. Can Texas stay focused after their big series win over Oklahoma?
Kansas (10-5) at Texas Tech (5-8) - Not a Top 25 series but it means something to Kansas. If they can control the series and leave Lubbock with 6 wins, they can remain in 4th in the Big 12. Tech needs a sweep to matter in the Big 12.
Sun Belt:
#24 Louisiana (12-0) at #20 Texas State (9-3) - The winner of the Sun Belt could host a regional this season. The series will help both of them. Now, they are in 1st and 2nd in the conference. But UL-Monroe (Wodach coaches there.) is one game behind Texas State. Mullins for TX-State can win over most everyone in game #1 and #3 probably but Louisiana has seen Mullins for 3 years prior to this season.
#7 Florida (9-3) at #16 Missouri (5-7) - Florida needs to win at least 2, probably sweep Missouri this weekend to stay at the top of the SEC standings. For Florida, with Rothrock topping 135 innings and Brown over 80 innings the duo is trying to carry the load for Florida but their loss to South Florida in the midweek game may be the crack in the dam for them. Missouri, ranked at #16 is under .500 in the SEC and needs a couple wins to get closer to .500.
Florida has spit the bit out of their mouth this weekend with two losses already. In the first loss, Rothrock could not hold a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 7th as Mizzou scored 4 to win,, 6-3. In the second game, Ava Brown gave up 5 runs in the first two innings as Mizzou won 5-2. The two Freshman have had a rough weekend so far. Who pitches for the Gators today?
#6 Tennessee (10-2) at #15 Mississippi State (8-7) - Tennessee is at the top as their pitching (Pickens in particular) is stronger than I expected. The challenge for Mississippi State is to hit the ball against Tennessee and to pitch well enough to slow down Tennessee.
Tennessee starting pitching has told the story. In the first game, MSU beat up Pickens early for the win 9-1. In the second game, Gottshall pitched well for Tennessee and won 6-1.
#13 Texas A&M (10-5) at #17 Alabama (6-6) - Life in the SEC has proven to be a challenge for Alabama with one top-rung pitcher and an offense without much power. A&M has surprised and are still in the hunt for the SEC title. The first game is the most important with two top-ring pitchers in the circle, Kennedy for A&M and Beaver for Bama. The winner has a chance to win 2 or 3 in the series.
In the S,S,M series in the SEC the first game on Saturday was won as Beaver for Bama tossed a 6-hit shutout. Kennedy for A&M allowed two hits but a double in the 2nd plated both runs for Bama. Bama won 2-0.
ACC:
#5 Duke (13-2) at #19 Clemson (11-4) - This is the moment for Duke. They are on top of the ACC standings with Florida State 1 game behind and VA Tech two games behind tied with Clemson. Duke needs to assert itself in the conference with a series win on the road at Clemson. Clemson, on the other hand, needs to win the series to stay in the race. FSU host Notre Dame while VA Tech host Boston College. So the top is busy and a series loss for either of Duke or Clemson will be felt.
Duke has won a slugfest 13-9 and then a close one 4-3. In the first game, both teams used just two pitchers each. All those runs and one pitching change for each team. Seems wieird or really sticking to a plan. In game two, Wright and Walker outpitched Millie Thompson. Duke is standing tall in the ACC. Clemson is in a hole in the ACC.
PAC 12:
#25 Oregon (9-5) at #25 Arizona (7-8) - Oregon is in 4th in the PAC and need a series win on the road to have a chance at the Top 2 in the conference. Arizona is somehow ranked, and needs to series win to reach .500. Not a big series, but a series to pay attention to.
The first two games have been split with Zona winning the first one 7-5 as 3 Oregon pitchers gave up runs. Oregon won the second game 5-2 as Stoddard (Zona) gave up all 5 runs to the Ducks. Both teams need the rubber game today.
Big 12:
#1 Texas (11-4) at/hosts UNR Baylor (5-10) - Can Baylor actually play well enough to win the series over Texas? Can they win one with their pitching? The series is played with one game in Baylor (Fri) and the last two in Austin (Sat-Sun). Baylor needs to win on Friday. Can Texas stay focused after their big series win over Oklahoma?
Texas has beat up the Bears pitching scoring 14 and 9 runs. Kavan and Simpson pitched well in game 1 for Texas giving up 1 run. In the second game Baylor scored 6 off of Gutierrez, Czech and Morgan. Can Baylor salvage one win on Sunday? They need to pitch better today to do so.
Kansas (10-5) at Texas Tech (5-8) - Not a Top 25 series but it means something to Kansas. If they can control the series and leave Lubbock with 6 wins, they can remain in 4th in the Big 12. Tech needs a sweep to matter in the Big 12.
Kansas and Hamilton led going into the bottom of the 7th, but Tech scored 3 to win the game, 6-5. In the second game, the wind must have been blowing out as the score was 15-12 in favor of Kansas. Kansas had 6 doubles and 4 HRs. Bruno and Hamilton finished game 2 for Kansas.
An Additon to the list: Oklahoma State (12-3) at Iowa State (3-9). I thought OSU would probably sweep this series. But maybe, just maybe that I-State could pull off an upset in the game that Kilfoyl did not pitch.
Iowa State has been a literal cyclone sweeping through Stillwater's favorite softball team this weekend as I-State scored late in the 1st game to win 2-0 over OSU and Kilfoyl. In the second game, Iowa State won again late on a 3-run HR in the bottom of the 7th in a walk-off win against Rosenberry who pitched the entire game for OSU. Can the Cyclones beat Kilfoyl again today? I think OSU wins this one and salvaged 1 win against I-State.
Sun Belt:
#24 Louisiana (12-0) at #20 Texas State (9-3) - The winner of the Sun Belt could host a regional this season. The series will help both of them. Now, they are in 1st and 2nd in the conference. But UL-Monroe (Wodach coaches there.) is one game behind Texas State. Mullins for TX-State can win over most everyone in game #1 and #3 probably but Louisiana has seen Mullins for 3 years prior to this season.
Louisiana has outplayed Texas State this weekend by quite a margin winning 7-0 and 6-0. Can Mullins for TX State pitch in all three games and salvage a win for Texas State? I am not sure she can.
#7 Florida (9-3) at #16 Missouri (5-7) - Florida needs to win at least 2, probably sweep Missouri this weekend to stay at the top of the SEC standings. For Florida, with Rothrock topping 135 innings and Brown over 80 innings the duo is trying to carry the load for Florida but their loss to South Florida in the midweek game may be the crack in the dam for them. Missouri, ranked at #16 is under .500 in the SEC and needs a couple wins to get closer to .500.
Florida has spit the bit out of their mouth this weekend with two losses already. In the first loss, Rothrock could not hold a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 7th as Mizzou scored 4 to win,, 6-3. In the second game, Ava Brown gave up 5 runs in the first two innings as Mizzou won 5-2. The two Freshman have had a rough weekend so far. Who pitches for the Gators today?
On Sunday, Rothrock got the ball and went to the circle and pitched well as Florida salvaged one win in the seires against Mizzou.
#6 Tennessee (10-2) at #15 Mississippi State (8-7) - Tennessee is at the top as their pitching (Pickens in particular) is stronger than I expected. The challenge for Mississippi State is to hit the ball against Tennessee and to pitch well enough to slow down Tennessee.
Tennessee starting pitching has told the story. In the first game, MSU beat up Pickens early for the win 9-1. In the second game, Gottshall pitched well for Tennessee and won 6-1.
On Sunday, Tennessee split the game with Pickens (3.1) and Gottshall (3.2) to get the 7-3 win to pick up a seires win 2-1. Zaida Puni had 3 hits with 2 HRS and 3 RBIs while Nugent added a hit and an RBI also for Tennessee.
#13 Texas A&M (10-5) at #17 Alabama (6-6) - Life in the SEC has proven to be a challenge for Alabama with one top-rung pitcher and an offense without much power. A&M has surprised and are still in the hunt for the SEC title. The first game is the most important with two top-ring pitchers in the circle, Kennedy for A&M and Beaver for Bama. The winner has a chance to win 2 or 3 in the series.
In the S,S,M series in the SEC the first game on Saturday was won as Beaver for Bama tossed a 6-hit shutout. Kennedy for A&M allowed two hits but a double in the 2nd plated both runs for Bama. Bama won 2-0.
Bama did not pitch Beaver and that meant trouble. A&M won the game 17-6 as A&M scored 10 runs in the 6th and 7th innings. Final game in the series is tonight with Beaver in the circle for Alabama trying to pick up a seires win.
ACC:
#5 Duke (13-2) at #19 Clemson (11-4) - This is the moment for Duke. They are on top of the ACC standings with Florida State 1 game behind and VA Tech two games behind tied with Clemson. Duke needs to assert itself in the conference with a series win on the road at Clemson. Clemson, on the other hand, needs to win the series to stay in the race. FSU host Notre Dame while VA Tech host Boston College. So the top is busy and a series loss for either of Duke or Clemson will be felt.
Duke has won a slugfest 13-9 and then a close one 4-3. In the first game, both teams used just two pitchers each. All those runs and one pitching change for each team. Seems wieird or really sticking to a plan. In game two, Wright and Walker outpitched Millie Thompson. Duke is standing tall in the ACC. Clemson is in a hole in the ACC.
In Sunday's game, Clemson got back in the game with a run in the bottom of the 6th to make it a 2-1 game. But Kentucky scored 4 runs in the top of the 7th to win easily 6-1. Duke's sweep of Clemson bolsters their chance to win the ACC and really hurt Clemson's outlook to host a regional, perhaps.
PAC 12:
#25 Oregon (9-5) at #25 Arizona (7-8) - Oregon is in 4th in the PAC and need a series win on the road to have a chance at the Top 2 in the conference. Arizona is somehow ranked, and needs to series win to reach .500. Not a big series, but a series to pay attention to.
The first two games have been split with Zona winning the first one 7-5 as 3 Oregon pitchers gave up runs. Oregon won the second game 5-2 as Stoddard (Zona) gave up all 5 runs to the Ducks. Both teams need the rubber game today.
Sunday's game was a tight one. Trailing 2-1, Oregon got a HR in the top of the 7th to tie the game at 2-2. In the bottom of the 8th, Zona scored a run on a FC, error with the bases loaded to win the game 3-2 and the series 2-1.
Big 12:
#1 Texas (11-4) at/hosts UNR Baylor (5-10) - Can Baylor actually play well enough to win the series over Texas? Can they win one with their pitching? The series is played with one game in Baylor (Fri) and the last two in Austin (Sat-Sun). Baylor needs to win on Friday. Can Texas stay focused after their big series win over Oklahoma?
Texas has beat up the Bears pitching scoring 14 and 9 runs. Kavan and Simpson pitched well in game 1 for Texas giving up 1 run. In the second game Baylor scored 6 off of Gutierrez, Czech and Morgan. Can Baylor salvage one win on Sunday? They need to pitch better today to do so.
Texas beat up the Baylor pitching again and won 9-5 to sweep the series. But in the last two games, the weak Baylor offense scored 6 and 5 runs off the Texas pitching.
Kansas (10-5) at Texas Tech (5-8) - Not a Top 25 series but it means something to Kansas. If they can control the series and leave Lubbock with 6 wins, they can remain in 4th in the Big 12. Tech needs a sweep to matter in the Big 12.
Kansas and Hamilton led going into the bottom of the 7th, but Tech scored 3 to win the game, 6-5. In the second game, the wind must have been blowing out as the score was 15-12 in favor of Kansas. Kansas had 6 doubles and 4 HRs. Bruno and Hamilton finished game 2 for Kansas.
Texas Tech won the Sunday game 4-2 as Willis pitched well for Tech. Hamilton got the loss for Kansas.
An Additon to the list: Oklahoma State (12-3) at Iowa State (3-9). I thought OSU would probably sweep this series. But maybe, just maybe that I-State could pull off an upset in the game that Kilfoyl did not pitch.
Iowa State has been a literal cyclone sweeping through Stillwater's favorite softball team this weekend as I-State scored late in the 1st game to win 2-0 over OSU and Kilfoyl. In the second game, Iowa State won again late on a 3-run HR in the bottom of the 7th in a walk-off win against Rosenberry who pitched the entire game for OSU. Can the Cyclones beat Kilfoyl again today? I think OSU wins this one and salvaged 1 win against I-State.
OSU finally found their offense and beat I-State 10-2, but the series loss to I-State hurts OSU's conference standing and perhaps more.
Sun Belt:
#24 Louisiana (12-0) at #20 Texas State (9-3) - The winner of the Sun Belt could host a regional this season. The series will help both of them. Now, they are in 1st and 2nd in the conference. But UL-Monroe (Wodach coaches there.) is one game behind Texas State. Mullins for TX-State can win over most everyone in game #1 and #3 probably but Louisiana has seen Mullins for 3 years prior to this season.
Louisiana has outplayed Texas State this weekend by quite a margin winning 7-0 and 6-0. Can Mullins for TX State pitch in all three games and salvage a win for Texas State? I am not sure she can.
Mullins stepped up big time on Sunday and pitched Texas State to a win with a CG shutout as the Bobcats gave Louisiana their first conference loss in a 5-0 game.
A few other series, I noticed.
Kentucky won two of three from Georgia. Georgia will be limited perhaps by their pitching unless their hitters really produce above and beyond.
Auburn won two of three from LSU at Baton Rogue this weekend. When Auburn gets good pitching from Penta, Lowe and Widra, they can beat good teams.
Arkansas won two of three from SC in Carolina. Vawter picked up two losses this weekend. I am glad the Sooners passed on Vawter and choose Maxwell i f that is what happened.
#13 Texas A&M (10-5) at #17 Alabama (6-6) - Life in the SEC has proven to be a challenge for Alabama with one top-rung pitcher and an offense without much power. A&M has surprised and are still in the hunt for the SEC title. The first game is the most important with two top-ring pitchers in the circle, Kennedy for A&M and Beaver for Bama. The winner has a chance to win 2 or 3 in the series.
In the S,S,M series in the SEC the first game on Saturday was won as Beaver for Bama tossed a 6-hit shutout. Kennedy for A&M allowed two hits but a double in the 2nd plated both runs for Bama. Bama won 2-0.
Bama did not pitch Beaver and that meant trouble. A&M won the game 17-6 as A&M scored 10 runs in the 6th and 7th innings. Final game in the series is tonight with Beaver in the circle for Alabama trying to pick up a seires win.
The Crimson Tide sent Beaver to the circle and their defense made 4 errors behind her as A&M scored 9 runs, with only 4 earned, to win the game 9-4. A&M lead 2-0 after the top of the 4th and decided to pull Kennedy, the starting pitcher for A&M. They brought in Brooke Vestal. Remember her? She quickly allowed 3 runs and needed help from Ackerman to get out of the inning. D1 Softball has been a long ride for Vestal.
A&M took the lead 4-3 in the Top of the 4th and they brought Kennedy back into the game to pitch. Bama tied it with a run in the bottom of the 4th. Then A&M won the game with 5 runs in the top of the 6th as Alabama made 2 errors in the inning. Final was 9-4 as Texas A&M won the series on the road.
Kayla Beaver pitched the complete game for Alabama in a losing effort. She has pitched 125.0 innings this season already for 46.6% of their innings pitched. She is 14-4 with the rest of the staff 16-6.