Softball Games of the Week 3/6 – 3/11
Though, there are no matchups of undefeated teams on the schedule this week, as some of the conferences (SEC, Big 12) begin play this week, there are some very good series coming up in the next few days.
#5 Texas vs Texas Tech Tuesday & Wednesday, (3/6 8pm & 3/7 4pm Central in Austin, TX)
The Longhorns are 17-1 with quality wins over UCLA, Nebraska and an exciting extra inning affair with Tennessee. They will host Tech in a mid-week conference opening series. Texas is 13-0 at home this spring and has been very good in all facets of the game. They are hitting .369 as a team with eight starters above .300. Lexy Bennet is leading the way with ridiculous numbers. The senior has a .578 on-base percentage, is hitting .521, with 5 dingers and 10 total extra base hits and 10 walks. Speedy Brejae Washington has stolen 13 bases while hitting .411. The Longhorn pitching staff is doing very well, with a team ERA of 1.03. Blaire Luna is 7-0 with a 0.81 ERA. She has 72 strikeouts in 43 innings and opponents are batting .158 against her. The Red Raiders have played a tougher schedule this year than they have in the past and are now 17-5. The offense is hitting just .282 as a team, but has averaged over one home run a game with Mikey Kenney (6), Sandy James (5) and Adriana Perez (5) with most of those. Sophomore lefty Brittany Talley is 5-2 with a 1.73 ERA. Cara Custer has the majority of the innings. She is 10-3 with a 1.92 ERA. Tech will need to pitch very well in this two game set to claim a win.
#12 Louisiana vs Houston Wednesday (3/7 4pm & 6pm Central in Houston, TX)
The Ragin Cajuns are one of the few undefeated teams left, boasting a 17-0 start to 2012. They have wins over Tulsa, Northwestern, North Carolina, Michigan and Kentucky. Christi Orgeron leads the ULL attack, hitting .468 with six home runs. More than half of her 29 hits are for extra bases. Paige Cormier has belted seven home runs. Five Ragin Cajuns are hitting above .400. Ashley Brignac and Freshman Jordan Wallace are each 7-0. Brignac’s ERA is .138. The Cougars are 10-9 and still working to get consistent in the circle. With a team ERA of .263, the staff will need to be its best to handle the ULL big sticks.
#4 Florida vs #10 Tennessee Friday/Saturday/Sunday, (3/9 6pm, 3/10 2pm, 3/11 12pm Eastern in Gainesville, FL)
This series will go a long way in determining the eventual SEC regular season champion. The Gators offense continues to roll, averaging over seven runs and 1.4 homeruns a game. Kelsey Horton leads her team with eight bombs. Michelle Moultrie and Cheyenne Coyle both have hit five. As a team Florida is hitting .359 and slugging .608. With a team ERA of 0.81 the young Gator pitching staff is getting the job done. Tennessee scores just under six runs per game, led by Lauren Gibson’s six home runs. Ellen Renfroe is sporting a 10-0 record in the circle with a 1.32 ERA. Florida’s, big sticks, deeper pitching staff and home crowd; advantage Gators.
#2 Alabama vs Kentucky Friday/Saturday/Sunday (3/9 5pm, 3/10 2pm, 3/11 12pm Eastern in Lexington, KY)
The Tide have started 2012 winning 17 straight with wins over Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State and UMass. The Bama offense is also prolific, averaging 8.3 runs and 1.5 home runs per game, paced by Kalia Hunt’s six and Amanda Locke’s five. Slugging .620, almost 40% of the Tide’s hits are for extra bases. In the circle sophomore Jackie Traina has been dominant, fanning 80 in 54 innings of work. She is 10-0 with a 1.04 ERA. Kentucky has not followed up last year’s Super Regional appearance with much success so far. At 10-8, the wildcats had a tough opening weekend at UCLA, and have not faired very well against quality teams. Chanda Bell is 5-1 with a 1.66 ERA. Lauren Cumbess’ ERA is 1.67 and 2-2. The Wildcat offense is hitting .253, scoring just under four runs per game. Unless Kentucky has an outstanding weekend at the plate, look for the Tide to win all three games on the road.
#9 Arizona vs #20 Baylor Friday/Saturday/Sunday, (3/9 6:30pm, 3/10 2pm, 3/11 12pm Central in Waco, TX)
This looked to be a marquee matchup, but with the injury to Canion, the series is far less compelling. Last year, Baylor traveled to Phoenix and took two of three from the Wildcats. Arizona looks to return the favor in Waco this year. The Wildcats stumbled early but have won seven straight and 14 of their last 15, improving to 16-4. The pitching staff has hurled 10 shutouts in their last 15 games while averaging 6.9 runs over that same span. The Baylor Bears will look to stop the bleeding after a 2-3 weekend in Orlando. Courtney Repka and Liz Paul will need to be at their best this weekend for the Bears to compete. The offense showed signs of coming around, scoring six against UCLA and four against Southern Illinois, but they will need to fire on all cylinders against Arizona. The weather forecast looks like rain. Hopefully, Arizona will not travel to Texas for nothing.
#13 Michigan vs #16 Louisville Saturday (3/10 1pm Eastern in Louisville, KY)
A 15-5 Michigan squad continues to find a way, grinding out wins with clutch hitting and one-two punch in the circle. The Wolverines were 4-1 in Orlando last weekend with wins over UCLA and Auburn. Freshmen Haylie Wagner and Sara Driesenga have battled with ERA’s of 1.34 and 2.30 respectively. Wagner is 11-1. Ashley Lane is hitting just .237 but has five home runs. Amanda Chidester has four bombs and leads the team with 17 RBI. Louisville is perfect at 15-0, with UMass their toughest test so far. Expect the Cardinal to drop from the ranks of the undefeated here.
