Softball Games of the Week 4/24 – 4/30
#1 California vs. #11 UCLA - Friday, Saturday & Sunday (4/27 3pm, 4/28 1pm, 4/29 12pm Pacific, Berkeley, CA)
Cal is 42-3 and continues to be the top team in the country, though over the last two weeks they have proven they are human, losing one game each to Arizona and Oregon. At 13-2, they have a firm hold on first place in the conference and at this point the conference title will come down to the Arizona State series. UCLA seems to have been steadily improving as the season has worn on. The Bruins are 9-6 and in third place in the Pac-12. They have won nine of their last ten, including a sweep of Utah. UCLA leads the country in hitting at .356. Cal is sixth in staff ERA at 1.27. The old adage that good pitching beats good hitting will be tested in this series. This should be a very entertaining series.
#7 Arizona State vs. #13 Washington - Friday, Saturday & Sunday (4/27 6pm, 4/28 4pm, 4/29 12pm Pacific, Seattle, WA)
The Sun Devils are 7th nationally in batting, 7th in HR’s per game and 4th in runs per game. They are 11-2 in conference play, even with Cal in the loss column. Arizona State has not lost at home since the first weekend of the year and they seem to be catching UW in a bit of a slump. The Huskies have fallen to 7th in the Pac-12 at 7-10 and have lost 10 of their last 14. During that streak Washington has allowed 60 runs. In their previous 33 games the Huskies had given up just 55. Don’t expect the Huskies to get healthy against the Sun Devil hitters at home. Arizona State still has a chance to win the Pac-12 and they will probably play like it.
#4 Florida vs. LSU - Tuesday (4/24 5pm & 7:30pm, Eastern, Gainesville, FL)
The Gators are 41-5 and 18-2 in conference, just ahead of Alabama. Florida’s pitching staff is 4th in ERA nationally at 1.10 and 13th in HR’s a game, averaging 1.19. The Gator offense is scoring 6.1 runs per game, led by Michelle Moultrie who is still hitting above .400 with 9 home runs. LSU’s strength has definitely been their pitching staff. The team ERA is 2nd in the SEC behind Florida at 1.78. Rachel Fico has been tremendous and has lowered her ERA to 0.99. Brittany Mack who has 20 innings less than Fico has a 2.54 ERA. With a double header on tap, both Fico and Mack will have to be at their best to keep the prolific Gator offense under control.
#7 Arizona vs. #10 Oregon - Friday, Saturday & Sunday (4/27 7pm, 4/28 7pm, 4/29 11am Mountain, Tucson, AZ)
It has been an uncharacteristic year for the Wildcats. With 9 games left in the season and conference play, Arizona sits fifth in the Pac-12. They are hitting .295 as a team, well below the .320+ number they normally put up, and are averaging 5.88 runs per game when they normally generate well over 6. The Wildcats have won all of their conference series except Cal and Arizona State. Oregon comes off a weekend where they took one from Cal. They sit fourth in the league standings, one-half game ahead of Arizona. The Duck’s Kelsey Chambers and Kaylay Howard lead the team with 8 home runs. Both are hitting above .300. Oregon’s staff ERA is 2.41, anchored by Jessica Moore’s 1.99. Moore is carrying the load in the circle, throwing 193 of her teams 290 innings. Both teams seem to be playing well and the series should be very competitive.
#14 Hawaii vs. Fresno State - Friday & Saturday (4/27 6pm, 4/28 2pm & 4pm Pacific, Honolulu, Oahu)
This is a matchup of the top two teams in the WAC. Fresno State is 11-2 in conference play, Hawaii is 11-3. After this series, both teams will have three games left against teams that are ranked at the bottom of the league. Hawaii is sixth nationally in long balls per game. Jessica Iwata and Kelly Majam have hit 10 and 11 bombs respectively. Hawaii’s team ERA is 1.02, third in the country led by Stephanie Ricketts’ 0.97. She has struck out 189 in just under 173 innings. Fresno St. leans heavily on Michelle Moses both at the plate and in the circle. She gets two-thirds of the innings in the circle, is 20-11 and has a 1.80 ERA. At the plate she has mashed 16 home runs. With just three hitters above .300, the Bulldogs will need Moses to be great to have a chance to win the WAC regular season title.
#9 Texas vs. #18 Texas A&M - Thur, Sat, Sunday (4/26 6pm, College Station, 4/28 12pm, 4/29 5pm, Austin, TX)
These two teams are still within range of Oklahoma. Texas is second at 11-5, one-half game ahead of A&M who is 11-6. Texas still has a three game set with the Sooners. The Ags have KU after Texas and to have a chance at the conference title they would need to sweep Texas and then hope Texas takes two of three from OU. Texas also still has two games left with Baylor who nipped them last week. The Longhorns are second in the country hitting .348. They’ve hit 48 bombs in 44 games; Taylor Hoagland has 11 of those. Lexy Bennet is coming off a minor injury and is hitting .408 with 8 homers. A&M’s Mel Dumezich is one of the most underrated players in the country. She has posted a 1.98 ERA in 211 innings. She has fanned 244 and has a win-loss record of 22-10. At the plate she has 11 home runs. Most of the kids have played together and against each other even before high school and club ball. Insert cliché here. Should be some great ball games.
