7 Things You Need To Know From College Softball
7 Things You Need To Know From College Softball
FloSoftball recaps the biggest softball stories from March 31 to April 2.
Conference play is heating up across the country, and the top major college softball programs are separating themselves from the pack. Here are the five things you need to know from this past weekend in college softball.
The Oregon Ducks just keep on winning. The top-ranked Ducks, who are the last undefeated team in Division I, squeaked out a 1-0 win over Arizona State on Sunday to preserve their perfect record.
Oregon and ASU went scoreless through seven innings to force extras. In the bottom of the eighth, Ducks freshman Mia Camuso drove home Haley Cruse with the winning run.
Oregon's pitching staff was superb in this Pac-12 Conference battle. Megan Kleist started the game with six-plus scoreless innings; then Maggie Balint finished off ASU to secure her 16th win of the season.
We were unsure how good Oregon was through the non-conference since it played a light schedule. But, the Ducks are now 8-0 in the Pac-12 against very tough competition.
Their previous 10 games have all been against ranked opponents - Cal, Utah, BYU, and ASU -- and they remained unblemished.
Next up, how will Oregon handle in-state opponent Portland State before traveling to Los Angeles to face UCLA this weekend?
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Congratulations, Minnesota, you finally get to play at home this week!
The Golden Gophers played the first 33 games of the season on the road. Their record? An impressive 30-3.
Their travels included stops in Austin, Texas; Raleigh, North Carolina; Fresno, California; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Seattle, Corvallis, Oregon; Berkeley, CA; Stockton, CA; Lincoln, Nebraska; and finally Champaign, Illinois, over the weekend. East Coast, West Coast, South, and Midwest -- they've been everywhere.
Over the weekend, Minnesota took 2 of 3 against Big Ten rival Illinois, including shutouts of 12-0 on Friday and 4-0 on Sunday. In between, the Gophers lost a close 4-3 game on Saturday.
Minnesota's reward is a top 10 ranking, its next nine games at home, and a round of applause for completing this amazing road stretch. The total miles logged? 17,619 miles, according to the Minnesota Athletics Department. Unbelievable.
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How awesome would an Oregon versus Florida matchup in the Women's College World Series be this year? We'll see how things play out, but UF made a statement over the weekend that it believe it should be No. 1 in the country.
Oregon leapfrogged Florida last week in the ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 after the Gators dropped a controversial 1-0 game against Auburn.
So, Florida responded by wiping out Arkansas in Fayetteville, AR. The Gators only allowed two runs the whole weekend and outscored the Razorbacks 22-2 over the three-game series.
Arkansas has really struggled in Southeastern Conference play, facing Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and now Florida in their first four conference series. But the Gators were on a mission this weekend.
Led by Delanie Gourley's two-hit shutout on Saturday, Florida jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning before the senior lefty even took the circle. You knew the game was pretty much over at that point, and the Gators went on to win 8-0 in five innings.
If you're salivating over the thought of Oregon possibly taking on Florida in the WCWS, just wait until next April 12, when Florida and Florida State meet in Gainesville, FL. The mid-week special should be a fascinating opportunity to see how these top three programs match up against each other.
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We see you, Wildcats. Arizona continued to dominate Pac-12 teams over the weekend, jumping out to the same 8-0 conference record as Oregon.
The only difference is Arizona has one little loss from non-conference play in February, when the Wildcats lost 1-0 against Florida State at the Mary Nutter Invitational.
Since then, Arizona has reeled off 22 wins in a row to bring its record to 37-1.
Over the weekend, UA shut down Cal in Berkeley, CA, with two shutouts and only one run allowed. Altogether, the WIldcats outscored the Golden Bears 19-1 in the three-game series.
Danielle O'Toole is now 19-1 on the season after dominating the Bears in two of the three games. Her pitching mate Taylor McQuillin threw a shutout on Saturday to improve her record to 12-0.
After Florida State swept its weekend series against Pitt, there is clearly a top four in college softball: Oregon, Florida, FSU, and Arizona. You could debate the order all day long, but these four teams have separated themselves as the best of the best this season.
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The Big 12 seems to be the forgotten power conference this season after defending national champion Oklahoma got off to a slow start.
The No. 12-ranked Sooners have started conference play undefeated at 3-0 after wiping out Iowa State over the weekend. OU then travels to Austin to face Texas this weekend in what should be a competitive series.
This is especially true because the Longhorns are still stinging from a difficult trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma, two weekends ago. Texas lost 1-0, 2-1, and 10-9 against Oklahoma State -- the last game saw the Longhorns blow an 8-2 lead in the sixth inning.
Meanwhile, the Cowgirls are atop the Big 12 with a 6-0 conference record after sweeping Kansas over the weekend. But their overall record of 25-11 has not been good enough to draw a top 25 ranking yet.
The only other ranked Big 12 team, Baylor, is 5-1 in the conference after sweeping Texas Tech at home over the weekend. So the question is when do Baylor, OU, and OSU play each other to find out which is the best conference team?
Oklahoma hosts Baylor on April 21-23. Baylor travels to Oklahoma State on April 28-30, and OSU plays host to OU on May 3-6. The next three weekends will go a long way toward determining the winner of the Big 12 title.
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6. Auburn Coach Resigns After Dad Wins #1,500
It appears that Auburn head coach Clint Myers will have to wait until the offseason to actually enjoy his milestone 1,500th win against Florida two weekends ago.
After all of the fallout from Tigers infielder Haley Fagan getting into a heated exchange with Florida manager Clint Myers, more drama followed on the Auburn side.
Coach Myers' son, associate head coach Corey Myers, announced his resignation from the Tigers coaching staff on Friday.
The 36-year-old Corey Myers said he was resigning with "great sadness" after it "became clear to me that my relationship with my family needs to be my top priority right now."
Corey closed his statement: "I thank the Auburn family for everything they have done for my family and myself. We absolutely love living on the plains and will forever feel like Auburn is our home."
Auburn promptly followed up that news with a road sweep of Georgia in Athens.
The Tigers busted out their power bats, winning 8-5, 13-4, and 4-3 in the weekend series to improve their SEC conference record to 6-3.
Auburn has another big test this weekend when they host Ole Miss at home. Now that the Tigers have won five in a row and survived enough drama to last a whole season, are they poised to make a run in the SEC?
Staying in the SEC, Top 10 Alabama surprisingly dropped their weekend series on the road against Missouri.
Their only win of the series on Saturday felt like a loss, though, when second baseman Demi Turner was hospitalized after being accidentally smashed in the face by Bama shortshop Sydney Booker.
On a fluky play, Booker fielded a groundball and tried to throw to first base, but Turner stepped right in front of the ball, taking the throw in the face. Turner was down on the field for a while before taken to the nearby university hospital at Missouri.
Alabama officials released an update that Turner suffered a "facial injury," but she was out of the hospital. Turner was held out of Sunday's game.
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Overall for the weekend, the Crimson Tide were shut out on Friday night, rebounded with a 9-3 win on Saturday when Turner was injured, and lost a nailbiter on Sunday after Turner's injury.
Alabama lost the rubber game 4-3 in nine innings after blowing a sixth-inning lead. The Crimson Tide entered the sixth up 3-1, but Rylee Pierce hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning.
Mizzou's Kolby Romaine then delivered a bases-loaded single to drive in the winning run to give the Tigers the series.
Alabama dropped to 32-6 on the season and 8-4 in the SEC, which currently puts them in fourth place behind Florida, Texas A&M, and LSU.
Speaking of LSU, the Tigers head to Alabama this weekend for a big SEC matchup. SEC Network will air Game 2 on Saturday night and ESPN2 will broadcast Game 3 on Sunday.
1. The Ducks Are Still Undefeated
The Oregon Ducks just keep on winning. The top-ranked Ducks, who are the last undefeated team in Division I, squeaked out a 1-0 win over Arizona State on Sunday to preserve their perfect record.
Oregon and ASU went scoreless through seven innings to force extras. In the bottom of the eighth, Ducks freshman Mia Camuso drove home Haley Cruse with the winning run.
Oregon's pitching staff was superb in this Pac-12 Conference battle. Megan Kleist started the game with six-plus scoreless innings; then Maggie Balint finished off ASU to secure her 16th win of the season.
We were unsure how good Oregon was through the non-conference since it played a light schedule. But, the Ducks are now 8-0 in the Pac-12 against very tough competition.
Their previous 10 games have all been against ranked opponents - Cal, Utah, BYU, and ASU -- and they remained unblemished.
Next up, how will Oregon handle in-state opponent Portland State before traveling to Los Angeles to face UCLA this weekend?
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2. Minnesota "Road Warriors" Finally Get To Play At Home!
Congratulations, Minnesota, you finally get to play at home this week!
The Golden Gophers played the first 33 games of the season on the road. Their record? An impressive 30-3.
Their travels included stops in Austin, Texas; Raleigh, North Carolina; Fresno, California; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Seattle, Corvallis, Oregon; Berkeley, CA; Stockton, CA; Lincoln, Nebraska; and finally Champaign, Illinois, over the weekend. East Coast, West Coast, South, and Midwest -- they've been everywhere.
Over the weekend, Minnesota took 2 of 3 against Big Ten rival Illinois, including shutouts of 12-0 on Friday and 4-0 on Sunday. In between, the Gophers lost a close 4-3 game on Saturday.
Minnesota's reward is a top 10 ranking, its next nine games at home, and a round of applause for completing this amazing road stretch. The total miles logged? 17,619 miles, according to the Minnesota Athletics Department. Unbelievable.
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3. This Just In: Florida Is Still Really Good
How awesome would an Oregon versus Florida matchup in the Women's College World Series be this year? We'll see how things play out, but UF made a statement over the weekend that it believe it should be No. 1 in the country.
Oregon leapfrogged Florida last week in the ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 after the Gators dropped a controversial 1-0 game against Auburn.
So, Florida responded by wiping out Arkansas in Fayetteville, AR. The Gators only allowed two runs the whole weekend and outscored the Razorbacks 22-2 over the three-game series.
Arkansas has really struggled in Southeastern Conference play, facing Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and now Florida in their first four conference series. But the Gators were on a mission this weekend.
Led by Delanie Gourley's two-hit shutout on Saturday, Florida jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning before the senior lefty even took the circle. You knew the game was pretty much over at that point, and the Gators went on to win 8-0 in five innings.
If you're salivating over the thought of Oregon possibly taking on Florida in the WCWS, just wait until next April 12, when Florida and Florida State meet in Gainesville, FL. The mid-week special should be a fascinating opportunity to see how these top three programs match up against each other.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/GatorsSB/status/848614090645938177" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
4. Arizona Is The Real Deal
We see you, Wildcats. Arizona continued to dominate Pac-12 teams over the weekend, jumping out to the same 8-0 conference record as Oregon.
The only difference is Arizona has one little loss from non-conference play in February, when the Wildcats lost 1-0 against Florida State at the Mary Nutter Invitational.
Since then, Arizona has reeled off 22 wins in a row to bring its record to 37-1.
Over the weekend, UA shut down Cal in Berkeley, CA, with two shutouts and only one run allowed. Altogether, the WIldcats outscored the Golden Bears 19-1 in the three-game series.
Danielle O'Toole is now 19-1 on the season after dominating the Bears in two of the three games. Her pitching mate Taylor McQuillin threw a shutout on Saturday to improve her record to 12-0.
After Florida State swept its weekend series against Pitt, there is clearly a top four in college softball: Oregon, Florida, FSU, and Arizona. You could debate the order all day long, but these four teams have separated themselves as the best of the best this season.
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5. What's Happening In The Big 12?
The Big 12 seems to be the forgotten power conference this season after defending national champion Oklahoma got off to a slow start.
The No. 12-ranked Sooners have started conference play undefeated at 3-0 after wiping out Iowa State over the weekend. OU then travels to Austin to face Texas this weekend in what should be a competitive series.
This is especially true because the Longhorns are still stinging from a difficult trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma, two weekends ago. Texas lost 1-0, 2-1, and 10-9 against Oklahoma State -- the last game saw the Longhorns blow an 8-2 lead in the sixth inning.
Meanwhile, the Cowgirls are atop the Big 12 with a 6-0 conference record after sweeping Kansas over the weekend. But their overall record of 25-11 has not been good enough to draw a top 25 ranking yet.
The only other ranked Big 12 team, Baylor, is 5-1 in the conference after sweeping Texas Tech at home over the weekend. So the question is when do Baylor, OU, and OSU play each other to find out which is the best conference team?
Oklahoma hosts Baylor on April 21-23. Baylor travels to Oklahoma State on April 28-30, and OSU plays host to OU on May 3-6. The next three weekends will go a long way toward determining the winner of the Big 12 title.
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6. Auburn Coach Resigns After Dad Wins #1,500
It appears that Auburn head coach Clint Myers will have to wait until the offseason to actually enjoy his milestone 1,500th win against Florida two weekends ago.
After all of the fallout from Tigers infielder Haley Fagan getting into a heated exchange with Florida manager Clint Myers, more drama followed on the Auburn side.
Coach Myers' son, associate head coach Corey Myers, announced his resignation from the Tigers coaching staff on Friday.
The 36-year-old Corey Myers said he was resigning with "great sadness" after it "became clear to me that my relationship with my family needs to be my top priority right now."
Corey closed his statement: "I thank the Auburn family for everything they have done for my family and myself. We absolutely love living on the plains and will forever feel like Auburn is our home."
Auburn promptly followed up that news with a road sweep of Georgia in Athens.
The Tigers busted out their power bats, winning 8-5, 13-4, and 4-3 in the weekend series to improve their SEC conference record to 6-3.
Auburn has another big test this weekend when they host Ole Miss at home. Now that the Tigers have won five in a row and survived enough drama to last a whole season, are they poised to make a run in the SEC?
7. Alabama Drops Series & Demi Turner Sent to Hospital
Staying in the SEC, Top 10 Alabama surprisingly dropped their weekend series on the road against Missouri.
Their only win of the series on Saturday felt like a loss, though, when second baseman Demi Turner was hospitalized after being accidentally smashed in the face by Bama shortshop Sydney Booker.
On a fluky play, Booker fielded a groundball and tried to throw to first base, but Turner stepped right in front of the ball, taking the throw in the face. Turner was down on the field for a while before taken to the nearby university hospital at Missouri.
Alabama officials released an update that Turner suffered a "facial injury," but she was out of the hospital. Turner was held out of Sunday's game.
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Overall for the weekend, the Crimson Tide were shut out on Friday night, rebounded with a 9-3 win on Saturday when Turner was injured, and lost a nailbiter on Sunday after Turner's injury.
Alabama lost the rubber game 4-3 in nine innings after blowing a sixth-inning lead. The Crimson Tide entered the sixth up 3-1, but Rylee Pierce hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning.
Mizzou's Kolby Romaine then delivered a bases-loaded single to drive in the winning run to give the Tigers the series.
Alabama dropped to 32-6 on the season and 8-4 in the SEC, which currently puts them in fourth place behind Florida, Texas A&M, and LSU.
Speaking of LSU, the Tigers head to Alabama this weekend for a big SEC matchup. SEC Network will air Game 2 on Saturday night and ESPN2 will broadcast Game 3 on Sunday.