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Leading Off...
March Madness is in full swing, sure, but softball is heating up on the diamond as well.
Let’s take a look at the past week shall we?
Week in Review
| Team | W | L | RS | RA | Diff. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | RS | RA | Diff. |
| Alabama | 2 | 2 | 17 | 12 | 5 |
| Arkansas | 0 | 3 | 2 | 20 | -18 |
| Auburn | 4 | 0 | 25 | 12 | 13 |
| Florida | 4 | 1 | 35 | 10 | 25 |
| Georgia | 1 | 3 | 20 | 24 | -4 |
| Kentucky | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | -8 |
| LSU | 4 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 17 |
| Missouri | 2 | 1 | 9 | 12 | -3 |
| Ole Miss | 2 | 2 | 15 | 7 | 8 |
| Mississippi State | 2 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 1 | 2 | 10 | 21 | -11 |
| Tennessee | 5 | 0 | 42 | 7 | 35 |
| Texas A&M | 3 | 0 | 26 | 3 | 23 |
If we’re looking at it from a strict, run differential perspective, Mizzou, Florida and Texas A&M were the three most impressive teams of the week. The Tigers played the most games of anybody (7) and left the week with just one loss, scoring 63 (!) runs while allowing only 17.
Florida, though, could be argued as even more impressive though, allowing just one run through four games with 42 runs plated by the Gator offense. That 4-0 week included a sweep of South Carolina in which they outscored the Gamecocks 29-1 with two shutouts on Friday and Sunday. This included a combined no-hitter in a 10-0 victory over the Gamecocks on Sunday hurled by Delanie Gourley and Aleshia Ocasio.
Easy to see why they’re No. 2 in the country eh?
Texas A&M ain’t too far behind either, as the No. 7 team in the country went 4-0 with 30 runs scored and just four allowed. That included a sweep of an SEC squad as well, as the Aggies sent Ole Miss packing with a weekend series sweep, outscoring the Rebels 15-3 in the process.
Let’s not look past Auburn either though. The Tigers racked up an unblemished 5-0 record last week, plating home 29 runs while allowing only seven. Their week was highlighted by two milestones. The first was from Kaylee Carlson, who threw the second perfect game in Auburn softball history on Saturday against Ohio State. The second was by phenom Kasey Cooper who joined the 250/250 club, picking up hit and RBI 250 over the weekend. Congrats are in order for both of them!
Not to be outdone, Alabama and LSU were each impressive even despite each taking a loss. The Crimson Tide and Tigers combined to score 53 runs in their games last week, each managing to look impressive. The Tide took a series from Mississippi State and LSU, meanwhile, scooped up three wins in nonconference action against Omaha, Kansas and SE Missouri State.
Meanwhile, Arkansas was able to wreak some havoc, taking a series against 14th-ranked Tennessee. The Hogs won the first two games of the three-game weekend set, and while they weren’t able to get the sweep, they were still able to make some more headway in the SEC standings after grabbing their first two league wins against the Vols.
While Georgia’s rivalry matchup with Georgia Tech was postponed, their series with Kentucky went down as a split. A grand slam by Lacey Summerlin was the highlight in the victory for the ‘Dawgs along with Maeve McGuire hitting a longball as well.
Players of the Week
Coming soon.
What Lies Ahead
Tonight, Kentucky will be facing off with Georgia on the SEC Network at 7 p.m. If you’re into ranked matchups, which you should be, then that might be for you.
A few nonconference matchups are set up for the middle of the week, and then on Friday, conference action will reset. Kentucky squares off with Arkansas, Ole Miss with Tennessee, Mizzou with Texas A&M and South Carolina and Alabama. The lone ranked vs. ranked matchup is Georgia vs. LSU, which should be a barnburner in Baton Rouge to say the least.