Softball Week-in-Review, plus Florida vs. Auburn game time, TV channel and live stream info

Leading Off...

Let’s check back in and see what happened...

Leading the way in run differential this past week were the Tennessee Volunteers and Texas A&M Aggies. The Vols and Ags each had a mark of +23, with the latter scoring a week-high 31 runs. UT meanwhile allowed merely four runs in their four victories which included a sweep of Ole Miss. In that three-game sweep, Tennessee outscored the Rebels 18-2 and shut them out in the opener on Friday. With a win under their belt against UNC, Tennessee may very well have had the most impressive week of anybody.

Unless you’re Florida, who continues to roll in SEC play. The Gators still haven’t taken a loss and are two games through a three-game set with the Auburn Tigers. UF defeated Auburn 4-3 on Saturday and proceeded to trounce them 7-0 on Sunday. The Gators haven’t lost since February 18 which, well, is their ONLY loss of the season so far.

Texas A&M’s dominance continued with a series win over Mizzou and a 15-0 shutout over Prairie View A&M. The Aggies’ 5-1 loss to Mizzou on Saturday was just the third they’ve taken all season and the second of conference play but they continue to maintain a firm standing amongst the pack. They are tied for second in the SEC with Alabama, two games behind previously mentioned Florida and post a 28-3 record in general.

Speaking of the Tide, while they went 2-1 this week, they were actually outscored in their three games of action. This was due in large to a 14-0 loss they took on the chin to the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday. They managed to come back and win 5-2 in the second part of a doubleheader later that day, but it certainly hurt them to take a loss of that magnitude. They and the Aggies continue to be tied in SEC play near the top of the standings, so it will be interesting to see how that pans out this week.

LSU was the third team in the SEC to go unbeaten this week along with Tennessee and Florida. The Tigers went 4-0 but didn’t manage to plate home many runs. In fact, they only scored 10 but go by because they only allowed five runs to be plated against them. They swept Georgia and took down Nicholls earlier in the week and now are 4-2 in SEC play after that three-game sweep of the Bulldogs.

Kentucky, the only other team in the league right now with an above .500 record in SEC play, went 3-1 this past week. The Wildcats garnered a sweep of the 22nd-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks, which included a 2-0 shutout win on Sunday to complete the sweep. Like LSU, the ‘Cats are 4-2 in SEC play and will look to make a move in the standings going forward.

To this point, seven other teams have below .500 records in the conference. Granted, Auburn is merely 2-3 and 27-5 overall, so in their case they have plenty of time to get back to it and their overall record would indicate they’re still in great shape. The same goes for Georgia and Mississippi State who are both 2-4 but are 26-7 and 24-9 overall.

The teams that are facing some trouble are Arkansas, South Carolina, Mizzou and Ole Miss. The Razorbacks and Gamecocks are a combined 4-14 in SEC play so far and although the Hogs are ranked, they will simply need to pick up more wins in conference if they want to avoid the cellar. Same goes for the Gamecocks, but they’re 21-12 thus far and need to pick up ground fast. Mizzou has just one conference win and are 18-13, which is currently the worst record in the conference (which is pretty ideal all things considered). Ole Miss, though, has yet to win a single conference game. With that said, they are 22-9, so their cushion is still decent enough even with the cupboard empty so far. But wins must be racked up if they want to climb up the rungs of the ladder.

Players of the Week

Coming soon.

What Lies Ahead

Tonight, Florida and Auburn battle at 7 p.m. on the SEC Network. You can watch the game via WatchESPN if you’re out of the area.

The slate isn’t empty on Tuesday as Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, LSU and Mississippi State are all in action against unranked squads Liberty, Furman, Kent State, UL Monroe and Southern Miss. On Wednesday, the slate opens up further as Kentucky, Mizzou, FLorida, Georgia, Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Texas A&M are all in action as well as Mississippi State who’ll retake the field. None of the aforementioned matchups are ranked ones either, but should certainly not be overlooked. Arkansas and Oklahoma State, for instance, is a solid contest and will be televised on the SEC Network.

After an empty day on Thursday, action picks up again on Friday. Auburn will be facing Georgia in a ranked-vs.-ranked matchup and then Florida will face Arkansas in similar fashion. LSU takes on Mississippi State, Kentucky battles Ole Miss and Alabama faces Mizzou. Tennessee, meanwhile, is in nonconference action against NC State. Texas A&M will be in action on Saturday as they will battle with South Carolina.