The Rundown for SEC Softball: April 17

Let’s first recap the action from Tuesday before we get into the dealings of Wednesday.

All four teams from the SEC who took the field were victorious. The three ranked squads who did — Arkansas, Ole Miss and Tennessee — all had no trouble at all gaining their victories. The Volunteers blew out ETSU 11-0, the Hogs decked Arkansas-Pine Bluff 10-0 and the Rebels routed UT Martin 13-0.

Star performers from those victories included:

• Tennessee’s Haley Bearden, who homered twice, and Ashley Rogers, who struck out eight over three innings
• Arkansas’s Hannah McEwen and Haydi Bugarin, who each homered. Bugarin also doubled and drove in three
• Ole Miss’ Autumn Gillespie, who tripled and drove three in

It was not so easy for Mississippi State, however. The Bulldogs edged UAB 5-4 in a game where they had to hold the Blazers off after going up 5-0 after two innings of work. Luckily for their sake, they were able to do that and avoid what would’ve been a rough loss. Per the usual, Mia Davidson and Fa Leilua stood out, as the dynamic duo each clubbed homers. Davidson hit her 22nd of the season and Leilua, meanwhile, smacked her 20th.

Let’s shift the scene to tonight now, shall we?

There will be five games going down, all of which involve some in-state action. The three matchups, of course, that will probably gain the most attention feature Florida, Georgia and Kentucky. 9th-ranked UF is playing 4th-ranked FSU in Tallahassee, UGA is hosting Georgia Tech and 23rd-ranked UK will travel to play Louisville.

The most premier of the three of course is Florida-FSU, as it’s a Top 10 showdown that should no doubt bring the goods. Keep your eye on FSU’s Sydney Sherrill, the ACC’s 4th-leading hitter at .426.

Breanna Roper of Georgia Tech ain’t too shabby either, as she’s hitting .410 on the season, and leads the ACC with 17 doubles. It will be up to the Dawgs to try and keep her and Tricia Awald, 4th in the conference in two-baggers, stymied and not allow them to hit for extra bases.

Meanwhile, we’ll have to see if Taylor Roby gets any sort of burn. The redshirt freshman has been absolutely outstanding for Louisville this season, posting an ERA of 1.56 with 46 strikeouts in 71.2 innings pitched.

Auburn and South Carolina, meanwhile, will have it a bit easier, as they face off with Alabama State and USC Upstate this evening. The 14th-ranked Tigers and 21st-ranked Gamecocks will just hope to make it through midweek play unscathed as weekend play looms.