SEC Softball Roundup: February 23

Let’s go down the rungs here shall we?

We have three remaining unbeaten teams. Alabama, Florida and Kentucky are 8-0, 8-0 and 9-0 respectively. They occupy three of the top four spots in the conference in batting average and hits; the Top 3 in doubles; two of the Top 3 in triples; and Kentucky has a vicegrip at the top of the home run board with 23. They’re also all in the Top 5 in OBP, as well, so they’ve all been getting it done with the bat.

‘Bama’s Elissa Brown currently has a .632 average, leading all SEC players. Trailing her are Kayla Kowalik and Lauren Johnson of UK and Brown’s teammate, the great Kaylee Tow. Brown is 3rd in the SEC in OBP at .667, and also has 10 runs scored. Kowalik is on an absolute tear, meanwhile. She’s posted a .613 average with an OBP of .658 and a SLG of 1.290., has 40 total bases, three triples, 19 hits, 16 RBI and 18 runs scored. All four of those marks are tops in the SEC, by the by.

We, at this point, have four teams with one loss to their name. Those teams are Auburn, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Tennessee. The Vols have the most wins of any of the four, with seven tallies in the win column thus far. State and Auburn each have five, while South Carolina has just two. Tennessee has been strong in the circle, with the fourth-best ERA in the conference (1.48). They’ve been led on offense by the efforts of Ivy Davis, who’s posted an OPS of 1.844 through the early goings of the season. Kiki Milloy and Caillin Hannon have both mashed four taters this year, accounting for eight of their 17 home runs as a team. Veteran Gamecock Mackenzie Boesel is in the Top 10 in batting average and slugging percentage and is second in OBP (.692).

Arkansas, Georgia, Mizzou and Texas A&M all stand with two losses at this juncture. Mizzou has the most wins of the two-loss club with six, followed by Arkansas and Georgia who each have five. A&M, meanwhile, has just three through this point of the season. Mary Wilson-Avant has been making batters look foolish, posting a league-best 48 strikeouts in 28 innings (most in the SEC). Arkansas’ Hannah McEwen has set the pace for OBP, sitting pretty with a mark of .719. Sydney Chambley, meanwhile, has a robust 1.438 SLG, which puts the Bulldog freshman up at the top of the SLG leaderboard. Brooke Wilmes of Mizzou leads the conference with five doubles, tied with Arkansas’ Danielle Gibson along with Florida’s Hannah Adams and Kentucky’s Mallory Peyton.

LSU has three losses this year, the second-most of any team in the conference at the moment. The Tigers are 6-3 though, so they are treading above water anyway. They possess the great Amanda Doyle, who’s gotten out to an early lead on the home run leaderboard. Doyle has five dingers thus far, as she’s shown off a tremendous amount of pop in her bat.

Finally, we have Ole Miss, who is 4-5 on the year. With that said, Jessica Puk has been a highlight, as Puk has hit four home runs this season. Blaise Biringer has recorded a triple, and is tied with Elissa Brown and Danielle Gibson for ninth on the hit leaderboard with 12.