College Softball News

10 Things to watch for this weekend in College Softball

Florida Softball by Tim Casey
Photo courtesy of Florida Athletics (Tim Casey)

Florida at Tennessee

This could’ve been our choice for Series of the Week but Tennessee was featured last weekend against LSU. The Vols are third in the SEC while the Gators sit atop the conference standings. The Vols rank among the top-25 in the nation in six different offensive categories and are top-10 in three of them. Tennessee also ranked in the top-5 in the SEC in 11 offensive categories. The Gators lead the country with a 0.70 team ERA and 449 strikeouts. Kelly Barnhill is 20-0, has a 0.17 ERA and averages 13.1 strikeouts per game. Game 1 is set for Friday night at 6 p.m. ET.

Civil War

To say the Oregon Ducks have been struggling would be an understatement. They are 3-7 in their last 10 games and have dropped three straight series as they prepare to host in-state rival Oregon State. They have been outscored 32-29 in those games and have slipped to third in the Pac-12. Oregon State is coming off two series wins against UCLA and Stanford. There is a lot at stake in this series. The Beavers are playing for a postseason berth while the Ducks want to secure home field for the postseason. Game 1 is set for Friday night at 6 p.m. PT.

North Carolina at FSU

Florida State is unbeaten in its last 40 conferences series (36-0-4), including 30 sweeps. The Seminoles are 104-10 in their last 114 ACC regular season games and haven’t lost a conference series since 2012. FSU leads the all-time series against UNC 67-24 and has won the last 11 games against the Tar Heels. UNC’s Kendra Lynch is having a productive year. She is ranked fourth in the nation with 61 RBI and third with 20 homers. She will be tested against the duo of Jessica Burroughs and Meghan King.

Territorial Cup

Not only is it Arizona State and Arizona in Tucson but it is senior weekend for the Wildcats. They will celebrate eight seniors on Sunday. Four of them were picked in the NPF Draft on Monday. Katiyana Mauga is two home runs shy of tying Stacey Nuveman’s career Pac-12 record (90) and seven shy of Lauren Chamberlain’s NCAA record.

Auburn

The Auburn Tigers host Mississippi State and unfortunately, all eyes will be on the three players who were arrested. On Thursday, Coach Clint Myers made it clear that Haley Fagan, Makayla Martin and Brittany Maresette will all be dressed and in the dugout for the three-game series. He didn’t say if they would play or not but they will be in uniform.

Minnesota

The Gophers are on a 16-game win streak and are a perfect 13-0 at home. Freshman Kendyl Lindaman 16th homer on Wednesday broke the program’s single-season home run record. She has also walked 42 times which is second most in program history. Senior Sara Groenewegen is 23-2 with a 0.54 ERA and 215 strikeouts. She has 1,122 career strikeouts, only 62 shy of FPN’s Sara Moulton’s program record. Minnesota hosts Purdue this weekend in a three-game series.

South Carolina and UGA

The Gamecocks travel to Athens this weekend in a dogfight for the last spot in the SEC tournament. Georgia is 3-15 in the SEC and South Carolina is 4-13. The conference only takes 12 of 13 teams for the tournament. The first game is set for Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Saturday will honor the seniors and is also Strike Out Cancer Day.

Marshall at MTSU

The Conference USA series bring two of the top individual batting averages together. Marshall’s Morgan Zerkle is second in Division I with a .476 average while MTSU’s Precious Birdsong is seventh with a .458. Marshall leads the nation in stolen bases with 3.31 per game and Elicia D’Orazio averages 1.12 per game. The Thundering Herd’s Jordan Dixon is second in victories this season with 26.

DJ Sanders

The junior from Louisiana is swinging the hottest bat in softball. In 42 games, Sanders has a Division-I leading 70 RBI, 1.67 RBI per game, 1.45 runs per game, 140 total bases, 27 home runs and 1.157 slugging percentage. The 27 long balls are third-most in a single season. The Ragin’ Cajuns host Coastal Carolina in a three-game Sun Belt series on Saturday and Sunday.

Lindsay Crowdus

The senior from Memphis is ranked first in batting average with .487 and ranked second in hits with 77. Of the 46 games she has played in this season, she has only nine games when she didn’t record a hit and she has 22 multi-hit games. She is also slugging .596 with three doubles and eight triples.

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