2017 Women’s College World Series Preview
Fasptich News is headed to Oklahoma City and we are fully prepared to you up-to-date coverage throughout the Women’s College World Series. Is there a better way to start than giving you a preview of the eight remaining teams? We didn’t think so either. So here we go.
Florida Gators
The Florida Gators have been one of the favorites all year to win the whole thing but last weekend against Alabama showed us their weakness, bunt defense. Yes, they have the best pitching staff in the country and Kelly Barnhill was named USA Softball’s Player of the Year and NFCA’s Player of the Year. But they will be challenged to make plays that aren’t underhand. The Gator offense will also have to score enough runs to give their pitchers’ a cushion. If they can score at least three runs, they will win the game.
Players to watch: Kelly Barnhill, Amanda Lorenz and Aleshia Ocasio
Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M is the current Cinderella and it’s because the country has fallen in love Trinity Harrington and her mother, Kim. Just before their Regional weekend, Harrington’s father, Eric, passed away after a long battle with cancer. She returned for Super Regionals, dug down deep, and lead the Aggies to back-to-back wins in Game 2 and 3. This year marks the first time the Aggies have played in the WCWS since 2008.
Players to watch: Trinity Harrington, Tori Vidales and Riley Sartain
UCLA Bruins
People say that tradition never dies. The Bruins are making their 27th appearance in Oklahoma City, the most of all-time. Last season, they went 0-2 for the first time ever but history is leaning toward their side this year. The last time UCLA was the No. 5 seed was in 2010 and they won it all. UCLA is one of two teams in the field to go undefeated in postseason play and has won 18 of its last 19 games. Rachel Garcia was named the NFCA’s Freshman of the Year and is an emerging star from both the circle and the plate.
Players to watch: Rachel Garcia, Madeline Jelenicki and Delaney Spaulding
LSU Tigers
LSU earned its third straight trip to the WCWS with a Super Regional series win over Florida State. Over the past three seasons, LSU has won 15 elimination games. Despite losing the SEC Tournament Championship to Ole Miss, the Tigers have come on strong as of late. A healthy pitching staff and timely hitting throughout the lineup has helped throughout the postseason. Carley Hoover wants to the ball and is batting a knee injury while doing it. Overall, this LSU is dangerous right now.
Players to watch: Carley Hoover, Bailey Landry, Sahvanna Jaquish
Oregon Ducks
The Oregon softball team enters the Women’s College World Series on a 15-game win streak and are ranked fifth nationally in both ERA and runs per game. The offense is led by a pair of talented seniors in Nikki Udria (.396 average, 10 home runs) and Danica Mercado (.382, 25 steals). Sophomore Alexis Mack (.417, 27 steals) is also a huge part of the equation for a lineup that has posted 6.64 runs per game, including 7.2 in the tournament. Sophomore pitcher Megan Kleist is the ace of the staff and enters the week with a 19-3 record and a 1.21 ERA. Freshmen pitcher’s Miranda Elish and Maggie Balint have stepped up in their roles behind Kleist to round out the young rotation.
Players to watch: Nikki Udria, Danica Mercado, Megan Kleist
Washington Huskies
Washington enters the WCWS after defeating Utah in a thrilling three-game series at the Seattle Super Regional. The Huskies finished out the regular season tied for third with UCLA. It’s no question this UW softball squad has talent. Four Huskies were named to the Pac-12 All-Conference team and six were named to the NFCA All-Region teams. Offensively, Washington hovers around the top 10 in batting average, home runs and scoring, among other stats. Taran Alvelo is expected to get the ball in the circle. Alvelo has started all six of the Huskies Postseason games and has looked dominant at times but also shaky at others. If the Huskies are able to join forces with the offense and a solid pitching performance, they will be tough to beat.
Players to watch: Ali Aguilar, Casey Stangel, Taran Alvelo
Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners are no strangers to the spotlight of ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The defending champions have made it to the Women’s College World Series in six of the last seven years. Oklahoma has shown perseverance and has had their backs against the wall multiple times throughout the 2017 season. The Sooners fell in the Regional opener but battled back to win four straight games to earn their bid to Auburn for the Super Regional. The Sooners topped Auburn in two games to punch their ticket back to the WCWS. Junior pitcher Paige Parker enters the week with a 23-5 overall record, a 1.29 ERA and 243 strikeouts. Parker shined last year at the WCWS where she threw complete-game victories in each of the Sooner’s Championship series wins. Paige Lowary has also fulfilled her role in the circle all season when called on and has become a reliable No. 2. The Sooner pitching staff has a combined 1.52 ERA in 2017, a big improvement from their combined 2.26 ERA in 2016.
Players to watch: Nicole Mendez, Nicole Pendley, and Shay Knighten
Baylor Bears
Baylor brings an impressive 2017 stat line of pitching and offense to the Women’s College World Series. The Bears knocked off Arizona in the Super Regional round, winning back to back games after dropping the opener. Baylor has the 11th-highest batting average and the 15th-lowest ERA nationally. The Bears pitching staff is led by Kelsee Selman and Gia Rodoni who have both been solid in the circle during the team’s postseason play. The two pitchers have allowed only 14 runs in their six postseason games and nine of those runs came in the two wins against Arizona. Rodoni also threw two no-hitters in the Regional round and has a 0.37 ERA in postseason play. If we had to pick who gets the ball game one for Baylor, our guess is Selman.
Players to watch: Shelby Friudenberg, Lindsey Cargill, Kelsee Selman
