College Softball News

Super Regional Preview: Oklahoma at Auburn

Photo by: Auburn and OU Athletics

Last year’s WCWS Championship Series was one for the history books. Auburn and Oklahoma needed every pitch of the three-game series to determine a winner and this year, one of them will not return to Oklahoma City.

The defending national champion Oklahoma will travel east this weekend for a Super Regional matchup with the Auburn Tigers. Game one is set for 3 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

At the Plate

Auburn’s bat were on fire last weekend. The Tigers average 13.3 hits per game and combined for 40 in three games. Haley Fagan’s postseason slash line of .529/.579/.706 leads the way and she is hitting .750 with runners in scoring position and .571 with runners on base. The Tigers had the second-highest team batting average in a Regional as they hit .426.

Oklahoma freshman Nicole Mendes is riding a 20-game hit streak and 34-game on-base streak. She entered the lineup on March 10 and hasn’t left. Since then, she leads the team in average (.453), runs (47), hits (67), triples (3), total bases (95) and stolen bases (21). She has also hit safely in 38 of the 42 games she has started.

In the Circle

Kaylee Carlson and Makayla Martin have produced solid lines over the past ten games. Carlson is 4-0 with a 1.21 earned run average, 16 strikeouts, and one shutout. Martin is 4-1 with a 1.25 ERA, 13 strikeouts, and two shutouts.

Last year’s WCWS Most Valuable Player Paige Parker looked like the pitcher she was last season in OU’s Regional finals against Tulsa. The addition of Paige Lowary to the stuff has given the Sooners a flame throwing option out of the bullpen and deadly trio when freshman Mariah Lopez is throwing well. The staff enters this weekend with a team ERA of 1.55 and 7.53 strikeouts per seven innings. Opponents are only hitting .176 against the three. The additions have allowed Parker to have the best season of her career.

Prediction & Analysis

We know the Auburn bats came alive last weekend but the Oklahoma pitching has just proven to be dominant. Parker is a two-time All-American and is having the best year yet which includes a 1.48 ERA on the road. Since leaving Missouri, Lowary has improved her ERA from 3.32 to 1.67. We think Oklahoma will win the series this weekend.

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