No. 8 Florida State Seminoles
No. 16 Georgia Bulldogs
Team Facts
- Record: 53-8
- Last 10: 10-0
- Conference: ACC
- RPI Ranking: No. 6
- NCAA Seed: No. 8
Team Facts
- Record: 45-18
- Last 10: 6-4
- Conference: SEC
- RPI Ranking: No. 19
- NCAA Seed: No. 16
Game Preview
Georgia pulled off the biggest upset of the super regional when they knocked off No. 1 Florida in two games. We will be the first to admit that we had that one wrong. One would would think that to pull off an upset like that a team would have to put up some crazy numbers. Well, that was not the case, the Bulldogs did it with good pitching, solid defense and timely hitting. The only hitter to even stand out from an average stand point was Maeve McGuire who went 4-6 with two RBI and a run. She was 3-3 in game one and a major reason Georgia won that game. In two games the Bulldogs managed 12 hits total. In game two it could not have been more dramatic. In the bottom of the seventh Georgia brought in Kaylee Puailoa to pinch hit trailing 2-1 with two outs and a runner on. Down to her last strike on a 0-2 count Puailoa sent a ball over the center field fence to secure the win. Now that is what we would call timely hitting. Georgia also got two strong performances from Chelsea Wilkinson in the circle. Wilkinson was effective in both games allowing just eight hits and two runs over 14 innings.
The Bulldogs will now face another foe from the State of Florida in Florida State. Despite the upset win, Georgia needs to get their bats going. The Emanual sisters Sydni and Cortni, who also hit first and second in the Georgia order, were just 1-14 in the super regional. Power hitter Tina Iosefa was 0-5. Matter of fact the first four hitters for the Bulldogs were just 3-26 against Florida. These kind of numbers most likely will not get it done against the Seminoles. During the season Georgia carried a .348/.426/.527 slash line with 64 home runs on the season. So we know they can hit. On the other hand Georgia has momentum and are winning games right now and they have got the hits when they needed them.
Florida States comes into the WCWS having swept both the regional and super regional and may be one of the more overlooked teams heading into the tournament. The Seminoles have been getting it done with a balanced attack at the plate and strong pitching. In the super regional against Utah Cali Harrod and Jessica Warren both stood out at the plate. Harrod hit .400 with a home run and four RBI. Warren was 2-4 with three runs and two RBI. On the season the Seminoles carry a similar line .327/.433/.508 as Georgia did. Two batters that can provide power from the plate are Warren and Alex Powers who have 18 and 14 home runs respectively. Coach Alameda has the luxury of two pitchers that she can throw with confidence in Jessica Burroughs (27-5) and Meghan King (25-3), both of which earned wins in the super regional. Burroughs threw just 6.2 innings giving up two earned runs with seven strikeouts. King not only got a win, she also picked up a save throwing 7.1 innings with no earned runs and four strikeouts. Burroughs would be more of your strike out pitcher amassing 227 on the season compared to Kings 121. They are an effective one-two punch.
Georgia comes in on a high and the Seminoles have won 10 straight. On paper they are evenly matched offensively. By all accounts this should be a close one. Expect to see a pitchers dual between the two. Burroughs had a no hitter in the regional and Wilkinson has looked sharp. Georgia will need to get more production from the top of their order so they can capitalize on the speed they have. If the top struggles again here they may have trouble. Florida State is a solid team that, as we already stated, may be overlooked. They seem to have all the pieces in place and could make a nice run. We are going with Florida State in a low scoring affair.
No. 4 Auburn Tigers
No. 12 UCLA Bruins
Team Facts
- Record: 54-10
- Last 10: 9-1
- Conference: SEC
- RPI Ranking: No. 5
- NCAA Seed: No. 4
Team Facts
- Record: 40-14-1
- Last 10: 9-1
- Conference: Pac-12
- RPI Ranking: No. 15
- NCAA Seed: No. 12
Game Preview
Both Auburn and UCLA had to come back from first game losses at the super regional. Auburn dropped game one against Arizona and UCLA lost their first game with Oregon. Both did it behind strong pitching and some clutch hitting.
Auburn looked to be in trouble after game one where Arizona used small ball to manufacture runs. The Tigers bats were also rather silent in game one only managing two hits. They bounced back though and manufactured enough runs to take the series. The first five hitters for Auburn combined went 7-42 (.166). As a team the Tigers hit just .178 in the series which is somewhat crazy considering they won two-of-three and it looked like their offense came awake in the last two games. So what does this mean? It tells us that the Tigers got timely hitting when they needed it the most. That is something that can bode well for a team heading into the WCWS. On the season they hit .323. If they can get back into that grove they will be a handful. One thing Auburn did get was good pitching. It should be noted that the Tiger staff are not what we would call strikeout pitchers only recording four in three games. Kaylee Carlson went 1-1 and Makayla Martin picked up the other win. Although they were not racking up the K’s they were moving the ball well and kept the Arizona batters off balance.
UCLA is riding high after taking out the fifth seed Oregon in three games. UCLA got hammered 8-1 in the opener but came back to win two close ones to advance. They won back-to-back 2-1 games, one going nine innings. On the weekend Mysha Sataraka hit .500 for the Bruins. She was the biggest bright spot in their order. Pitcher Paige McDuffee had two very different games. She got roughed up in game one only lasting one inning giving up five runs. In game three she bounded back going 6.2 giving up just a single run. Selina Ta’amilo was effective giving up just three earned runs over 13 innings. UCLA has a solid top half of the order lead by Allexis Bennett who hit .412 on the season with a .500 OBP.
Although Auburn is known for their hitting and offense, this game will most likely come down to pitching. Can the UCLA pitchers throw like they did in the last two games of the Oregon series, or do they revert back to game one with Oregon? Auburn pitching was good and has been for the last month or so. Can they keep that up and can their defense back them up? Those are the biggest questions heading into the game. If Auburn’s bats wake up UCLA may have their hands full. The Tigers are capable of opening a game up in a hurry and we would be hard pressed to think that they will struggle at the plate again. Look for Auburn to advance.
No. 3 Olahoma Sooners
No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide
Team Facts
- Record: 52-7
- Last 10:10-0
- Conference: Big 12
- RPI Ranking: No. 3
- NCAA Seed: No. 3
Team Facts
- Record: 51-12
- Last 10: 8-2
- Conference: SEC
- RPI Ranking: No. 4
- NCAA Seed: No. 6
Game Preview
This may be the toughest game of the first round. Both Oklahoma and Alabama looked strong in their super regional going 2-0. Even though they meet in the first round, we would not be shocked to see these two fighting it out in the championship game also. Two well coached and well rounded teams backed by blue chip pitchers make this a good one.
Oklahoma is not the power hitting team of years past, they are a contact team with good speed that runs the bases aggressively. They cruised in game one of the super regional and hung on to win game two. On the weekend Sydney Romero went 4-for-8 with four runs and two RBI. Fellow Sooner Lea Wodach hit .571 with three RBI of her own. Several others also had good weekends at the plate. Paige Parker (33-3) threw all 14 innings giving up eight earned runs with nine strikeouts. She had some struggles in the second game, but considering she faced one of the best hitting teams in the country, overall she did well. This team is simply fun to watch. They attack on offense and play good defense, behind good pitching.
Alabama is very similar in make-up to Oklahoma. One issue that still continued for the Tide is the fact that the middle of their order still seems to be trying to find their way. They did get good production towards the bottom from Demi Turner and Andrea Hawkins. Turner and Hawkins both went 3-5 on the weekend. Haylie McCleney was some what quite, but that is outside the norm for her. McCleney carried a great slash line this season .441/.600/.717. She is the leader of this team and we have to think she will be highly motivated in her final WCWS. One of the biggest reason the Tide seems to be hitting on all strides is that Alexis Osorio (19-6) seems to have rounded back into her 2015 form. She had her struggles the first half of the season, but looked strong the past three weeks. Last weekend she picked up both wins throwing 12.2 innings giving up zero earned runs and racking up 21 strikeouts.
Runs may be at a premium between these two as the two sophomore pitchers do battle. We do not see this one being high scoring and there may be a good chance that seven innings is not enough to decide a winner. Clutch hitting and limited errors will most likely be the difference. This is a real toss-up but we are leaning slightly towards Oklahoma.
No. 2 Michigan Wolverines
No. 10 LSU Tigers
Team Facts
- Record: 51-5
- Last 10: 9-1
- Conference: Big 10
- RPI Ranking: No. 2
- NCAA Seed: No. 2
Team Facts
- Record: 50-16
- Last 10: 8-2
- Conference: SEC
- RPI Ranking: No. 11
- NCAA Seed: No. 10
Game Preview
LSU continues to find ways to win and they have a deep pitching staff. Michigan is the best hitting team in the country. Now that makes for a solid match-up. Which one will trump the other is the biggest question. Also LSU has hitters and Michigan has some good pitching of their own.
Michigan enters the WCWS as the nations top hitting team based on average (.354). They have three players batting over .400 in Sierra Romero (.465), Sierra Lawrence (.440) and Tera Blanco (.406). They also have five players who have hit 10 or more home runs on the season and they average 8.5 runs per game. They won 5-3 and 5-4 over Missouri last week in the super regional. There really is no easy out when facing them. They are also aggressive on the bases which puts pressure on the opposing defenses. One area of concern may be the health of their Ace Megan Betsa who appeared to be suffering from some kind injury or soreness in the second game of the super regional. She was pulled from the game, but later returned to close things out. She has been great this season for the Wolverines and if healthy she will keep LSU on their toes.
LSU dropped their first game to James Madison but stormed back to win two in a row to advance. The Tigers got a lot of timely hits and played decent defense. Defense has been their weakness all season long, so the the fact they did well this past weekend bodes well for the Tigers. They have great options in the circle and can throw any of their three blue chips in Carley Hoover (20-8), Allie Walljasper (11-5), or Sydney Smith (13-3). Hoover seemed to struggle some against James Madison while Walljasper looked sharp. It will be interesting to see who gets the not against the high powered Michigan offense. They have hitters to worry about as well. Specifically Bianka Bell (.386), Sandra Simmons (.375) and Sahvanna Jaquish (.353). Both Bell and Jaquish have 12 home runs on the season as well.
This should be a great hitter versus great pitchers game. The biggest concern for Michigan will be the overall health of Betsa. The biggest concern for the Tigers will be their defense. Michigan will put the ball in play and they will hit it hard. This has the makings of a fun and wild game. We would be surprised if this was a low scoring one. If Betsa is healthy we are going with Michigan to advance.
