Each week FPN will focus on a game or series of the week. It was not a hard choice to kick things off when we have a rematch of last year’s WCWS.
Oklahoma and Auburn will square off at the PV College Challenge. The rematch will be a live broadcast on ESPNU at 2 p.m. EST while the other two games will air online via ESPN3 at 11 a.m. EST and 8 p.m. EST.
At the Plate
It is hard to separate which team holds the edge at the plate. Oklahoma is a contact hitting team and was second in the country last season in batting average (.351). Auburn checked in at 29 but led the nation in scoring (7.94). The Sooners only lose two everyday starters from their batting order and return a very talented young group led by Shay Knighten (.397) who led the Sooners in average a year ago. She also led the Sooners in home runs with 13. One player who at times get overlooked with all the star power on this team is junior Kelsey Arnold. Last season Arnold batted .382 last season and has good speed with a team-leading 15 stolen bases. Not to be left out is Sydney Romero who hit .346 with 10 home runs last year. Romero really started to come on late last season and played a key role in the success of the Sooners at the end of the season.
If there is one thing we know about the Auburn Tigers it is that they will bring their bats. This team can hit and score in bunches. The question coming into the season is how the replace Emily Carosone (.399) with 13 home runs, Tiffany Howard (.389) and Jade Rose (.338) and 20 home runs. The three of them accounted for nearly half of the home runs hit by the Tigers and over a third of their RBI. The good news is they return arguably the best hitter in college softball right now in Kasey Cooper. Last season Cooper batted .422 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI. Junior catcher Carlee Wallace is back with some solid power numbers hitting five home runs and knocking in 42 RBI. So who steps up this year and has a breakout season? We will have to wait and see, but one thing is for certain there is not lack of talent in the Tiger dugout.
In the Circle
Pitching played a big role in the Sooners run a year ago. Paige Parker was outstanding in the WCWS and will look to continue that into the 2017 season. She has help as the Sooners added Missouri transfer, Paige Lowary. Lowary is coming off a 25-8 season for Missouri where she posted a 3.25 ERA. The two combined could prove to be a great one. two punch. Parker faced Auburn twice in the WCWS winning both games giving up just three runs over 14 innings.
Auburn returns a pair of solid pitchers in junior Kaylee Carlson (19-2) and sophomore Makayla Martin (15-4). Martin threw eight strong innings against the Sooners at the WCWS giving up just two runs. Carlson only faced Oklahoma for one inning. If the Auburn staff builds off of the last year they will be a strong staff to go along with the offensive fire power
FPN Analysis and Prediction
On paper, the edge goes to the Sooners. Mostly based on what they have coming back. Auburn has to replace some pretty big hitters this season. With that said we know that the coaching staff has a long track record of making players better hitters so that question mark is somewhat negated. As is the case with most softball games this one will most likely come down to pitching and timely hits. That also means that the defense will play a big role in the outcome. Last season both teams showed solid defense in the WCWS and that should be the case here. Look for a low scoring game that may come down to the last at-bat.
Pick: Oklahoma
