The Weekend That Was

1. Virginia Tech – Your 2019 ACC Champions
For the first time since 2014, Florida State will not take home the ACC regular season title. In an incredible year under first year head coach, Pete D’Amour, the Hokies claimed their first ACC title since 2008.

Virginia Tech holds a conference record of 20-4 (43-8 overall) and has their ACC bye week next weekend. Last season, the Hokies went 7-16 in conference play with a 23-30 overall record.

FSU and Virginia Tech did not face off during the regular season which leaves us hungry for a potential championship matchup during the ACC Tournament.

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2. Then No. 20 Kentucky at then No. 3 Alabama
The Wildcats shook things up in the SEC when they took two of three from Alabama in Tuscaloosa this past weekend; moving them squarely into fourth place in the standings and setting up Alabama for a huge show down next weekend with LSU for the regular season title.

Kentucky looked strong this weekend, beating Alabama ace and National Player/Freshman of the Year finalist Montana Fouts, twice. While errors haunted the Tide while Katie Reed, Abbey Cheek, Alex Martens, Kayla Kowalik, and Jenny Schaper powered the Kentucky offense. Sunday’s rubber match came down to an intense 13 inning affair in which the Wildcats prevailed, 3-2.

3. Civil War Won
Oregon State traveled to Oregon for the annual Civil War showdown. After the Beavers claimed game one 8-0 in five innings, Oregon came back strong but fell short in the remaining contests, 8-6 and 12-8. Despite the outcomes it was a pretty fun, back-and-fourth series to watch.

For Oregon State, this marks the first Civil War victory since 2012, first sweep of Oregon since 2006, and first in head coach, Laura Berg’s career.

For Oregon, a NCAA tournament bubble team, the push is on to reach that .500 mark to qualify for postseason play. With two weeks remaining in their Pac-12 schedule, the Ducks travel to Salt Lake City to take on Utah before returning home to host Arizona State. Right now, Oregon holds a 21-25 record meaning they must win five of their next six contests. It will be a tall task but not impossible; if there’s one thing we’ve seen from Oregon all year it is that they fight, scrap, crawl and have figured out ways to win games time and time again.

4. Winona State (MN)
As the guys over on their new episode of the “In the Circle” podcast touched on, the Winona State Warriors completed a perfect 30-0 season in NSIC play, claiming back-to-back conference titles. They are currently ranked seventh by the NFCA Coaches Poll.

5. Lousiana Tech versus WKU
Following a tornado that devastated the facilities of La Tech’s program, the Ladytechsters faced off against WKU at ULM’s field in a pivotal series in the C-USA. Despite the challenges and obvious distractions, La Tech was able to sweep the series and now sit in a two-way tie for first place with North Texas with one week remaining in conference play.

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6. Mizzou at Mississippi State
In a bit of a surprising weekend, Mississippi State hosted and later swept the Missouri Tigers also shaking things up in the SEC standings.

Mississippi State, a team fighting for qualification into the SEC Tournament, stepped up in a big way defeating the Tigers 8-3, 6-3, 10-2 (five innings). With the weekend’s sweep, the Bulldogs put themselves three games ahead of last place Texas A&M. While Mizzou fell from fourth in the standings to tied for seventh.

7. Then No. 15 Texas Tech at Then No. 16 Oklahoma State
Fireworks flew and the intensity was high as the Cowgirls hosted the Red Raiders in an important Big 12 series. Oklahoma State was able to just edge out Texas Tech in all three contests 3-2, 8-7, and 6-5.

The back-and-fourth affair was highlighted by a game three walk-off, big plays, impressive pitching, and of course – another “bat flip heard ’round the world”.

For Oklahoma State the sweep sets up the “Bedlam” series with No. 2 Oklahoma. The Sooners are 15-0 in conference play while the Cowgirls hold a 13-2 record, meaning there are title implications on the line this coming weekend.

For Texas Tech, despite the heartbreaking weekend, they looked strong and played well. They outhit Oklahoma State in two of the three contests and played error-free defense the whole weekend. If they can execute more consistently at the plate, they are going to be fine. Not to mention these tough games are great for preparing them for the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.

Also for Texas Tech, Jessica Hartwell broke both the single-season and career homerun record for Texas Tech.

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8. Couple of Perfect Games and Other Notables
Giselle Juarez of Oklahoma and Kaysee Talcik of UMass Lowell both threw perfect games this past weekend. For Talcik, it was history as she is the first pitcher to throw a perfect game in program history.

Then No. 11 Texas recorded their 15th run-rule victory of the season. This marks a new record for the program, surpassing the previous record of 14 set in 2011 and 2014.

Cal softball handed then No. 4 Arizona their first loss of Pac-12 play and ended their 21 game winning streak after a grueling nine inning affair. See video below!

At FSU – a very cool moment as the Noles seniors walk off together during their final regular season game on their home turf.

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9. Last but most certainly not least
The guys at In the Circle said it the best so: