College Softball Update
about the author
Nate Jacobson is a NextGen Journal Sports Correspondent. He is a freshmen at the University of Missouri, majoring in journalism.
With just three weeks left in the college softball regular season, now is the time for teams to make a major push ahead to the NCAA regionals and beyond. As the season winds down teams hope to gain some momentum as they eye a spot at the College World Series in Oklahoma City. This season has been one to remember from teams in the Big 12, Pac 10 and SEC. Here are the best from each of those conferences with rankings from ESPN’s Top 25.
Big 12: Texas has the combination of a powerful offense and star pitchers to catapult them to a 41-4 record and a No. 3 ranking. The Longhorns have the second best batting average in the conference at .351 and lead the conference with 61 home runs. As impressive as the offense has been, it is the Longhorns’ pitching that has made them so dangerous. Anchored by sophomore Blaire Luna and freshman Rachel Fox, the Longhorns have a team ERA of 1.18, which is the best in the country. Right behind Texas in the Big 12 standings is Missouri. The Tigers have an average offense, but posses the best pitcher in the conference in Chelsea Thomas. The sophomore has a 21-4 pitching record, 0.77 ERA and 260 strikeouts over 163 innings pitched. Thomas gives the 36-6 Tigers a great chance to return to the College World Series. Meanwhile, Oklahoma stands in third with a 34-14 record that is misleading because of the challenging schedule they play. The battle-tested Sooners have a great slugger in sophomore catcher Jessica Shults, who has hit 19 home-runs this campaign.
Pac 10: Currently the No. 1 team in the country is Arizona State. The 42-5 Sun Devils feature the best offense and pitching in the conference with a .359 team batting average and a 1.74 team ERA. Junior Katelyn Boyd is having a particularly impressive season with 56 runs scored, 44 RBIs and 12 homeruns. UCLA is ranked 11th and have a 31-10 record. Expectations are high in Los Angeles as the Bruins own the title of College World Series defending champions. California, Arizona and Washington round out the top 12.
SEC: The highest ranked team from the Southeastern Conference is fourth-ranked Georgia. The Bulldogs are 40-7 overall. Right behind them at No. 5 is Tennessee. The Volunteers have the best team batting average in the conference at .357. The duo of Raven Chavanne and Lauren Gibson top the SEC individual batting average leaders. Alabama have found success through strong pitching, as evidenced by a 1.46 ERA. The Crimson Tide are 42-7 and ranked No. 6 in the country. Close behind are the Florida Gators who posses a 30-7 record and No. 7 national ranking. The catalyst of the Gators offense is senior Megan Bush, who has hit 20 home-runs.
Other major conferences: Three teams have a significant gap between the other teams in their respective conferences. The Big Ten have the No. 2 team in the country in Michigan. The 42-4 Wolverines have a team ERA of 1.80. In ACC, Georgia Tech is ranked 20th and have a 39-8 record. Meanwhile in the Big East, Notre Dame is 33-8 and ranked 22nd in the polls.
This year’s eight team College World Series starts on June 2. Expect plenty of teams from the Big 12, Pac 10 and SEC, as 18 of the top 19 squads come from those three conferences.
