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Doesn’t college softball always deliver? Looking for great defense? Big home runs? Clutch hits? Stellar pitching?
No matter your preference, college softball seems to always have something for every kind of fan. There were a lot of great performances on every side of the ball this week; let’s look at some of them.
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Florida Gators
The Gators recorded a series sweep over a ranked, conference opponent. In any normal year, that would just be a par-for-the-course weekend and nothing to write home about. For the 2019 Gators, though, it was not only the first series sweep of the year, it was the first series win of the season. The losers of three straight series to kick off conference play, Florida brought the Razorbacks to town and ended the weekend with three W’s. The wins got the Gators back to the .500 mark in conference play and saw impressive performances in the circle from Kelly Barnhill and Elizabeth Hightower.
BYU Cougars
After a slow start and a game one loss to Loyola Marymount in the teams’ three-game conference series, the Cougars rebounded to take the series win by sweeping through the latter two games and gaining the upper hand in the conference standings over the upstart Lions. After suffering a shutout loss in the series opener, the Cougars offense found itself, first emerging victorious with a 4-2 final score before taking the series win with a 5-1 result in the weekend finale.
Nicholls State Colonels
Hosting the in-state rival Northwestern State Lady Demons, the Colonels recorded a trio of dominant victories en route to assuming the top spot in the conference standings. Now boasting a 9-3 league record, the Colonels opened the weekend with a shutout, run-rule win before posting nearly identical results in Saturday’s series-ending doubleheader (5-1 and 6-1). The Colonels outscored their opponents 21-2 in the conference series.
UCLA Bruins
Now past the halfway point in the season, the Bruins still look like an odds-on favorite to win a championship. Dominant pitching and lights-out pitching are hallmarks of this Bruins club, and both were on full display in a weekend set against Arizona State. Rachel Garcia and Megan Faraimo recorded back-to-back shutout wins to open the series while Holly Azevedo turned in a solid showing on Sunday, scattering five runs and seven hits without giving up a free pass and earning the W in a run-rule victory for her team. The Bruins got a trio of home runs each from Taylor Pack and Aaliyah Jordan as they outscored their conference foes 35-5 in the series.
