Observations from the College Softball Season

BY Roger McAfee

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Photo courtesy Western Kentucky Softball

Week five of the college softball season produced back-to-back weeks in which the top team in the nation was defeated.

Texas, the top-ranked team in the D1 Softball and ESPN/USA Softball polls, was handed a 12-10 loss at Houston to open Big 12 Conference play. The Longhorns bounced back to win the next two games to claim a series victory versus the Cougars.

The only undefeated team in the country is down in the bayou as LSU is a perfect 19-0 on the season and opened Southeastern Conference play with a three-game sweep of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky.

The Tigers host Texas on Tuesday (March 12) in a must-watch midweek matchup and then host Ole Miss in a three-game SEC series.

UCLA began the final season of Pac-12 Conference play in impressive fashion as the Bruins swept Utah in a three-game series. UCLA posted 6-2, 6-5 and 12-1 wins over the Utes.

The Big Ten Conference is still a week away from beginning, but Indiana and Penn State sit atop the conference standings. The Hoosiers have won seven straight and are 17-4 overall, while the Nittany Lions are 15-6 on the year.

Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech share the top spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 6-0 records. The Hokies swept Notre Dame and Louisville, while the Yellow Jackets swept Pittsburgh and North Carolina State. Duke is also undefeated in league play after sweeping Syracuse and the Blue Devils pitching staff has notched five consecutive shutouts.

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Something Brewing in the ATL

Photo courtesy Georgia Tech Softball

Following a three-game sweep of North Carolina State, Georgia Tech is off to a blistering 6-0 start in ACC play. The Yellow Jackets are riding a 15-game winning streak which ranks as the second-longest streak in school history. The 6-0 start in ACC play marks the first time since the 2002 season that Georgia Tech has started conference play with back-to-back sweeps. Georgia Tech leads the ACC in runs (189), doubles (43), home runs (48), RBIs (176), slugging pct (.645) and walks (100) this season, while owning the second-best fielding percentage in the conference (.974).