The Lollipop Rainbow Unicorn chasers think the last two Bama games are no big deal. They also think that that Gamecocks will be no trouble. I hate to break it to them but the Tide needs to regroup because SC is playing pretty well lately and NCAA seedings are on the line.
ACCOLADES
RAT POISON
Honestly, the Tide did not drop as much as I thought they would.
- Softball America 13 ↑ 8 ↑ 6 ↑ 4 ↔ 4 ↔ 4 ↔ 4 ↓ 6 ↑ 4 ↑ 1 ↓ 2 ↓ 3 ↔ 3 – rankings came out before Monday’s game.
- D1Softball 14 ↑ 10 ↑ 9 ↑ 8 ↑ 5 ↔ 5 ↑ 4 ↓ 6 ↑ 4 ↑ 3 ↑ 2 ↔ 2 ↓ 4
- USAToday/NFCA 16 ↑ 13 ↑ 9 ↑ 7 ↑ 6 ↔ 6 ↔ 6 ↓ 7 ↑ 4 ↑ 3 ↔ 3 ↔ 3 ↓ 4
- ESPN/USA Softball 15 ↑ 10 ↑ 8 ↑ 5 ↑ 4 ↔ 4 ↔ 4 ↓ 6 ↑ 5 ↑ 3 ↑ 2 ↔ 2 ↓ 3
RPI RANKINGS
Perhaps more important than the four polls is the RPI:
- Florida 46-7
- Arkansas 39-9
- Texas 38-8
- Nebraska 40-6
- Alabama 44-6
- Oklahoma 46-6
- UCLA 44-5
- Tennessee 40-8
- Oregon 38-10
- Texas Tech 48-4
- LSU 34-16
- Florida St. 43-8
SCHEDULE
No midweek cupcake. Straight to matters at hand.
- Thu, Apr 30 vs South Carolina 6pm/7pm
- Fri, May 1 vs South Carolina 6pm/7pm
- Sat, May 2 vs South Carolina 1pm/2pm
HOW TO WATCH… ALLEGEDLY
All SECN Streaming (ESPN+).
WEATHER
The forecasts seem to change every hour
on the hour. The temperatures will be on the cool side (you just put your winter clothes away. Didn’t you?). Rain should not be a lengthy downpour but it could pop up at any time. Delays and/or game time changes could occur.
SOUTH CAROLINA (30-22, 7-14 SEC)
SC got off to a rough start this year losing a pair to Virginia Tech at home. They also took some lumps in a California tournament against Nebraska, Oregon, and UCLA. In conference play, the Gamecocks dropped 12 of their first 15 games. However, they have been playing better as of late, taking two of three from both @Missouri and Texas A&M this month, as well as wins over @Clemson and @North Carolina in that span. So, yeah. they are playing well on the road. The FemCocks are 7-2 since being swept by Florida – the only time they have been swept this spring – and have clawed their way into the polls at No. 21/21/23/NR.
Alabama won two out of three in Columbia last spring to finish out the regular season and then turned around and lost to the Gamecocks in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
THROW THE BALL
Oh, boy. SC has the 4th lowest team ERA against SEC opponents at 2.90. The staff has given up only 17 home runs in conference play, which is tied for lowest in the league. However, they have given up the third most doubles (29). Strikeout to walk ratio and WHIP are both average.
The Gamecocks have seven who can pitch but rely on three. Jori Heard has twice as many innings thrown (146.2) as the other two combined (124.1). Her ERA is 1.77 but she has had some hard luck losses that has her at 11-8. The senior has been hot lately winning five in a row over Clemson, Missouri, Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas A&M — four of which were complete games. Expect to see a lot of her in this series and, yes, she has a good changeup.
Emma Friedel (10-5, 3.48) and Nealy Lamb (4-7, 3.93) are the other two major hurlers.
HIT THE BALL
Carolina is hitting .291 overall but a paltry .206 against SEC opponents. Only Kentucky is worse in that second category. SC is also last in runs scored versus the SEC with 43 in 21 games (2.0 rpg).
One bright spot has been CF Tori Ensley who is hitting .358 with 13 homers, 45 RBI, and 45 runs scored with 12 stolen bases. 2B Karley Shelton is also at .358 with 14 doubles, 6 round-trippers and 37 runs knocked in. 1BArianna Rodi has ten dingers but is hitting only .241 with 32 Ks.
CATCH THE BALL
Another meh middle of the SEC road fielding team at .974 FP. However, 15 of the 75 runs they have given up against SEC foes were unearned – 4th worst in the conference.
NOT A HOT HEAD
Ashley Chastain Woodard is in her second season of leading the Gamecocks. Last year’s team went 44-17 (13-11) but lost in the home Super Regional to UCLA. This year has been a little tougher.
TEN CENT ANALYSIS
No excuse for Crimson Tide. They need to not win all three and do so with authority.
