SEC Softball Power Rankings: LSU, Alabama dominate opening weekend

Week one of the college softball season is behind us. As we expected, the SEC is set to have yet another strong season.

The conference was represented by nine teams in the initial USA TODAY/NFCA rankings. While some are worthy of their rankings, others are looking to prove that they deserve more respect.

Kentucky and Missouri are two teams that surprised us this weekend as both squads earned wins over ranked foes. The usual suspects such as LSU, Alabama, and Tennessee proved to be strong while Georgia and Ole Miss swung hot sticks.

Here is a look at this week’s SEC Softball Power Rankings through one week of play.

LSU

Record: 5-0

The top team in the SEC this week is LSU, which put on a dominating start to their season by outscoring their opponents, 47-0. In 29 total innings, LSU pitching allowed just 11 hits in competition against Nicholls State, Memphis, and Pittsburgh. The Tigers will have a solid repertoire this season of Raelin Chaffin, Sydney Berzon, Emma Stroud, and Kelley Lynch to choose from in the circle this season.

Hitting-wise, LSU is fourth in the SEC with a team average of .370. Raeleen Gutierrez and Taylor Pleasants each hit two home runs for the Bengals this weekend. Pleasants ended the weekend with 13 RBI, while Ciarra Briggs joined Gutierrez for the team lead in hits with five.

For more LSU softball coverage, check out LSU Tigers Wire.

Alabama

Record: 5-0

Life without Montana Fouts appears to be going well for Alabama, as they allowed just two earned runs in their season-opening tournament in Atlanta. Central Arkansas transfer Kayla Beavers welcomed herself to the team by tossing a no-hitter in Alabama’s 3-0 win over Villanova to kick off the weekend. She caps her debut weekend by striking out 21 batters and allowing just three hits in two appearances while boasting a 0.64 ERA.

Beavers, alongside Jocelyn Briski, Jaala Torrence, and Alea Johnson, struck out 37 batters over the weekend, which is the best in the SEC.

For more Alabama softball news, visit Roll Tide Wire.

Georgia

Record: 5-0

Like many teams on the top half of this week’s rankings, the Bulldogs looked great on both sides of the ball. Georgia hosted Murray State, South Dakota, and Purdue for the Red and Black Classic in Athens, and outscored the field, 28-2.

Georgia ended the opening weekend with 10 home runs, the most in the SEC. Sydney Chambley hit three home runs and scored 10 runs for the Bulldogs while Sydney Kuma, Jayda Kearney, and Sara Mosley each hit two long balls. Shelby Walters and Lilli Backes each reached double-figures in strikeouts in the circle for Georgia in 18.2 combined innings.

For more Georgia athletics news, visit UGA Wire. 

Tennessee

Record: 3-0

Like Auburn, Tennessee’s weekend schedule was altered by inclement weather. Before Saturday’s cancellation, the Volunteers had a strong showing in Waco, Texas against the No. 22 Baylor Bears.

Tennessee trailed Baylor in Friday’s series opener, 2-0 heading into the 6th inning before rattling off three runs in the final two frames. Destiny Rodriguez came off the bench and hit a two-run homer in the 7th to score the eventual go-ahead runs in a 3-2 Tennessee win. The Volunteers followed game one’s heroics with a 9-1 win in game two of the double-header.

Payton Gottshall struck out 13 batters in 8.1 innings of work over two appearances last weekend, failing to yield a run.

Visit Vols Wire for more news on Tennessee softball. 

Missouri

Record: 5-0

Missouri was one of the biggest surprises of the weekend, as they took down two ranked teams en route to a 5-0 weekend. The Tigers opened the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida by knocking off No. 13 Utah by scoring two runs in the top of the 7th inning to break a 2-2 tie to win, 4-3. Missouri closed the weekend by defeating No. 5 Clemson, 4-1. Missouri did all of their damage in the first two innings as Alex Honnold plated two runs in the upset win.

Laurin Krings struck out 20 batters on the weekend, which is tied with Robyn Herron of Arkansas for second place in the SEC.

Florida

Record: 4-1

The Gators opened the season in Tampa with two challenging opponents, Oregon State and Michigan. Florida needed just one run, a Skylar Wallace long ball in the 3rd inning, to beat Oregon State, 1-0 on Friday. However, their luck could not be replicated in game two of the day with Michigan.

The game was scoreless until a throwing error in the 9th inning pushed Michigan ahead, 1-0. The Gators answered in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single by Ava Brown to tie the game, forcing a 10th inning. A groundout by Michigan in the 10th resulted in a score in which the Gators could not answer. Michigan would escape, 2-1. Florida used that motivation to close the weekend with three-straight wins by a differential of 40-4 over Illinois State, Bethune-Cookman, and South Florida.

Skylar Wallace and Kendra Falby are the names to watch at the plate this season. Wallace hit two home runs over the weekend while Falby recorded seven RBI.

For more Florida softball news, visit Gators Wire. 

Ole Miss

Record: 4-1

The Rebels got off to a slow start this weekend in Hawaii as they dropped the season opener to BYU on Friday, 7-4. Ole Miss, however, did show fight in that game by scoring three runs in the top of the 7th to close the deficit after trailing 5-1 through the first inning.

Ole Miss went on to win four straight games to close out their stay at the Paradise Classic, which included two run-rule victories. Lexie Brady will be a key name to watch at the plate this season for Ole Miss, as she sent home 11 runs over the weekend while recording seven hits and three home runs. Jalia Lassiter led the team in hits this weekend with 10.

Kentucky

Record: 4-1

The Kentucky Wildcats began the season in San Diego, California, and made a statement by knocking off No. 3 Stanford twice. The Wildcats played stiff competition, as three of their four wins were by just one run. In its lone loss to San Diego State on Saturday, Erin Coffel put Kentucky on the board with an RBI double in the 3rd inning, only for San Diego State to answer with two runs on an RBI single in the bottom half of the frame. The two-run 3rd inning for the Aztecs would be enough to earn the 2-1 win.

As expected, pitcher Stephanie Schoonover will be a problem for opposing batters all season long. She leaves the season-opening weekend with a 0.47 ERA, 19 strikeouts, and three wins.

Visit UK Wildcats Wire for more news on the Kentucky Wildcats. 

Arkansas

Record: 4-1

Arkansas began the season with four-straight wins before dropping the final game of the weekend at the Paradise Classic in Boca Raton, Florida to Penn State in eight innings.

The Razorbacks have not exhibited tons of power so far this season, but have several hitters that are great at moving runners. Reagen Johnson led Arkansas with 10 hits this weekend, and seven batters recorded at least four RBI on the weekend, led by Bri Ellis’ seven. Robyn Herron struck out 20 batters in the circle for Arkansas in three appearances, which is second-best in the SEC.

For more Arkansas softball news, visit Razorbacks Wire. 

Texas A&M

Record: 4-0

Texas A&M hosted Valparaiso, Lehigh, and Tulsa in College Station for the Aggie Classic, and tallied three run-rule wins. The lone game to not end early was an 8-5 victory over Tulsa on Sunday, a game in which Texas A&M needed to storm back to win. Down 3-0 heading to the 3rd inning, the Aggies rattled off eight unanswered runs to grab the 8-5 win.

Allie Enright was the Aggies’ top hitter of the weekend, and she hit three home runs and scored 10 runs. Her three home runs are tied for the most in the SEC through one week of play.

For more Texas A&M news, visit Aggies Wire. 

Mississippi State

Record: 4-0

Mississippi State gets off to a great start by winning four games in the Alex Wilcox Memorial in Starkville. The Bulldogs won two games each over UAB and IUPUI, outscoring them, 35-2. Mississippi State recorded 37 hits over the weekend, led by Aquana Brown and Jessie Blaine, who each had five. Paige Cook recorded three hits on the weekend, including a home run, and added five RBI to her total.

The Bulldogs are the best offensive team in the SEC, as they hit a .491 average as a team over the weekend.

South Carolina

Record: 5-0

South Carolina opens the season with a 5-0 record after sweeping the competition at the Carolina Classic.

Riley Blampied hit a .588 average over the weekend and had an on-base percentage of .611, which tops the SEC in each category. She is second in the SEC with a slugging percentage of 1.059. The rest of the Carolina bats were average at best this weekend, as they hit a team average of .285.

Auburn

Record: 1-1-1

Auburn softball kicks off the season’s initial rankings. The Tigers did not necessarily have a bad weekend, but they did not have enough opportunities to prove that they deserve to be higher. The Tigers dropped their season opener to Virginia Tech on Friday in extra innings, 8-1, and nearly lost to the Hokies again on Saturday before rain ultimately ended the game in a 5-5 tie.

There were several flashes of life, and Maddie Penta appears to be the lifeblood of the pitching staff. The Tigers will look to gain momentum this weekend by participating in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.

Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire