Trial Run
In case you haven't been paying attention, the conference tournaments got started for Division I softball yesterday. It's okay, I know you have important things going on, so I forgive you if it slipped your mind... Trust me, I know that softball isn't everyone's jam. If you had told me I would be this into softball maybe twenty years ago I would have told you "that's crazy". However, thanks to my nieces who I absolutely adore, I love the game now. Much the same way I now have a fondness for volleyball thanks to my niece who plays.
So as I said, the conference tournaments are getting started and this is kind of a trial run for the national tournament that will be starting in a week or so. Most of these tournaments are single elimination which is kind of a departure from the mid major conferences and the division II schools. There is a lot at stake since the winner of the tournament is usually going to be able to make it to the national tournament. The one notable exception would be if they have a losing record. That's a show stopper for getting into the tournament.
Besides the Big South where my niece plays, I am only going to cover the power conferences at this point. Those are the ones that are going to do well in the tournament. As nice as it is to see a Cinderella story, it just doesn't happen too much. Not like college basketball where it is a single elimination format.
In the SEC, Auburn beat Missouri 6 to 2 to send Missouri home. Meanwhile, Kentucky lost to Mississippi State 4 to 3 to also get sent packing. Finally, in a pretty exciting game last night Ole Miss took down South Carolina 2 to 0.
The real action starts today when pretty much every single tournament in Division I is starting play. In the Big Ten Michigan faces Ohio State, Purdue goes against Wisconsin, Minnesota will have a tough contents against Washington and Penn State faces Northwestern.
In the SEC Auburn moves on to Texas A&M, Mississippi State faces Arkansas, Ole Miss goes head to head with Tennessee, and Georgia will battle LSU.
In the ACC Georgia Tech faces Notre Dame, NC State hits the field against Louisville, North Carolina versus Clemson, and Pittsburgh takes on Virginia.
Finally, in the Big South, there is just one game with Presbyterian facing Gardner-Webb. Two teams we are very familiar with from our time down in Virginia.
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