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The Shockers open their 2023 season in San Marcos (on I-35 between Austin and San Antonio) at the Bobcat Classic. Hosted by Texas State, other teams are Villanova and Kent State. On Friday, the Shocks play Villanova at 10 am and Texas State at 3 pm. Saturday's games are against Kent State at 3 pm followed by Villanova at 530 pm. The Shockers close out the weekend with a game at noon on Sunday against Texas State.
It appears that the games involving the Bobcats will be on ESPN+ and have LiveStats. All other games at the Classic have doubtful electronic coverage based on the online schedules. However at a minimum, I would expect all games to have LiveStats - we shall see.
The host Bobcats are members of the Sun Belt Conference where they are a preseason pick for second place behind the perennial champion, Louisiana. Jessica Mullins is the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Last year, she had a record of 27-13, an ERA of 1.80 and struck out 253 in 241.0 innings. Sara Vanderford (OPS of .931 in 2022 and 7 homers, tops for the team) and Ciara Trahan(.765) are also Preseason All-Sun Belt picks.
Villanova are back-to-back Big East tournament champions while being picked second in this year's Preseason Poll. DePaul and UConn are the other teams at the top of the poll. Chloe Smith is the leading returning hitter for the Wildcats with an OPS of .890. Kelsey White (ERA of 3.17 and WHIP of 1.53) is the only returning pitcher with significant innings.
The Golden Flashes of Kent State finished ninth of eleven teams in the Mid-America Conference in 2022. (There are no Conference releases regarding softball yet.) Emily Lippe (OPS of .861 and a team-leading nine home runs) is the only returning hitter of note. The pitching staff will be a WIP with no meaningful innings returning.
EDIT: Kent State is picked sixth in the Preseason Poll of conference coaches.
The Shockers return six hitters with an OPS greater than 1.000 (Sydney, Addison, etc.), five of those with double-digit home runs. Only Alison returns with noticeable innings in the circle. Transfer Lauren Howell and freshmen Alex Aguilar and Sarah Proberts are additions to the mix with Kenzie also returning. From a recent podcast, freshman Sami Hood will be at 2B with battles for 1B and RF continuing. Also from the podcast, multiple pitchers in the same game by design may be an approach the Shocks use often.
It appears that the games involving the Bobcats will be on ESPN+ and have LiveStats. All other games at the Classic have doubtful electronic coverage based on the online schedules. However at a minimum, I would expect all games to have LiveStats - we shall see.
The host Bobcats are members of the Sun Belt Conference where they are a preseason pick for second place behind the perennial champion, Louisiana. Jessica Mullins is the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Last year, she had a record of 27-13, an ERA of 1.80 and struck out 253 in 241.0 innings. Sara Vanderford (OPS of .931 in 2022 and 7 homers, tops for the team) and Ciara Trahan(.765) are also Preseason All-Sun Belt picks.
Villanova are back-to-back Big East tournament champions while being picked second in this year's Preseason Poll. DePaul and UConn are the other teams at the top of the poll. Chloe Smith is the leading returning hitter for the Wildcats with an OPS of .890. Kelsey White (ERA of 3.17 and WHIP of 1.53) is the only returning pitcher with significant innings.
The Golden Flashes of Kent State finished ninth of eleven teams in the Mid-America Conference in 2022. (There are no Conference releases regarding softball yet.) Emily Lippe (OPS of .861 and a team-leading nine home runs) is the only returning hitter of note. The pitching staff will be a WIP with no meaningful innings returning.
EDIT: Kent State is picked sixth in the Preseason Poll of conference coaches.
The Shockers return six hitters with an OPS greater than 1.000 (Sydney, Addison, etc.), five of those with double-digit home runs. Only Alison returns with noticeable innings in the circle. Transfer Lauren Howell and freshmen Alex Aguilar and Sarah Proberts are additions to the mix with Kenzie also returning. From a recent podcast, freshman Sami Hood will be at 2B with battles for 1B and RF continuing. Also from the podcast, multiple pitchers in the same game by design may be an approach the Shocks use often.
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