Tweet
The Shockers travel to Fayetteville this weekend for the Razorback Invitational. (Poor timing. One week later and we could have played in the Wooo Pig Classic. Oh, well.) In the Invitational proper (see second sentence following), the Shocks play Illinois at 10 am on Friday immediately followed by Longwood. Back-to-back games on Saturday are against Western Illinois and Arkansas beginning at 10 am. The Shockers also play the Razorbacks in a pre-Invitational game on Thursday at 5 pm.
#10/10 Arkansas are picked for third in the SEC. There are nine or eight teams, depending on who you ask, from the SEC currently ranked in the Top 25, the Razorbacks being third in that list. Infielder Danielle Gibson and pitcher Mary Haff are Preseason All-SEC picks. The Sooey Pigs opened their season in Puerto Vallarta. There they lost twice to #7 Washington, going 3-2 at the tournament. One of those wins was 4-3(8) over Memphis when the 'Backs rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Gibson has an OPS of 1.233., the only OPS to note. Haff (ERA of 4.05 and WHIP of 1.05) and Chenice Delce (3.09 and 1.46) have most of the innings.
Note: We remember Haff as a freshman, don't we. She could throw the ball through the side of a barn. Butters homered off her and the Shocks won, 1-0.
The Fighting Illini are members of the Big Ten, a conference that does not believe in any Pre-Season folderol. RV/RV Illinois played at LSU this past weekend, splitting with #14 LSU in games of note while going 4-1. The very early season offense leaders are Kelly Ryono (1.384) and Bella Loya (1.071). Lauren Wiles (0.82 and 1.18) and Sydney Sickels (1.56 and 1.56, not a typo) had most of the innings in Baton Rouge. Wiles, who had the most innings at 17 and struck out 20, was named Freshman of the Week for the Big Ten. She had the win over LSU.
Longwood are a member of the Big South Conference. The Lancers are picked third among the ten teams, most of whom you have never heard of. Sydney Backstrom, the reigning Pitcher of the Year, returns and is the Preseason pick for the same. They opened their season at the very difficult tournament hosted by UCF. They had a 1-4 mark, all of the losses against teams ranked RV or better. Emily Vinson (1.357) and Reagan Kanagawa (1.000) are the early leaders on offense. Backstrom and Kanagawa are the pitchers, but the tough competition gave them some ugly numbers. Vinson was the Co-Freshman of the Week in the Big South.
Western Illinois are a pick for seventh of the eight teams in the Summit League. The Leathernecks opened their season at the Depaul Tournament in the Rosemont Dome in Chicago where they were 2-4 against an array of (lower?) mid-majors. Kayla Zamora (.982) has the only OPS north of .700. Five different pitchers had a start at the Rosemont with Savannah Rodriguez and Abby Carlin garnering the most innings.
The Shockers are 4-1 after the visit to Texas. The top three OPS belong to Sydney (1.892, but will she play?), Addison (1.663), and Neleigh (1.567). Four pitchers had at least five innings last weekend. We might learn something about the pitching this weekend - or might not. It is not clear how much offense the Shocks will see.
#10/10 Arkansas are picked for third in the SEC. There are nine or eight teams, depending on who you ask, from the SEC currently ranked in the Top 25, the Razorbacks being third in that list. Infielder Danielle Gibson and pitcher Mary Haff are Preseason All-SEC picks. The Sooey Pigs opened their season in Puerto Vallarta. There they lost twice to #7 Washington, going 3-2 at the tournament. One of those wins was 4-3(8) over Memphis when the 'Backs rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Gibson has an OPS of 1.233., the only OPS to note. Haff (ERA of 4.05 and WHIP of 1.05) and Chenice Delce (3.09 and 1.46) have most of the innings.
Note: We remember Haff as a freshman, don't we. She could throw the ball through the side of a barn. Butters homered off her and the Shocks won, 1-0.
The Fighting Illini are members of the Big Ten, a conference that does not believe in any Pre-Season folderol. RV/RV Illinois played at LSU this past weekend, splitting with #14 LSU in games of note while going 4-1. The very early season offense leaders are Kelly Ryono (1.384) and Bella Loya (1.071). Lauren Wiles (0.82 and 1.18) and Sydney Sickels (1.56 and 1.56, not a typo) had most of the innings in Baton Rouge. Wiles, who had the most innings at 17 and struck out 20, was named Freshman of the Week for the Big Ten. She had the win over LSU.
Longwood are a member of the Big South Conference. The Lancers are picked third among the ten teams, most of whom you have never heard of. Sydney Backstrom, the reigning Pitcher of the Year, returns and is the Preseason pick for the same. They opened their season at the very difficult tournament hosted by UCF. They had a 1-4 mark, all of the losses against teams ranked RV or better. Emily Vinson (1.357) and Reagan Kanagawa (1.000) are the early leaders on offense. Backstrom and Kanagawa are the pitchers, but the tough competition gave them some ugly numbers. Vinson was the Co-Freshman of the Week in the Big South.
Western Illinois are a pick for seventh of the eight teams in the Summit League. The Leathernecks opened their season at the Depaul Tournament in the Rosemont Dome in Chicago where they were 2-4 against an array of (lower?) mid-majors. Kayla Zamora (.982) has the only OPS north of .700. Five different pitchers had a start at the Rosemont with Savannah Rodriguez and Abby Carlin garnering the most innings.
The Shockers are 4-1 after the visit to Texas. The top three OPS belong to Sydney (1.892, but will she play?), Addison (1.663), and Neleigh (1.567). Four pitchers had at least five innings last weekend. We might learn something about the pitching this weekend - or might not. It is not clear how much offense the Shocks will see.
Comment