Softball - Easton SEC/Pac-10/Big12 Challenge preview

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Friday 3/6/09
1:00PM CT Baylor vs Washington
3:30PM CT Baylor vs Georgia
6:00PM CT Alabama vs Washington

Saturday 3/7/09
11:00AM CT Georgia vs Washington
1:30PM CT Alabama vs Washington
4:00PM CT Alabama vs Baylor
6:30PM CT Baylor vs Georgia

Sunday 3/8/09
11:00AM CDT* Georgia vs Washington
1:30PM CDT* Alabama vs Baylor
(* Daylight Savings Time begins Sunday)

Particpating Teams
Alabama (14-1) - The #1/#4 ranked Crimson Tide is one of the best and most balanced teams in college softball. They've got great speed in All-Americans Brittany Rogers and Kelly Montalvo and freshmen Jazlyn Lunceford and Jennifer Fenton; good power in All-Americans Charlotte Morgan and Kelley Montalvo as well as Whitney Larsen and Amanda Locke; consistent situational hitters in Brittany Rogers, Lauren Parker, Kellie Eubanks, and Cassie Reilly-Boccia; excellent defense led by catcher Ashley Holcombe, 3rd baseman Kelley Montalvo, and center fielder Brittany Rogers; and excellent pitching led by All-American Kelsi Dunne backed up by All-American Charlotte Morgan and redshirt freshman Amanda Locke. The Tide have played a good, but not great, early season schedule, with their lone loss to #4/#3 UCLA and wins over #6/#5 Oklahoma and #18/#23 Southern Illinois. Unfortunately, Bama's matchups against #9/#8 Michigan and #19/#14 UMass in last weekend's NFCA Leadoff Classic were canceled due to weather.

Washington (17-0) - The #3/#1 ranked Huskies are led by 2008 Olympic (Canada) pitcher Danielle Lawrie who is 12-0, giving up only 2 earned runs in 76.1 innings pitched. Lawrie is arguably the best pitcher in college softball this year and beat Bama twice (7-5 and 4-3) in the 2007 NCAA Super Regionals. Lawrie is also pretty good at the plate with .375/.875 batting/slugging averages. The Huskies' most dangerous hitters appear to be Ashlyn Watson (4 HR, .853 slugging) and Ashley Charters (3 HR, .674 slugging), but have 9 players batting over .300 (8 with .400+ slugging %) according to the latest stats (Feb 22nd) on the Pac-10 website. Bama will need to hold down the Huskies' offense as I doubt we'll score many runs off Lawrie.

Georgia (12-1) - The #11/#12 Lady Bulldogs have put up some amazing offensive numbers against a mostly cupcake schedule (their first big tests were to be in last weekend's rain/snow hampered NFCA Leadoff Classic). The Dawgs have eight players with .500+ slugging %. They're led by Alisa Goler (9 HR, 1.462 slg%) and Megan Wiggins (5 HR, 1.025 slg%). The Dawg's pitching ace is Christine Hamilton (5-0 with a 0.43 era, 35Ks vs. 8 walks) who splits starts with Sarah McCloud (5-1 with a 1.50 era) and Taylor Schlopy (2-0 and a 2.55 era). Bama and Georgia will not meet in this tournament so we'll have to wait for the Dawgs return on April 4-6 to see how they match up against each other.

Baylor (18-3) - The #26/#24 Bears are led in the pitching circle by freshman phenom Whitney Canion (10-2 with a 1.01 era) who threw a 3 hit shutout against Florida for their biggest win of the season. At the plate, the Bears are led by Alex Colver (.422, .547 slg%) and Brette Reagan (5 HR, and a .661 slg%), but the Lady Bears have eight players with .500+ slg%). The Bears are aggressive on the base paths with 41 steals in 46 attempts. They are an excellent defensive team with only 12 errors in 21 games and a .979 fielding %.