Softball Regional Recap/Super Regional Preview

An Exciting Weekend Starts Thursday Night!

I was thinking about just doing a preview of the super regionals coming up this weekend, but I figured that it would be disingenuous of me not to at least do a brief recap of what was an incredibly exciting regional weekend. But, it more or less went chalk, even if Louisiana and Arkansas ended up being the only seeds not to advance, power conference teams took their place. So, despite excellent showings from Liberty, Omaha, SE Louisiana, Princeton, and other unseeded mid majors, super regionals will be all power conference schools, but that shouldn’t take away from the intrigue!

Texas (1) vs. Texas A&M (16)

Texas breezed through their regional while Texas A&M had their hands full in one game at least against Texas State. With this rivalry renewed coming to the SEC in months, we have a preview of what will soon become a conference opponent, once again. These two schools don’t like each other, so fan interactions should be heated. We’ll see if it spills onto the field, but I am confident the Longhorns are just the better overall team. Winner: Texas

Oklahoma (2) vs. Florida State (15)

Oklahoma was certainly tested against Oregon in their regional, and that didn’t surprise anyone. Florida State, as I predicted, did not have much trouble in Tallahassee. This rematch of last year's WCWS final doesn’t see the exact same teams facing off but should be very fun. FSU has an outside chance if their bats get going, but I don’t see Oklahoma falling flat while at home. Winner: Oklahoma

Tennessee (3) vs. Alabama (14)

The SEC faces off in this super regional. Tennessee made light work of their competition, while Alabama had to deal with a feisty and talented SE Louisiana rather than what many thought would be Clemson. Tennessee is almost unbeatable when their bats get going, and I have a feeling their pitching will continue to dominate as well. Winner: Tennessee

Florida (4) vs. Baylor

Baylor makes it out of Lafayette, Louisiana after a thrilling game two on Sunday, while Florida was not really tested after the lengthy weather delay on Friday. Florida seems to have righted their ship and poised to make a return to the WCWS. Winner: Florida

Oklahoma State (5) vs. Arizona

Another preview of a future Big 12 conference showdown. (This is just weird). Arizona once again went down to Arkansas to dispatch the Razorbacks while Oklahoma State was pushed but did not lose in Stillwater. I think home field advantage is the difference in this regional, even if Arizona has already shown the ability to win on the road. Winner: Oklahoma State

UCLA (6) vs. Georgia (11)

Apart from being pushed by Virginia Tech, UCLA made their regional look much easier than Georgia, who had to win twice to advance after losing to Liberty on Saturday. And they waited until the last out to boot. I think the difference in this regional will be travel and home field advantage as well, but Georgia has shown an ability to put up football scores in the blink of an eye. Winner: UCLA

Missouri (7) vs. Duke (10)

Duke made their regional look easy while Missouri was pushed to the absolute limit by Omaha. So long as Duke can keep their bats simmering, I give them the genuine advantage in the circle and on defense as well. Being a Duke stan is still weird for me, but they really should have been hosting, and I think they’ll use that as fuel here. Winner: Duke

Stanford (8) vs. LSU (9)

Stanford was a bit more vulnerable than anticipated, even though they had a tough regional out in California. LSU on the other hand, made things look easy in Baton Rouge. While I think this is a legitimate toss up, I think LSU has the more complete team, and that should see them through. Winner: LSU

So, a couple of upsets, but all of these matchups should be excellent. I am a little disappointed there’s no mid majors present, but that won’t take away from the exceptional teams we will be watching this weekend. It’ll be a sports heavy Memorial Day weekend full of softball, college baseball, Formula 1, and playoff basketball/hockey, but I know what will be on my main screen!