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With the postseason looming, baseball and softball diamonds are heating up

April 12, 2024
With less than a month before softball and baseball conference tournaments take the field, here’s who’s dominating diamonds…and who’s been crushed by the pressure.
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With the postseason looming, baseball and softball diamonds are heating upWith the postseason looming, baseball and softball diamonds are heating up
Source: TexasSoftball/X

The GIST: With less than a month before softball and baseball conference tournaments, here’s who’s dominating diamonds…and who’s been crushed by the pressure.

No. 1 Texas softball makes a statement: The Longhorns are still vibing from last weekend’s history-making upset of the sport’s It Girl, then–No. 1 Oklahoma. Powering the league’s hottest team? Sophomore catcher Reese Atwood, who’s gunning for Texas’ single-season home run record — a mark she’ll strive for during her Horns’ series at No. 24 Baylor starting tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Canady circles up: No. 7 Stanford softball's on a six-game win streak thanks to pitcher NiJaree Canady and her mind-blowing 0.48 ERA — meaning she gives up less than one run every two games. Her case to add Player of the Year (POY) to her 2023 Division I Freshman of the Year title grows stronger by the day.

  • Speaking of POY, the reigning queen Valerie Cagle’s No. 19 Clemson Tigers are recovering from a late-March slump. But they have a huge opportunity to regain their groove when they host a series against red-hot No. 3 Duke starting today at 7 p.m. ET.

Woo Pig win streak: On the baseball diamond, Arkansas ascended to the poll’s top spot five weeks ago and still hasn’t budged, thanks largely to a bullpen with the nation’s best ERA by a mile. The Razorbacks have won four straight series in the cutthroat SEC, with another against No. 25 Alabama on tap this weekend.

2023 natty contenders flail in SEC play: Last year’s Men’s College World Series finalists — reigning champ LSU and runner-up Florida — are struggling with disappointing seasons: Florida slid 18 spots to No. 24 in this week’s poll despite excellent play from 2023 Golden Spikes finalist Jac Caglionone, and LSU exited the rankings altogether. Is it a curse yet?

  • On the other hand, No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 6 Vanderbilt are both thriving in SEC play — although this weekend’s head-to-head series, starting today at 7 p.m. ET, will be the true test of their stamina.
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