Led team to six wins last week, hitting a team-high .696 with 13 runs scored on 16 hits....Recorded multiple hits and scored a run in all six games...Went 10-for-10 in stolen bases...Was named MVP of the Hampton Inn Crimson Classic and is hitting .714 on the season...Went 4-for-4 with three runs scored in win against New Mexico...Went 2-for-3 in first game against Georgia Tech...Hit a double against McNeese State and a triple against Georgia Tech...Had four RBI on the week.
SEC PITCHER OF THE WEEK Stacey Nelson - Florida (P, Jr., Los Alamitos, Calif.)
Nelson went 3-0 on the week and did not give up a run in four appearances. In 26.0 innings, she struck out 30 batters, while giving up only 11 hits, none of which were for extra bases. She held opponents to only a .126 batting average on the week and walked only six of the 97 batters she faced. Eight of the 11 hits Nelson gave up were to North Carolina, who is receiving votes. Five of those hits came in the Gators 1-0, 9-inning victory on Sunday. Nelson pitched the complete nine innings. She pitched three complete game shutouts and one combined shutout.
SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK Misty Flesher - Mississippi State (P, Lone Grove, Okla.)
Flesher is off to an MSU freshman best with a 4-0 start with one save. In 13 innings of work for the week, she struck out four in a three-hit complete-game shutout over Wright State and earned her second win in as many appearances against Fordham, tossing the final six innings in relief. She entered with no outs in the third against Fordham with runners at first and second and worked out of the jame and limited the Rams to two hits until the seventh. MSU won in the eighth after she got a ground-out in the top half to keep the lead run for Fordham stranded at third. Flesher struck out eight and gave up two runs on seven hits last week.
Upcoming Schedule
February 18 Hofstra 3, Ole Miss 2 Tennessee 5, FAMU 1
February 19 LSU hosts SE Louisiana 6 p.m. (CT)
February 20 Auburn at S. Alabama 6 p.m. (CT) Florida hosts Hofstra 5 p.m. (ET)
February 21 Arkansas hosts N Colorado 3 p.m. (CT) Tennessee hosts BYU 5 p.m. (ET)
February 22 Alabama at FIU Fun in the Sun Arkansas hosts N. Colorado 1:30 p.m. (CT) Arkansas hosts Alcorn State 6 p.m. (CT) Auburn at UCF Tournament Florida hosts Gardner-Webb 3:30 p.m. (ET) Florida hosts North Florida 5:45 p.m. (ET) Georgia vs. UCLA 1:00 p.m. (PT) Georgia vs. Oregon State 3:30 p.m. (PT) LSU vs. UCLA 10:30 (PT) LSU vs. Oregon 3 p.m. (PT) Ole Miss at Red and Black Classic Mississippi State vs. W. Kentucky 10 a.m. (ET) Mississippi State vs. Austin Peay at Mercer Tournament 4 p.m. (ET) South Carolina vs. Georgia Tech at USF Louisville Slugger Tourn. 9:30 a.m. (ET) South Carolina vs. Wisconsin at USF Louisville Slugger Tourn. 1:30 p.m. (ET) Tennessee hosts Virginia 5 p.m. (ET) Tennessee hosts Wagner 7 p.m. (ET)
February 23 Alabama at FIU Fun in the Sun Arkansas hosts Creighton 1:30 p.m. (CT) Arkansas hosts St. Louis 3:45 p.m. (CT) Auburn at UCF Tournament Florida hosts Notre Dame 12:15 p.m. (ET) Florida hosts Aquafina Invitational Georgia vs. San Diego State 5:30 p.m. (PT) Georgia vs. UNLV 8 p.m. (PT) Kentucky hosts Toledo (2) 1/3 p.m. (ET) LSU vs. CS-Fullerton 10:30 a.m. (PT) LSU vs. Team USA 6 p.m. (PT) Ole Miss at Red and Black Classic (Louisville, Ky.) Mississippi State vs. Nicholls State Noon (ET) Mississippi State at Mercer 4 p.m. (ET) South Carolina vs. Hofstra 9:30 a.m. (ET) South Carolina at USF 2 p.m. (ET) Tennessee hosts BYU 2:30 p.m. (ET) Tennessee hosts La-Monroe 5 p.m. (ET)
Last Week's Results
February 13 Alabama 21, McNeese State 1 (5) Florida 5, Mercer 0 Florida 12, Mercer 1 (5) Ole Miss 22, Alcorn State 2 (5) Ole Miss 17, Alcorn State 0 (5) Mississippi State 10, Mississippi Valley State 0 South Carolina 3, Western Carolina 0
February 14 Alabama 6, Georgia Tech 0 No. 15/16 Hawaii 9, Kentucky 6
February 15 Alabama 10, New Mexico 2 (5) Alabama 6, Middle Tennessee St 0 Arkansas 2, Tennessee Tech 1 Northern Iowa 3, Arkansas 1 Arkansas 5, Drake 4 Auburn 4, Evansville 0 Auburn 7, McNeese 6 Florida 9, ETSU 0 (6) Florida 10, Col. of Charleston 0 Georgia 6, Ohio State 4 Georgia 6, FIU 0 Long Beach St ate 10, Kentucky 2 UCF 7, Kentucky 2 LSU 14, St. John's 0 (5) LSU 4, Ball State 2 Mississippi State 4, Wright State 0 Mississippi State 7, Southern Illinois 3 No. 10 UCLA 6, South Carolina 2 South Carolina 8, Cal Poly 3
February 16 Alabama 9, Georgia Tech 5 Alabama 7, MTSU 1 Arkansas 4, Western Illinois 3 Auburn 2, Gardner Webb 1 Auburn 7, Marshall 2 Florida 4, North Carolina 0 Florida 10, ETSU 1 (5) Georgia 4, Providence 1 Georgia 3, Illinois State 1 No. 15/16 Hawai'i 6, Kentucky 0 Central Florida 6, Kentucky 0 LSU 9, Nicholls State 1 (6) LSU 9, Chattanooga 1 (6) Florida Gulf Coast 4, Ole Miss 2 South Florida 3, Ole Miss 0 Mississippi State 6, Fordham 5 (8) Mississippi State 5, Wright State 2 No. 9 Oklahoma 2, South Carolina 1 Oregon 3, South Carolina 0 Tennessee 6, Florida Gulf Coast 2 Tennessee 6, Hofstra 1
February 17 Alabama hosts Hampton Inn Crimson Classic (Cancelled due to rain) Arkansas 5, Iowa 3 Arkansas 2, Minnesota 1 Auburn 5, Furman 0 Florida 1, North Carolina 0 (9) Florida 8, Stetson 0 (5) Providence 4, Georgia 0 Kentucky 4, Central Florida 1 LSU 10, Ball State 2 (6) LSU 9, Nicholls State 2 Ole Miss 8, FAMU 1 Mississippi State 4, Southern Illinois 3 South Carolina 3, CS-Northridge 2 Tennessee 2, Ole Miss 1 South Florida 4, Tennessee 1
NATIONAL POLLS
USA Today/NFCA National Poll
Feb. 19, 2008
Rank Team Record Pts. Prev. 1. Alabama (22) 10-0 688 2 2. Northwestern (1) 4-0 641 6 3. Texas A&M (4) 9-2 622 3 4. Arizona St. (1) 10-1 614 5 5. Tennessee 8-1 584 4 6. LSU 6-0 530 T7 7. Florida 13-0 501 11 8. Oklahoma 9-2 473 9 9. Arizona 2-3 472 1 10. Baylor 4-0 470 T7 11. UCLA 8-2 437 10 12. Michigan 7-1 430 12 13. Stanford 10-0 395 13 14. Hawai'I 5-1 289 16 15. Mississippi St. 11-0 264 22 16. Houston 9-0 263 23 17. DePaul 7-4 185 14 18. Ohio State 8-2 179 18 19. Georgia 9-2 171 21 20. La-Lafayette 3-0 162 20 21. UNLV 8-1-1 124 NR 22. Washington 4-4-1 116 15 23. Cal St. Fullerton 4-3-1 95 17 24. Virginia Tech 6-3 84 19 25. Texas 5-2-1 82 24
Dropped Out: No. 25 Oregon State
ESPN.com/USA Softball National Poll
Rank Team Record Pts. Prev. 1. Alabama (10) 10-0 477 2 2. Arizona St. (3) 10-1 468 4 3. Northwestern (4) 4-0 463 7 4. Texas A&M (2) 9-2 446 3 5. UCLA 8-2 372 6 6. Oklahoma 9-2 369 9 T7. LSU 6-0 359 8 T7. Tennessee 8-1 359 5 9. Florida 13-0 349 T10 10. Arizona (1) 2-3 344 1 11. Michigan 7-1 303 12 12. Stanford 10-0 299 14 13. Baylor 3-1 272 T10 14. Hawaii 5-1 215 15 15. Mississippi St. 11-0 210 21 16. ULL 3-0 193 17 17. DePaul 7-4 132 13 T18. Georgia 9-2 109 T23 T18. UNLV 9-2 109 T23 20. Houston 9-0 108 RV 21. Ohio State 8-2 88 19 22. Virginia Tech 6-3 70 18 23. Washington 4-4-1 51 16 24. Fullerton 4-3-1 50 20 25. San Diego St. 9-1 46 RV
Others receiving votes: North Carolina (41), Fresno State (38), Texas (38), Missouri (32), Southern Illinois (19), South Florida (16), Nevada (12), Illinois (11), Maryland (7), Colorado State (5), Western Kentucky (5), Georgia Tech (3), Kansas (3), BYU (2), Long Beach State (2), UMass (2), Purdue (2) and Arkansas (1).
Team-By-Team Notes
ALABAMA Crimson Tide - The No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide breezed through week two with a perfect 6-0 mark including midweek wins over McNeese State and Georgia Tech and a 4-0 mark in the Hampton Inn Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa. The Tide got the week off with a bang with 21-1 win over McNeese State, setting the school record for runs scored in a game. Two UA players hit grand slams in the game and Alabama scored 14 runs in the first inning. Freshman pitcher Kelsi Dunne shut out a high-powered Georgia Tech offense in a 6-0 win over the Yellow Jackets on Thursday. Despite being rained out on Sunday, the Tide put together a perfect 4-0 record in its own Crimson Classic, with two wins over Middle Tennessee to go with wins over Georgia Tech and New Mexico. Brittany Rogers was the star of the tournament, hitting .696 with 13 runs scored, four RBI and 10 stolen bases in as many attempts. Chrissy Owens recorded her 500th career strikeout over the weekend and Dunne added two more victories, moving her to 4-0 on the season. Charlotte Morgan hit .500 at the tournament with a team-high 14 RBI and true freshman Whitney Larsen finished the week with three home runs. Alabama travels to the Florida International Fun in the Sun Tournament in Miami beginning on Friday.
ARKANSAS Lady Razorbacks - The University of Arkansas improved to 10-2 on the year after a 5-1 weekend at the Minnesota-hosted Metrodome Classic. The 10-2 start is the best in program history. The Lady Razorbacks hit .247 as a team for the six-game weekend paced by sophomore Jessica Bachkora who hit .350 with a .400 slugging percentage and a .409 on base average. Senior Katy Henry threw the bulk of the innings allowing just six earned runs in four appearances while striking out 13 for Arkansas. The Lady Razorbacks continue non-conference play this weekend hosting the Arkansas-Clarion Inn Invitational in Fayetteville.
AUBURN Tigers - Auburn completed the Tiger Invitational with a 5-0 record … Junior Myesha Finney won Tournament MVP honors, hitting .333 with 5 RBI, one home run, two doubles and two triples … Freshman pitcher Angel Bunner threw a complete-game shutout in her collegiate debut vs. Furman … Bunner retired the first 11 hitters she faced and allowed only two hits in her first game … Sophomore Alicia Hunolt hit .429 with six RBI in only seven at-bats during the tournament … Sophomore Anna Thompson went 3-0, getting one win in relief, over the weekend … Thompson allowed only two earned runs (0.79 ERA) in 17.2 innings of work and struck out 25 … Thompson’s three wins gave her 18 for her career, moving her into seventh place in Auburn career record books … Thompson has won six of her last against non-conference foes going back to 2007 … The Tigers’ pitching staff allowed only seven earned runs (1.40 ERA) in five games and held opponents to a .183 batting average for the tournament … Auburn hurlers issued only five walks in 35.0 IP and threw two shutouts … Auburn hit .318 with runners in scoring position, going 14-for-44, and drove in nine two-out RBI … The Tigers hit the road this week to take on South Alabama (2/20) and compete in the UCF Tournament in Orlando (2/22-24).
FLORIDA Gators - The No. 10 Florida Softball team went 8-0 last week with wins in a doubleheader over Mercer and a 6-0 record in the Cox Communications Classic. On Wednesday against Mercer, Head Coach Tim Walton earned his 100th win as the head coach at Florida. He was the fastest Florida coach to reach the 100 win mark. The Gators are now 13-0 on the season and is off to the best start in school history, besting the 11-0 mark by the 2005 squad. This week the Gators face off against Hofstra in a single game on Wednesday and will host Gardner-Webb, North Florida and Notre Dame in the Aquafina Invitational over the weekend.
GEORGIA Bulldogs - The Georgia Bulldogs claimed their second tournament title last weekend, winning the Schutt Sports Invitational in Miami, Fla. Georgia went 4-1 in the tournament with wins over 18th-ranked Ohio State, Illinois State, Florida International and Providence. On the second day of the tournament, freshman Sarah McCloud and junior Christie Hamilton tossed back-to-back one-hitters against Providence and Illinois State, respectively. Hamilton also earned the win over Ohio State, while sophomore Kate Gaskill pitched a complete-game shutout against FIU. Offensively in the tournament, the Bulldogs were led by freshman Megan Wiggins, who posted a .373 batting average with three runs scored and four RBI. Up next, the Bulldogs travel to Palm Springs, Calif., Feb. 22-24, for the Palm Springs Classic. Georgia will play UCLA, Oregon State, San Diego State, UNLV and Oklahoma.
KENTUCKY Wildcats - The Kentucky softball team ended the Paradise Classic with a 4-1 victory over Central Florida for third place in the tournament hosted by the University of Hawaii. Home runs from the bats of sophomore Molly Johnson and junior Becky Bishop propelled the Wildcats to their third win of the season. Sophomore pitcher Jennifer Young went the distance for the Cats and pitched six scoreless innings before giving up a solo home run in the top of the seventh. For the weekend, Kentucky was led by the bat of Natalie Smith who had seven hits for the weekend. Kentucky is next in action Sat.-Sun. when they host their season home opener at the UK Softball Complex when Toledo comes to town.
LSU Tigers - Last weekend, LSU kicked off the season by sweeping the Easton Tiger Classic. The Tigers posted four run-rule victories and out scored their opponents, 55-8. LSU also provided power at the plate with 13 doubles, three triples and six home runs, while swiping 32 bases. Batting from the ninth spot, Shannon Stein was named the Most Valuable Player. She posted a .667 batting average while recording a pair of doubles and the second home run of her LSU career to go along with five RBIs, six runs scored and three stolen bases. Along with Stein, the Tigers’ Dani Hofer, Tayl’r Hollis and Quinlan Duhon were named to the all-tournament team. LSU will host Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday before traveling to the prestigious Palm Springs Classic this weekend where the Tigers will face Arizona, Northwestern, Cal State Fullerton, Pacific and Florida Atlantic in the round robin tournament.
OLE MISS Rebels - The Ole Miss Rebel softball team finished the week 3-4 and now stands 6-5 after two weeks of play. The Rebels used a combined 39 runs to sweep a double header from Alcorn State in Oxford on Wednesday. Ole Miss tie a team record with 22 runs in the first game, highlighted by Lauren Rowe’s 2-for-3 effort at the plate with five RBI including a grand slam in an 11-run second inning. The Rebels continued the attack in the second game blanking the Lady Braves 17-0. Ole Miss posted a 1-4 record at the USF-Best Western Tournament in Tampa, Fla. over the weekend. The Rebels knocked off Florida A&M and fell to Florida Gulf Coast, Hofstra, South Florida and Tennessee at the tournament. The game vs. the Lady Vols did not count in the conference standings. Next up, Ole Miss travels to Louisville, Ky. for the University of Louisville Cardinal Classic. The tournament features a field that includes Ole Miss, Nebraska and host school Louisville. The Rebels will play Nebraska on Friday, Feb. 22 at 11 a.m. in the first game of the tournament.
MISSISSIPPI STATE Bulldogs - Mississippi State's 11-0 start is the second-best start in program history. The Bulldogs are now 23-2 all-time in the Bulldog Round-Robin. State head coach Jay Miller is now four wins shy of the 900-career victory milestone. Chelsea Bramlett hit two triples over the weekend, the first two of her career. Chelsea Bramlett is now 10-for-10 in stolen bases and has moved into sixth on the career chart with 56 in 60 attempts. Courtney Bures' two doubles moved her two shy of fourth place on the career chart, while Nakita Boyce's triple moved her into a tie for ninth with her ninth career triple. Bures hit her 27th and 28th career home runs, while Sammie Jo Bailey and Hayle Guess each moved into seventh all-time with their 12th career home runs. Misty Flesher is off to a 4-0 start, which is the best start by a freshman in school history. Fellow freshman hurler Elizabeth Woolven picked up her first collegiate win and her first career save over the weekend.
SOUTH CAROLINA Gamecocks - South Carolina went 3-3 last week, opening its home season with a 3-0 win over Western Carolina before going 2-3 in the 2008 UNLV Louisville Slugger Desert Classic. The Gamecocks downed Cal Poly and Cal State Northridge while falling to No. 10/6 UCLA, No. 9 Oklahoma and Oregon, in a rematch from last year’s Columbia Regional championship. Junior Ashton Payne hit .500 last weekend with a double and a triple, while Krystle Robinson picked up two wins as she continues her return from an elbow injury a year ago. The Gamecocks head to Tampa for the USF Louisville Slugger Tournament this weekend, where they will face Georgia Tech, Hofstra, Wisconsin, Wright State and the host Bulls during the three-day event.
TENNESSEE Lady Volunteers - At the USF Best Western Tournament in Tampa, Fla., the No. 4 Tennessee Lady Vol softball team stands at 9-1 overall after picking up victories over Florida Gulf Coast (6-2), Hofstra (6-1), Ole Miss (2-0) and Florida A&M, and suffering a loss to homestanding USF (1-4). The defeat to USF marked the first regular-season, non-conference loss for Tennessee since early in the 2005 season, breaking an 86-game winning streak. Tonya Callahan led the Lady Vol offense through the first two days of the tourney by hitting .615 (8-of-13) with a double, triple, HR and seven RBI. The Holden, Mo., native highlighted her event at the plate by hitting 4-for-4 with three RBI, and for what is believed to be the first cycle in Tennessee softball history, in a 6-1 win over Hofstra. Callahan singled in the first inning, tripled in the second, homered in the fourth and doubled in the sixth against the Pride to wrap up the cycle. She was also 2-for-4 and responsible for UT’s first three RBI (including the eventual game-winner) in a 6-2 come-from-behind win over Florida Gulf Coast. Senior shortstop Kenora Posey registered a .600 average (6-of-10) with three runs scored and four steals, while junior left fielder Lillian Hammond hit .385 with six runs scored. Freshman pitcher Ashton Ward, the reigning NFCA National Collegiate Player of the Week, led the way in the circle with a 2-1 record and a 1.02 ERA in 13.2 innings of work. Opponents hit just .128 against the rookie through four games at the event with six total hits allowed.