CSE Performances of the Week | Week 2
Georgia (4-0)
Photo by Landen Todd via The Red and Black
Georgia finished another undefeated week by going 4-0 at the rain-shortened Clearwater Invitational. In a tournament that could be described by one word – offense – Georgia showed why they are force this year flashing their ability to slug their way past even the highest caliber opponents. They scored a total of 41 runs in four games highlighted by a 20-run effort against #7 Florida St. Led by senior infielder, Sydney Kuma, who went 8/13 this weekend at the plate and carries a resounding .680/.750/1.120 into the third week of the season, the Bulldog offense is showing no signs of slowing down. Transfer, Lilli Backes, is showing true ace potential at the front of the Bulldog rotation, with an impressive outing against Wisconsin where she allowed just one hit and struck out six Badger hitters across 5.1 innings of work.
Mississippi State (4-1)
Photo from Mississippi State University Athletics
The Mississippi State Bulldogs impressed in the abbreviated Puerto Vallarta schedule this weekend going 2-1 with two very quality wins against #13 Utah and #8 Clemson. Reaching back earlier in the week, the Bulldogs had attained four straight ranked opponent wins (two mid-week victories over #23 Louisiana) and deservedly climbed into the top 25 rankings for week three. Led by the three-headed monster of Aspen Wesley, Matalasi Faapito, and Josey Marron, Mississippi State surrendered just three earned runs in Mexico, and took down two All-Americans from a year ago. Bulldog pitchers this season have a cumulative .64 ERA and own a 57/4 strikeout-walk ratio showing why they might be a dark-horse team in the SEC.
Honorable Mentions
Louisiana Tech (6-0)-
LA Tech swept the board at the Warhawk Invitational this weekend going 4-0 against Lindenwood and Louisiana-Monroe. They outscored their opponents by a tally of 51-8 and look like they have a pitching staff that can make a deep run in C-USA. Sophomore, Ally Floyd and junior, Alyssa Martin combined for a 5-inning no hitter to go along with seven strikeouts. Their fellow pitching teammate, Brook Melnychuk, had an outstanding week as well, finishing with 11.2 innings pitched allowing zero earned runs and only four hits to go along with nine strikeouts To continue their success against Lindenwood, in the second game, the Lady Techsters set a conference record for RBI and walks with 26 and 20 respectively. The Louisiana Tech pitching staff holds opponents to just a .174 average and allows less than one baserunner per inning, evident by their .82 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched).
Arizona (5-0)-
Arizona followed up their stellar first weekend amassing another five wins this weekend at the Bear Down Fiesta Tournament in Tucson. The Wildcats earned four run rule wins against Omaha (2) and Long Beach State (2) as well as a close win against #15 Arkansas. 2023 CSE Freshman All-American nominee, Dakota Kennedy, is leading the Wildcat offense with a .467/.579/.733 slash line and was one base 12 times while Wildcat pitchers allowed just 10 runs in the six games Arizona played this weekend. The Wildcat defense has also been stellar committing just two errors on the entire season.
California (5-0)-
The California Golden Bears went 5-0 this weekend at the Littlewood Classic with three of those wins coming against regional qualifying teams a year ago. Infielders, Acacia Anders and Elon Butler, who are both hitting .500 on the season, had outstanding weekends going a combined 16/31 at the plate with each of them contributing eight hits and with half of them being extra base hits. Cal has slugged 15 homeruns so far and have a team .934 OPS this season.
