Our Week 4 Primer on Thursday hit the high notes, touched on some under-the-radar matchups, and put some teams on Upset Alert. This is a loaded weekend, with a pair of stellar ranked matchups in Florida and Louisiana, and a number of intriguing matchups in other parts of the country.
Week 4 has already started out in earnest, with San Diego sweeping a doubleheader against Long Beach State on Thursday afternoon and Baylor putting on a bit of a clinic in an 8-1 win over Louisiana-Lafayette.
In the midst of the weekend’s headliners, though, there are some fun nuances that shouldn’t be missed. Luckily, we’re touching on them here so that you don’t miss them!
Down in Oxford, Mississippi, it’s practically Old Home Week for the Rebels‘ four-team tournament, as each of the visiting teams has a connection to either Oxford and the Rebels’ program, or to a current member of the Rebels’ coaching staff: North Dakota State was Jamie Trachsel’s home for fourteen years, eight of them as co-head coach. The Bison program served as her first head coaching job, when she shared the co-head coaching title with longtime Bison leader Darren Mueller. This will be the 5th time that Trachsel has played NDSU since she left the program, and the first time she’s faced off against them as the Ole Miss head coach.
Besides Trachsel’s reunion, a pair of former Rebels will also return to Oxford this weekend. Current Indiana State head coach Mike Perniciaro spent three years as the Rebels’ associate head coach from 2012-14, and Samford’s pitching coach is none other than Rebel legend Kaitlin Lee, whose fiery competitiveness and rubber right arm guided the Rebels to the 2017 SEC tournament title.
Speaking of reunions, this weekend’s tournament in Chapel Hill will include a reunion of its own. Current South Carolina head coach Beverly Smith spent a staggered decade on staff at North Carolina before she took over her current role with the Gamecocks, and this weekend sees her returning to her old stomping grounds. Oh, and no big deal, but Smith also was the 1994 ACC Player of the Year as a student-athlete at UNC and remains one of the best players in program lore, so she’ll not only be facing off against her former boss, but also against her former coach in Donna Papa who holds both titles.
Get your listening ears ready, as Michele Smith and Amanda Scarborough both have television assignments this week. Smith will call color commentary for Texas/LSU on Friday, which is set to be broadcast on ESPN2; Scarborough will do similarly for Florida/Florida State also on Friday afternoon on the SEC Network. Both are expected to broadcast virtually from their home studios.
SEMO started their season with five straight games against SEC opponents – first Auburn, then Tennessee – and have at least been in contention in most of their games this season. Rachel Anderson is coming off a week 3 performance where she set three program records, and remains one of the best players in the country. For Austin Peay, Lexi Osowski and Bailey Shorter each have eleven hits in seven games to begin the year and lead the offensive attack for the Govs. Two teams that should both vie for the conference crown, this matchup to start OVC play will be a can’t-miss.
