Day one of the 2019 edition of the SEC Softball Tournament could be summed up in one word: Wet. Torrential rains dominated much of the day, appearing in the early innings of South Carolina and Florida’s 1st-round matchup and not disappearing for several hours.
A tornado warning in the midst of the weather delay forced those still in the stadium into the refuge of stairwells and other safe places, and didn’t do much for the softball side of things, either. Originally scheduled to play a quintet of games on Wednesday, the weather dictated a change of plans, as SEC officials chose to play just three games on the tournament’s opening day, altering the schedule for the remainder of the tournament.
In the tournament’s opening game, Mississippi State and sophomore pitcher Emily Williams held strong against Texas A&M in the tournament’s play-in opener between the two teams at the bottom of the conference standings, as the Bulldogs earned a 3-2 victory. After the game, Mississippi State head coach Vann Stuedeman called Williams her “sophomore-senior”, noting that Williams has had to lead the Bulldogs’ pitching staff like an experienced veteran this season, despite being just a 2nd-year player.
For Texas A&M, the loss leaves the Aggies in a precarious position as they now set their sights on Selection Sunday to find out if they will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies came in at #45 in the latest edition of the RPI rankings, putting them decidedly ‘on the bubble’ as Sunday nears.
Aggies head coach Jo Evans, after her team’s disappointing loss, noted the Aggies’ strength of schedule and their six conference wins. After the tournament-opening defeat, the Aggies sit at 28-25 on the year, with notable non-conference victories over McNeese, Rutgers, and a pair of wins over Sam Houston State.
Once the weather delay ended – officially coming in at four hours, fifty-eight minutes long – Florida and South Carolina resumed their game in the top of the second inning. It was all South Carolina in the early-going of the restarted game, as the Gamecocks hit three home runs in two innings off of Gators starter Elizabeth Hightower, including a moonshot by Cayla Drotar that hit the top half of the Davis Diamond scoreboard.
Gators head coach Tim Walton elected not to start Kelly Barnhill in the circle for his team’s first showing in the conference tournament, instead going with the freshman Hightower. Walton also gave junior Jordan Roberts the start behind the dish, with Kendyl Lindaman sliding into the designated player spot in the batting order.
Dixie Raley pitched five innings of four-hit, shutout ball before giving way in the sixth to Drotar, who got hit hard, giving up five hits and six runs, three of them earned, in just 1.1 innings of work in the circle. A pair of errors by Madison Owens at first base – the position that Drotar occupied before assuming the circle – led to the unearned runs. A 2-run walk-off double by Jordan Matthews cemented the comeback for the Gators as they came out on the positive side of the 6-5 final.
USSSA Pride general manager Don Dedonatis made an appearance before the rain delay, and returned after the tornadoes and nasty weather had passed. Dedonatis’ Pride drafted Florida star Amanda Lorenz in the first round during the league draft in March.
In the day’s finale after the schedule revisions, Auburn rode the arm of Chardonnay Harris to an upset win over Missouri. It was a battle of the Tigers – the nickname of both teams – and Auburn came out on top, with a 3-0 final score.
Missouri had only been shut out twice this season, both times in tight, 1-0 ballgames, and Harris’ changeup had the Mizzou hitters swinging from their heels throughout the game. Harris collected six strikeouts on the day, but allowed just five hits. Missouri hit the ball hard at times, but seemingly always directly at an Auburn defensive player.
After the game, Auburn head coach Mickey Dean made particular mention of Missouri catcher Hatti Moore, who hit the ball hard in the game and required a pair of diving catches from Auburn fielders to retire her.
Dean’s offense clicked better than they have in recent memory, collecting six hits and scoring three runs. A 1st-inning RBI single for Kendall Veach stood as the lone scoring for much of the game, before a 2-run home run by senior Morgan Podany in the fifth inning gave AU some much-needed insurance runs.
FINAL Scores:
Mississippi State 3, Texas A&M 2
Florida 6, South Carolina 5
Auburn 3, Missouri 0
