Throughout the 2017 softball season, the NFCA will feature some of the sport's highest-profile contests in our "Featured Five" Games of the Week.
Each weekly installment will be released on Thursday, providing live stat links, game notes, team info, social media accounts and any available broadcast links in hopes of becoming another reason for fans to visit us during the season for information on some of collegiate softball's best games.
As the year continues, we will attempt to expand our focus to include matchups throughout as many divisions as possible. This week's featured games come from the NCAA Division I and III and NAIA.
Make sure you follow the NFCA on our social media (NFCAorg) through Twitter
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DI
No. 6 Washington (26-3, 3-0 Pac-12) at No. 5 Arizona (29-1, 3-0 Pac-12)
March 24-26 / 5 p.m. / Noon / Noon MST | Tucson, Ariz.
Follow: Live Stats | Watch (G1 / G2 / G3)
On Twitter: @UWSoftball | @UA_Softball
Statistics: Washington | Arizona
The Series: Arizona leads65-31 all-time, but the Huskies won the series in 2016 in Seattle, 2-1... Neither Arizona nor Washington has swept the three-game series since 2010.
Washington (Preview): The Huskies are riding a 12-game winning streak into a Pac-12 showdown with Arizona... Washington swept No. 21 Arizona State in it league opener last weekend and picked up a non-conference doubleheader sweep of Grand Canyon on Wednesday... Head coach Heather Tarr picked up her 500th victory on March 10 against No. 8 Minnesota... Heading into the week, freshman Sis Bates currently leads the team in hits (34) and triples (4) and is batting .430 with a .466 on base percentage... Casey Stangel is batting .403 with 21 hits, six doubles, six long balls, 25 RBI and 19 runs scored, Morganne Flores tops the team with eight long balls and 34 RBI... In the circle, Taran Alvelo is 14-1 with a 1.74 ERA, four shutouts and 89 strikeouts in 88.2 innings of work... Washington's .361 batting average is third in the NCAA, while its offensive output (7.14 runs per game) is sixth.
Arizona (Preview / Game Notes): The Wildcats also picked up a three-game Pac-12 sweep, defeating Oregon State on the road to extend their winning streak to 14 games... Arizona is off to its best 30-game start (29-1) since 2004 and ranked No. 5 in the country, its highest ranking at least six weeks into any season since 2010... Head coach Mike Candrea is three wins away from his 1,500th win at Arizona... Candrea, who is 1,497-380-2 (.797) is the sport's Division I wins leader and trails only Michigan's Carol Hutchins (1,502 wins) in NCAA history... UA leads the Pac-12 in slugging percentage (.578), runs scored (240), hits (272), RBI (207), doubles (47), home runs (44), walks (137), ERA (0.95), opposing batting average (.166) and strikeouts (231)... The Wildcats own the NCAA's second-best offense (8 runs per game) and third best ERA (0.95)... Danielle O'Toole is 14-1 with a 0.79 ERA in 97.1 innings.... She leads the Pac-12 in strikeouts (109) and is tied for the conference lead in wins... Her 0.79 ERA is third in the conference, but best among pitchers with at least 50.0 innings pitched.
No. 4 Auburn (27-3, 2-1 SEC) at No. 2 Florida (27-1, 5-0 SEC)
March 25-27 - 6 p.m. / 7 p.m. / 7 p.m. EST | Gainesville, Fla.
Follow: Live Stats | Watch (G1 (ESPN2) / G2 (ESPN2) / G3) | Listen (UF / AU- G1 / G2 / G3)
On Twitter: @AuburnSoftball | @GatorsSB
Auburn: The Tigers stepped out of league play last week, going 5-0 at a tournament hosted by USF in Clearwater, Fla... They enter the weekend series at Florida on a six-game winning streak and have won 13 of their last 14 games... Last Saturday in Clearwater, Kaylee Carlson tossed the second perfect game in program history in an 8-0 six-inning win over Ohio State... The junior is off to a 15-0 start with a 0.93 ERA and 58 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .186 average... Catcher Carlee Wallace paces the offense with a .388 average, 31 hits, 12 doubles, five long balls, 30 RBI and a .523 on-base percentage... Kasey Cooper has homered six times, driven in 30 and drawn a team-best 27 walks, while Kendall Veach has hit a team-high seven homers.
Florida: Coming off a mid-week run-rule win over USF, the Gators enter the series against Auburn riding a 19-game winning streak, which includes five SEC wins to start league play... With their NCAA-best 19th shutout of the season (tied with Alabama) against the Bulls, the Gators have not allowed an earned run in 42 innings and have surrendered just an unearned run in its first five conference games, shutting out South Carolina and Missouri twice each... UF enters the weekend with the NCAA's best defense (.991) and lowest ERA (0.54)... Kelly Barnhill (10-0, 119 K, 61 IP) paces the pitching staff with the second-best ERA in the NCAA at 0.23, while two-time SEC Pitcher of the Week, Delanie Gourley is 11-1 with a 0.82 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 68.1 innings and is holding her opponents to a .105 batting average... Offensively, Kayli Kvistad leads the Gators with a .435 average on 27 hits with five doubles, three homers, 24 RBI and 19 runs... Jaimie Hoover has knocked in a team-best 33 runs and Nicole DeWitt has scored a team-high 28 runs.
No. 3 Oregon (27-0, 3-0 Pac-12) at No. 11 Utah (21-5, 3-0 Pac-12)
March 25-27 - 1 p.m. / 6 p.m. / 4 p.m. MST | Salt Lake City, Utah
Follow: Watch (G1 / G2 / G3) | Listen (Utah)
On Twitter: @OregonSB | @UtahSoftball
Series: Oregon leads 25-10 with the Ducks winning 18 of the last 19 games.
Oregon (Preview / Notes): The only undefeated team in NCAA Division I, the Ducks kept their umblemished record intact with a three-game Pac-12 sweep of Cal last weekend... The 27 straight wins is a program record, topping the previous mark of 18... Oregon's .375 team batting average ranks No. 2 in the NCAA this season, while the team's .471 on-base percentage leads the country... Five Ducks hit .400 or better led by Danica Mecado's .488 average with 41 hits, six doubles, and 33 runs scored... Nikki Udria has launched a team-best seven home runs to go along with a team-high 30 RBI... The Ducks' collective 1.12 ERA ranks ninth in the country with Megan Keist posting a 0.83 ERA, 9-0 record and four shutouts... Maggie Balint is 12-0 with a 1.10 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 63.2 innings.
Utah: Utah looks to bounce back from a mid-week defeat at BYU... Prior to that, the Utes swept their season-opening Pac-12 series at then-No. 10 UCLA... Utah's pitching staff and defense held a high-powered Bruins offense to just three runs on 13 hits... NFCA All-American Hannah Flippen is leading the squad in almost every offensive category with a .450 average, 36 hits, nine doubles, six homers and 31 RBI... The Utes pitching staff owns a 1.15 ERA, which is ninth in the NCAA, and has recorded 12 shutouts... Reigning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week Stacey Viramontes is 7-0 with a 0.86 ERA.
Other Notable DI Games (All Times Eastern)
March 24
6 p.m. - No. 24 Arkansas at No. 18 Kentucky - Game Center
6 p.m. - No. 23 Ole Miss at No. 20 Tennessee - Live Stats | Listen (UT) | Watch
7 p.m. - No. 16 Georgia at No. 12 LSU - Live Stats | Listen (LSU) | Watch
March 25
1 p.m. (DH) - No. 10 James Madison at Hofstra - Live Stats (G1 / G2) | Listen (Hofstra)
2 p.m. (DH) - No. 17 Louisiana at South Alabama - Live Stats (G1 / G2) | Listen (UL) | Watch (G1 / G2)
3 p.m. - No. 24 Arkansas at No. 18 Kentucky - Game Center
3 p.m. (DH) - RV BYU at No. 15 UCLA - Live Stats (G1 / G2) | Listen (UCLA)
5 p.m. - No. 16 Georgia at No. 12 LSU- Live Stats | Listen (LSU) | Watch
6 p.m. - No. 23 Ole Miss at No. 20 Tennessee- Live Stats | Listen (UT) | Watch
March 26
Noon - No. 10 James Madison at Hofstra - Live Stats | Listen (Hofstra)
1 p.m. - No. 24 Arkansas at No. 18 Kentucky - Game Center
1:30 p.m. - No. 23 Ole Miss at No. 20 Tennessee- Live Stats | Listen (UT) | Watch
2 p.m. - No. 16 Georgia at No. 12 LSU- Live Stats | Listen (LSU) | Watch
2 p.m. - No. 17 Louisiana at South Alabama - Live Stats | Listen (UL) | Watch
DIII
No. 16 Texas-Dallas (20-5, 12-3 ASC) at No. 2 Texas Tyler (22-2, 13-2)
March 25-26 | 3 (DH) p.m. CT / 1 CT | Tyler, Texas
Follow: Watch | Listen (Angelo) | Live Stats (G1 / G2 / G3)
On Twitter: @UTDCOMETSPORTS | @Patriot_Softball
Stats: Texas-Dallas | Texas-Tyler
Texas-Dallas: The Comets took two of three games in its series with defending ASC champion and then-No. 5 East Texas Baptist last weekend, winning the finale, 3-2 in nine innings, on sophomore Ravin Wilson’s double off the right center field wall. … Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III Player of the Year candidate Melissa Livermore, a sophomore, paces the attack with a .464 average, 39 hits and 26 runs scored, while juniors Stefanie Polderman (.421, five doubles, 17 RBI) and Heather Gilbert (.379, four doubles, 13 RBI) are among the other top threats in the lineup. … Senior Lauren McLeod (12-1, 63 strikeouts in 80 innings) leads a solid three-woman pitching rotation, which includes fellow senior Sara Davison (2.24 ERA, two complete games in four starts) and sophomore Allie Stephens (6-2, 2.59 ERA and just 15 walks across eight starts).
Texas-Tyler (Preview): The Patriots’ Division III-leading offense (.418 average) is led by senior Kaylee Prather, who is the national leader with 46 hits and has a .541 batting average, seven doubles, three triples and 15 RBI. … Sophomore Cheyenne Thompson ranks third nationally in doubles (11) and RBI (33) and is currently fourth in hits (39). Senior KK Stevens is fourth in Division III with seven homers and has 30 RBI this season. … Senior Alaina Kissinger (1.53 ERA, 49 strikeouts) improved to 12-0 in last weekend’s three-game sweep of Howard Payne and is 56-2 for her Patriot career, while freshman Whitney Romero (8-1, 0.78 ERA, 45 strikeouts) is a formidable No. 2 in the circle.
Other Notable DIII Games (All Times Eastern)
March 24
5 & 7 p.m. - No. 1 Berry vs. Birmingham-Southern — Live stats | Live video
3 & 5 p.m. – Anderson (Ind.) vs. No. 4 Trine — Live stats | Live audio
March 25
1 p.m. - No. 1 Berry vs. Birmingham-Southern — Live stats | Live video
1 p.m. - No. 3 Virginia Wesleyan vs. Randolph — Game 1 live stats | Game 2 live stats
5 & 7 p.m. – Concordia (Texas) at No. 5 East Texas Baptist — Live stats | Live video
NAIA
No. 17 Vanguard (27-7, 8-2 GSAC) at No. 23 Hope International (21-5, 7-3 GSAC)
March 24 (DH) - 2:00 p.m. PT | Fullerton, Calif.
Follow: Live Stats
On Twitter: @VULions |@HIURoyals
Vanguard: Coming off a pair of one-run wins at No. 14 Simpson on Wednesday, Vanguard completed its 10th doubleheader sweep of the season... The Lions have won four straight and nine of their last 11... Payton Ross leads the offense with a team-best .391 average, 43 hits, 24 RBI and 29 runs scored... Samantha Shaffer, Kaitlin Estes and Britany Heinle each have two homers with Shaffer knocking 23 runs and leading the squad with five triples and .615 slugging percentage... Courtney Thornhill is 10-3 with a staff-low 1.09 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 82.2 innings... Vanessa Dwyer is 12-3 with a 2.43 ERA and 45 punchouts in 92.2 innings... As a staff, they have recorded 12 shutouts and held opponents to a .231 batting average.
Hope International: Powered by a 15-game winning streak, the Royals are off to their best start in program history after a a doubleheader sweep of Benedictine University of Mesa... Hope International is batting .349 as a squad with 29 home runs... Four players are batting above .400 led by Crystal Cano, who is hitting .412 with a team-best 12 homers, 29 RBI, 38 runs scored and a .988 slugging percentage... Alejandra Guillen leads the Royals with a .417 average, while Justice Walker (.406) owns a team-high 39 hits and 21 stolen bases on 21 attempts... Tori Franks is 13-3 with a 2.16 ERA, four shutouts and 56 strikeouts, while Guillen is 8-2 with a 2.54 ERA.
Other Notable DIII Games (All times ET)
March 16
3 p.m. (DH) - No. 11 Lindsey Wilson at RV Georgetown College -
3 p.m. (DH) - RV Coastal Georgia at No. 2 William Carey - Live Stats
3 p.m. (DH) - No. 19 Williams Baptist at RV Lindenwood-Belleville
March 25
2 p.m. (DH) - RV St. Gregory's at No. 25 Science & Arts Oklahoma - Live Stats
