Arizona and Utah softball will battle the weather in Salt Lake City
The story of college softball this season has been the weather. Questions about when or whether games will be played have hung over series, even in places like Tucson where spring tends to be sunny... The weather conditions in Salt Lake City have affected college softball this season, with the Utah Utes set to host the No. 21 Arizona Wildcats in a tough series. The weather conditions have caused concerns about when or whether games will be played, particularly in places like Tucson where it is usually sunny and clear. The teams will play a doubleheader on Friday, starting at 9 a.m. MST, followed by the second game around 11 a.MST. This will be the second time the Wildcats have played a conference doubleheader away from home due to weather. Despite being the defending Pac-12 Tournament champion, Arizona is struggling this season with a batting average of only 11 home runs in 35 games. The team batting average has dropped from.327 to.306, with an OPS of 0.764 and a home run average of just 0.3 per game. Utah's defense has been criticized for giving up 248 hits, more than anyone in the league except Arizona State, and their 3.17 staff ERA and 1.47 WHIP are both 7th and 7th in the Pac-10.
Publié : il y a 4 semaines par K Doss dans Sports Weather
The story of college softball this season has been the weather. Questions about when or whether games will be played have hung over series, even in places like Tucson where spring tends to be sunny and clear. Sunny and clear isn’t in the forecast for Salt Lake City this weekend as the Utah Utes get set to host the No. 21 Arizona Wildcats.
Salt Lake has a 48 percent chance of rain during the day on Friday when the series was scheduled to start with one game. Snow is in the forecast for Saturday before it dries up on Sunday. That prompted the teams to make changes to the schedule on Thursday.
The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday with the first game starting at 9 a.m. MST. That will be followed by the second game around 11 a.m. MST. They will skip Saturday when the snowstorm is supposed to hit in earnest before finishing things up on Sunday at 11 a.m. MST.
It will be the second time the Wildcats have played a conference doubleheader on the road due to weather. They started their Pac-12 season at Oregon State where the teams played two early afternoon games on Friday, Mar. 8 and finished the series during the evening of Saturday, Mar. 9.
If there’s any positive in the experience, Arizona is accustomed to it now. They also came out with their only Pac-12 series victory that weekend, winning the second two games after dropping the first. In the three series since the trip to Corvallis, the Wildcats have gone 1-2.
The Utes are still trying to rediscover the magic from last year. They came into the season as the defending Pac-12 Tournament champion. They were one of three teams from the league to make it to Oklahoma City last year. It was their first trip to the Women’s College World Series since 1994.
Their 15 losses so far this season are just one fewer than all of last year. They are 3-9 in the Pac-12 less than a full year after finishing 15-9. The reasons for that are multiple.
On offense, Utah’s team batting average is down from .327 to .306, accompanied by an OPS that has dropped from .867 to .764. Last season, they hit approximately 0.8 home runs per game. That has dropped to 0.3 per game. They are last in the Pac-12 with just 11 home runs in 35 games this season.
The Utes are 8th of 9 conference teams in the Pac-12 in runs scored (162), 8th in RBI (139), 8th in slugging percentage (.403), 9th in home runs (11), and 9th in walks (76).
Things have often gone sideways in the circle. The Utes have given up 248 hits, more than anyone in the league except Arizona State. The 86 walks surrendered by the staff are more than any team except California. The hits and walks have turned into 103 earned runs, more than any team except Cal and ASU. Their 3.17 staff ERA and 1.47 WHIP are both 7th in the league.
Arizona has the talent it needs to win the series. However, that was also true heading into the series in Berkeley. The Wildcats were edged out in two of the three games at Cal. To gain ground in the standings, they will need to start taking care of the teams they “should” beat.
Les sujets: Softball