Though the Tigers posted a 9-15 record within SEC play this spring, Auburn boasts an RPI of 24 with the NCAA’s latest update, made possible in part by seven wins over RPI top 25 squads.
The team earned ranked series wins against the then-No. 6 LSU tigers and then-No. 17 Alabama Crimson Tide, and earned ranked wins over then-No. 13 Utah, then-No. 12 Missouri, then-No. 20 Arkansas, then-No. 4 Tennessee and then-No. 24 Kentucky. Auburn’s series win over LSU represents its two highest-ranked wins by RPI as well, as LSU slots in at No. 4 in the NCAA’s latest update.
Auburn is led by All-SEC Second Teamer Maddie Penta, who represents one of the more dominant arms in the SEC. The senior right-hander has produced her third consecutive season with at least 200 strikeouts, and on nine occasions reached double-digit punchouts in a single game this year, highlighted by her 18-strikeout, nine-inning masterpiece against Ole Miss in Auburn’s 2-1, 11-inning victory April 26.
Penta leads the SEC in punchouts, as the conference’s lone hurler to reach the 200-strikeoout plateau thus far, and represents one of 12 pitchers in the nation with at least 200 strikeouts. She also ranks within the top 10 in the SEC in complete games (14), ERA (1.77), starts (27), fewest hits allowed per seven innings (4.61), innings pitched (182.1), shutouts (7) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.97).
The senior leads a Tigers pitching staff that ranks 32nd in the nation with a 2.47 ERA, bolstered by a defense that has posted a .976 fielding percentage that slots in third in the SEC and 15th in the country.
Scouting Florida State
One of UCF’s two 2023 NCAA Regional opponents, the Seminoles earned the No. 15 overall seed and hosting honors in this year’s tournament on the heels of a 43-14 overall record and a 26-6 mark in ACC play. The squad brings an NCAA RPI ranking of 13 into tournament play as well, second highest in the ACC only to Duke’s No. 3 RPI ranking.
The owner of four top 25 RPI wins and nine RPI top 50 wins this spring, Florida State can stake its claim to a trio of ranked wins, including then-No. 4 Duke, then-No. 12 Florida and then-No. 9 Stanford. The Seminoles’ blanking of the Cardinal during the Clearwater Invitational Feb. 14 represented the third of 12 eventual shutout victories authored by Florida State this spring, and one of just four times Stanford has been held scoreless this season.
The Knights hung with the Seminoles throughout the teams’ 2023 Regional matchup May 20 but were unable to find the key hit they needed in a 5-1 loss to then-No. 3 Florida State, despite outhitting the Seminoles 9-4 in the contest overall. UCF this weekend will be in search of its first win against Florida State since April 6, 2011, a 2-1 victory in Orlando.
The Seminoles bring into the tournament a prolific offense led by Jaysoni Beachum, winner of ACC Freshman of the Year honors.
The infielder in just her first collegiate season is the conference’s second-leading hitter with a .436 average that slots in at 11th in the nation overall. She also ranks within the ACC’s top 10 in total hits (75), home runs (15), on-base percentage (.521), RBI (64), slugging percentage (.773) and total bases (133).
Beachum spearheads an offensive charge that leaves her squad with a .339 team batting average that ranks third in the ACC and eighth in the nation. The Seminoles also lead the conference in doubles (93), rank second in on-base percentage (.424), runs per game (7.60) and slugging percentage (.589), and third in home runs per game (1.49).
Scouting Chattanooga
Chattanooga makes an appearance in the 2024 NCAA Tournament as the winner of the SoCon Tournament’s automatic bid. The Mocs’ conference tournament title punctuated a strong 42-14 run through the spring campaign, including a 16-5 record in conference play.
The squad played a pair of close contests against the then-No. 21 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns and California Golden Bears during its season-opening participation in the Louisiana Classic, including a narrow 1-0 loss to Cal that saw a fifth-inning solo home run mark the difference. The Mocs also boasted a perfect 6-0 record in their six games against RPI 51-100-ranked teams, led by their 6-0 win over Troy (ranked No. 52) March 8.
Chattanooga enters tournament play near the top of the SoCon in a handful of statistical categories, including average (.304, 1st), doubles (81, 1st), ERA (2.81, 1st), fielding percentage (.968, 1st), on-base percentage (.388, 1st), runs per game (5.43, 1st), shutout wins (12, 1st) and slugging percentage (.482, 2nd).
The Knights have met the Mocs just four times in program history, having won each of the last three matchups between the two teams. UCF last played Chattanooga in Clearwater March 9, 2019, coming away with a 4-1 victory that pushed the Black and Gold’s all-time record against the Mocs to 3-1.
UCF will open tournament play against the Auburn Tigers at 2 p.m. ET from JoAnne Graf Field, with the contest set to be broadcast nationally on ESPNU. With a win, UCF would square off against the winner of Florida State’s game against Chattanooga Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
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