No. 8 Stanford (46-14, 17-7 Pac-12) hosts No. 9 LSU (43-15, 12-12 SEC) in the Super Regional, with ambitions to win a ticket to the College World Series in Oklahoma City.
The Cardinal were in a similar position two years earlier, but hosting the Supers only backfired due to the enormous pressure. Of course, there are many differences between then and now. Back then, playing for a spot in the WCWS was uncharted territory for the entire roster. Four starters and a co-starting pitcher left the program last summer, but there are still many athletes from the previous team that reached the WCWS. For many of them, playing in the Super Regional won’t be something new, as it was for the team two years ago.
Especially promising for softball is sophomore NiJaree Canady, who is one of the three Softball Collegiate Player of the Year finalists. She is the best pitcher in the nation with an unreal ERA of .52 and is also lads the nation in strikeouts with 292. To put things into perspective, the second-best ERA is 1.08.
The Kansas native can mask many of the defensive weaknesses, especially in the infield. The team lost a senior and two super-senior infielders and replaced them with two freshmen and a sophomore, who are all playing in different positions than the previous year.
Although all infielders have overperformed, errors are inevitable as one cannot buy experience. However, Canady can minimize the infield action. Senior NFCA All-West Region First Team pitcher Regan Krause is an elite pitcher with many accolades this year, but her ERA is not as low as Canady’s, which means that the infielders will have more action.
Given that the competition increases approaching June, the opposing batters will get better, translating to more contact, which means more defensive action. On the other hand, time is on Stanford’s side. We witnessed how much the team has grown since the season started. Is there enough time to perfect their game till June?
The answer is probably not, so winning an NCAA championship this year will take a miracle. But presence in Oklahoma seemed nothing short of a miracle a few months ago, and is now within reach.
The game on Friday is arguably the most decisive in the series. A win will bring the Cardinal one game away from the WCWS, a game that they will play in front of manys fans. Also, knowing that Canady will be available in a third game (if necessary) brings a sense of relief. If Stanford wins game one and has the lead midway into game two, Canady may step in at the top of the fifth to close it out. Krause will need more help than in the Regional from her defense.
Another factor is how much help head coach Jessica Allister recieves from her athletes to challenge questionable referee calls. There is no better person to signal a coach to challenge than the player involved. A good example is last year’s Pac-12 semi-final against UCLA.
With rapport between the coach and players, the Cardinal have created favorable conditions for themselves. They also host the Super Regional, which means they do not have to travel, do not have to wake up at 4 a.m. PT on game day like last year against Duke, have an extra day to practice and will play in front of their families and friends.
For the offense, the best medicine to succeed is to stay loose and swing freely. And, the only way to achieve that is by having the same excitement every time they hold the bat as they had as kids a decade ago. My advice to the softball team is simple: Keep the party on in the dugout.
After all, with Canady in the circle they will likely not need too many runs to come out victorious and punch a ticket to Oklahoma City for a second straight year, an unprecedented achievement in the program’s history.