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2019 Belly Flop Championship Winner
As promised, your winner of the 2019 Belly Flop Championship. I’m sure the healing properties of the water jump fixed that nasty wounded knee.
2019 Belly Flop Championship Runner Up
Most years, this would be our champion. However, as you will see tomorrow, our runner up lacked two things our 2019 champion had going for him–blood and glasses.
NAIA Softball Opening Round predictions
Tayler Walker
@SOURaiders @SOU_Softball @taylerrwalkerr
Game times are posted here.
Let’s take a look at what Massey “thinks”. Massey dropped the Raiders from the #4 spot after the two losses to College of Idaho a couple weeks ago. However, the Raiders have risen back to #5 on Massey after winning the conference tournament without a loss. The coaches left the Raiders at #4.
2019 Massey NAIA Softball rankings (May 9, 2019)
The coaches have Hope International at #11, but Massey has them at #14. Massey and the coaches disagree on Marymount and Taylor as well. The coaches have them at #30 and #28 while Massey has them as #20 and #35.
Massey gives the Raiders an 80% chance of beating Taylor, 72% chance against Marymount, and 68% chance against Hope. I’m not sure what chance that gives the Raiders in a double-elimination format, but probably a number well over 90% against these three teams. According to Massey, SOU has had a more challenging strength of schedule than their three opening round opponents. Oregon Tech and Corban are both in Massey’s top 20, and the Raiders went a combined 12-1 against them.
Murderers’ Row
2019 SOU softball starting lineup
@allie_stines @SOURaiders @SOU_Softball @__averymarie @quirkey_15 @livvv_mackey @ShimekHannah @paigemleeper @taylerrwalkerr @HannahWessel1 @tiiaannaa_
“Murderers’ Row” refers to the 1927 Yankees, who batted a combined .307–shy of the Tigers’ record .316 in 1921. League averages were much higher then (about .290–similar to the NAIA softball average–compared to about .260 in recent decades for MLB).
Flash forward almost one hundred years to this group. They are hitting a combined .369 as a team (and even higher for this starting crew of nine). That puts them at #2 in the NAIA among teams with over 1,500 plate appearances (and #4 if that number is lowered to 1,300). In the 10-team Cascade Conference they have five of the top 12 hitters and all nine are in the top 25.
We’ll find out later today what three teams will be coming to Medford next week to try to prevent the Raiders from moving on to the NAIA Softball World Series in Springfield, Missouri. Last year SOU went in as the #8-ranked team (and knocked off #15 St. Francis to move on). This year they will likely go in ranked #4 or #5 and face two teams lower in the rankings as well as an unranked team.
Players of the Week
Gabby Sandoval
@ShimekHannah @SOURaiders @SOU_Softball @gabbysandoval14
Details here.
Kevin Tunnell
Hannah Shimek
Happy birthday, Lauren McGowne!
Lauren McGowne
@SOURaiders @LMcGowne
Raiders playing for an “easy” Sunday today at 2
Lauren Quirke
@SOURaiders @SOU_Softball @quirkey_15
Today at 2 p.m. Southern Oregon will face off against Oregon Tech, a team which has dominated the conference this year–except when they play SOU. Against everyone else, the Owls are 23-1, but the Raiders are a perfect 3-0 against Tech.
A win today means just one win will be necessary on Sunday to win the tournament. A loss today means three wins will be required on Sunday. Winning the tournament may be necessary to keep a top six ranking and a “pole position” in the NAIA College World Series.