[d4cohn]

Stanford vs Long Beach State on Friday.  I don't see a time yet.

https://twitter.com/NCAASoftball/status/...27/photo/1

6:00pm PT on ESPNU. Other games/times to follow depending on performance/results.

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Stanford vs Long Beach State on Friday.  I don't see a time yet.

https://twitter.com/NCAASoftball/status/...27/photo/1

A fair result based on our zero wins against top 10 teams.  We have a chance to prove them wrong, so lets see how it goes.  More than anything else, lets start hitting better.  Women lose 1 - 0 and the guys lose 20 - 18. Hitting can overcome fairly poor pitching, but not awful pitching.

In the abstract, I agree with you, and I think regional/super regional matchups (who you play) are almost as important as where you play. However, in practice, Alabama was seeded #5 in this tourney. We know a bit about Alabama beating them in Tuscaloosa last year. Their performance this year in the SEC, their RPI metrics etc. said they weren't a #5 national seed. 

If Stanford doesn't hit enough, we will go out early against almost any regional/super-regional matchup (particularly a Florida squad that can score runs).

However, if Stanford plays its game, I don't think this regional, or the teams out of the Durham regional, are an impossible path to Oklahoma City. A team like Northwestern getting possibly sent to Tuscaloosa if chalk holds is far worse of an outcome than getting sent to a program that is still building its softball culture and has essentially only been competing for 5 years.

[d4cohn]

Stanford vs Long Beach State on Friday.  I don't see a time yet.

https://twitter.com/NCAASoftball/status/...27/photo/1

6:00pm PT on ESPNU. Other games/times to follow depending on performance/results.

---

Stanford vs Long Beach State on Friday.  I don't see a time yet.

https://twitter.com/NCAASoftball/status/...27/photo/1

A fair result based on our zero wins against top 10 teams.  We have a chance to prove them wrong, so lets see how it goes.  More than anything else, lets start hitting better.  Women lose 1 - 0 and the guys lose 20 - 18. Hitting can overcome fairly poor pitching, but not awful pitching.

In the abstract, I agree with you, and I think regional/super regional matchups (who you play) are almost as important as where you play. However, in practice, Alabama was seeded #5 in this tourney. We know a bit about Alabama beating them in Tuscaloosa last year. Their performance this year in the SEC, their RPI metrics etc. said they weren't a #5 national seed. 

If Stanford doesn't hit enough, we will go out early against almost any regional/super-regional matchup (particularly a Florida squad that can score runs).

However, if Stanford plays its game, I don't think this regional, or the teams out of the Durham regional, are an impossible path to Oklahoma City. A team like Northwestern getting possibly sent to Tuscaloosa if chalk holds is far worse of an outcome than getting sent to a program that is still building its softball culture and has essentially only been competing for 5 years.