Rivalry Week Part 2

Michigan-Ohio State

   The annual match up between the two Midwest state schools has been held at the end of the regular season since 1935 (with exceptions in 1942, 1986, and 1998). Since 1918, the game's site has alternated between Columbus, Ohio, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and has been played in Ohio Stadium since 1922 and Michigan Stadium since 1927. Through 2009, Ohio State and Michigan have decided the Big Ten Conference championship between themselves on 22 different occasions, and have affected the determination of the conference title an additional 26 times. 

   The inaugural meeting between Ohio State and Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1897 resulted in a lopsided victory for Michigan, with the Wolverines posting a 34–0 win over Ohio State's Buckeyes. The first game foretold a long Michigan winning streak, with Michigan winning or tying every match from 1897 to 1912 and thereby compiling a 12–0–2 record before the contest was postponed for several years. The Ohio State Alma Mater "Carmen Ohio" was written on the train ride home to Columbus following the 1902 contest, which saw Ohio State losing to Michigan, 86–0. The lyrics and melody (Spanish Chant) have remained largely unchanged since its conception.

   The 1950 contest, known as the Snow Bowl, is perhaps the most famous game in the rivalry. Eighth-ranked Ohio State was scheduled to host the game on November 25 in Columbus amidst one of the worst blizzards on Ohio record. The Buckeyes, who led the Big Ten, were granted the option to cancel the game against Michigan, which would have, by default, given the Buckeyes the Big Ten title outright and won them a trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. Ohio State refused, and the game was set to be played. Amid howling snow and wind, in what was probably the most literal example of a "field position" game, the teams exchanged 45 punts, often on first down, in hopes that the other team would fumble the ball near or into their own end zone. Ohio State's Vic Janowicz, who would claim the Heisman Trophy that year, punted 21 times for 685 yards and also kicked a field goal in the first quarter for the Buckeyes' only points. Michigan capitalized on two blocked punts, booting one out of the back of the end zone for a safety and recovering another one in the end zone for a touchdown just before halftime. Despite failing to gain a single first down or complete a single forward pass, Michigan gained a 9–3 victory, securing the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth.

   While Michigan leads the series 57–43–6, OSU has won the last six meetings.

Florida-Florida State

  
The University of Florida has fielded an official varsity football team every season since 1906, with the exception of 1943. Although Florida State College (one of the predecessor institutions of Florida State University) sponsored a varsity football team from 1902 to 1904, the Florida Legislature converted Florida State College into the Florida Female College, the state's new all-women's college in 1905. The college's name was changed to "Florida State College for Women" in 1909, and it remained so until the college became co-educational in 1947, when the modern Florida State football team was established.

   Almost immediately, Florida State's football coach, players and students began calling for the Gators to play the new Florida State football team. The University of Florida, however, was reluctant to treat Florida State as an equal. A proposed bill mandating that Florida play Florida State in football and other sports was proposed in 1955 but was voted down in the Florida Legislature. However, Florida Governor LeRoy Collins asked president J. Wayne Reitz of the University of Florida to schedule a yearly football series between the two state universities, and the two schools' athletic directors eventually negotiated a contract that started the football series in 1958.
   
   In an otherwise unremarkable game coming in to this 8th annual contest between the burgeoning rivals, this game established the rivalry in full due to the controversy that surrounded its outcome. In a tight contest, UF led the Seminoles late in the game, 22-19. FSU had the ball at the Gator 45 yard line with 17 second left in the game. On first down, wide receiver Lane Fenner entered the game in place of FSU's star receiver Ron Sellers. FSU quarterback Gary Pajcic took the snap, Fenner got behind UF defenders, and Pajcic lofted a pass to Fenner in the front corner of the end zone for what appeared to be a game-winning FSU touchdown. However, referee Doug Moseley signaled that Fenner did not have control of the ball before rolling out of bounds and ruled the pass incomplete

   UF ended up holding on for a 22-19 win, but the controversy heated up after the game when photos that apparently showed Fenner making the catch in the endzone were published in state newspapers. Debate over whether or not the play should have been ruled a touchdown continues to this day.

   The Gators lead the overall series 33–19–2, though have only had an 18–17–1 record against the Seminoles since Bobby Bowden became FSU’s head coach in 1976.

Utah-BYU

   The University of Utah (Utah) and Brigham Young University (BYU) have a longstanding athletic rivalry that encompasses several sports. The annual college football game is frequently referred to as the Holy War.  In the 1890s, when BYU was still known as Brigham Young Academy, the two schools started competing athletically.  Both schools were founded by the LDS church, have significant percentages of LDS students and faculty as well as many historical and customary affiliations with Mormonism such as LDS institutes and dry campuses. As much as religion is a common historical foundation for the rivalry, it has also been a source of animosity and many have sought to downplay the aspect of religion. BYU (aka "the Y") is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("LDS or Mormon Church"). The University of Utah (aka "the U") is a public state-owned school. Because this rivalry includes a "church vs. state" dimension, many fans of both schools use it as a forum to vent deeply held feelings and perceptions.

   Utah claims that the football rivalry began in the late 19th century, when Utah played the Brigham Young Academy six times between 1896–1899. BYU does not count these games in their official records, since it was not then known as BYU, but BYA. Furthermore, BYU claims that the first of those football games, a 12–4 Utah victory in April 1896, was in actuality a practice-scrimmage to prepare for the following fall season. But whether or not the game meant anything to the schools at the time, it certainly meant a great deal to the fans. At the end of the match, a fight broke out between fans of the two schools.

Georgia-Georgia Tech

   The two schools are separated by 70 miles (110 km) and have been heated rivals since 1893. 

   The first known hostilities between the two schools trace back to 1891. The University of Georgia's literary magazine declared the school's colors to be "old gold, black, and crimson." Dr. Charles H. Herty, the first UGA football coach, felt that old gold was too similar to yellow and that yellow "symbolized cowardice.^" Also in 1891, a student vote chose old gold and white as Georgia Tech's school colors. After the 1893 football game against Tech, Herty removed old gold as an official school color. Tech would first use old gold for their uniforms, as a proverbial slap in the face to UGA, in their first unofficial football game against Auburn in 1891. Georgia Tech's school colors would henceforth be old gold and white.

   The game has been played 104 times according to Georgia Tech and only 102 times according to Georgia record books. Georgia discredits two games in 1943 and 1944 (both years in which Georgia Tech won) because many of their players went to fight in World War II, though official college football records include the games.

   The record between the two teams is 60 Georgia wins, 39 Georgia Tech wins, and 5 ties.  

NCAA Softball Super Regionals Part 1

So last week I previewed some of the Regionals in the NCAA Softball Tournament.  Well, 16 teams advanced to the Super Regionals portion and I am going to do a quick preview of those.  This is a head-to-head best two-of-three series.  The winner goes to The College World Series.

Super-Regional # 1 : Alabama vs. Hawaii

Alabama: The top-seeded Crimson Tide, behind the bat of freshman Courtney Conley and the arm of junior Kelsi Dunne, the No. 1 seeded Alabama softball team claimed the NCAA Softball Tuscaloosa Regional Championship Sunday afternoon, defeating Lipscomb 6-0. 

With the win the Crimson Tide improves to 51-9 and ties the school record with its 27th straight victory. The regional title is the sixth in a row and eighth overall for Alabama.

Dunne (29-4) earned her second win of the weekend on the strength of a 14-strikeout, two-hit shutout. The win is the 16th in a row for the right-hander. She had 10 strikeouts in the first game against Lipscomb, while only allowing five hits in that game.

The team wasn't really challenged, cruising past Alcorn State 9-0 before beating Lipscomb twice, 5-2 and 6-0. Kayla Braud led the team with a homer and four RBI on the weekend, while Conley added three RBI of her own.

Hawaii -  It is the second time in school history that the 'Bows have advanced to the Super Regionals. Hawaii is the only school in the WAC to make it to the "sweet sixteen" in softball. 

Kelly Majam hit her 29th home run in the Regional-clinching win.  Traci Yoshikawa, Melissa Gonzalez, Jenna Rodriguez, and Katie Grimes added homers in the 7-1 win over Texas Tech.  As a team, the 'Bows had six players hit .300 or over for the Regionals, outscoring their opponents 23-6 with eight home runs and 23 RBI.  The team has combined to hit 149 home runs as a whole, having two players, Gonzalez (25) and Majam (29) with over 25 home runs, as well as five players with over 50 RBI, led by Gonzalez's 60.

 Sophomore pitcher, Stephanie Ricketts, earned her third complete game win of the Regional.  She comes into Super Regionals with a 27-7 record and 2.35 ERA.  Kaia Parnaby has been a stud on the mound for the Rainbows as well, putting up a 19-6 record and 2.89 ERA. 

The 16th-seeded Rainbows went 12-11 against NCAA teams this year, including a win over 11th-seeded California. 

Super-Regional # 2: Missouri vs. Oregon

Missouri - For the first time in the history of the program, the Missouri softball team will play host to the NCAA Super Regional round.  The Tigers advance to the Super Regional for the third consecutive season after winning the Columbia Regional on Sunday.  Mizzou used a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Creighton on Friday before defeating Illinois 3-1 on Saturday, setting up a 4-2 victory over the Illini again on Sunday to clinch the title.  Missouri looks to return to the Women's College World Series for the second straight year.

The Tigers used a balanced effort offensively over the weekend, as Catherine Lee, Nicole Hudson and Ashley Fleming each had thee RBI on the weekend.  Rhea Taylor raised her stolen base total to 45, which is third on the all-time season list, and her 62 runs scored are second, behind her record of 64 set in her freshman year, 2008.


Although the offense was balanced, the star of the weekend was pitcher Kristin Nottleman, who improved her record to 22-7 on the season with her three wins during the Regional.  She had 14 strikeouts over the three games, including 11 in the two games against Illinois.  


Missouri is 2-1 against Oregon, winning last year in the San Diego Classic, 8-7 in eight innings.


Oregon - The No. 20-ranked University of Oregon softball team (36-19) battled back for a dramatic 4-3, eighth-inning victory over the NCAA tournament’s eighth overall seed Georgia Tech (51-11) Sunday afternoon at Mewborn Field to earn its first Super Regional trip since 1989. 

The team was 12-15 against NCAA Tournament teams, including wins over seeded teams Arizona, Washington, California and Arizona State.

Sam Pappas is the main threat for the Ducks, as she leads the team in HR (11), RBI (48) and stolen bases (11), while having the second highest batting average at .389.  Allie Burger leads the team in the postseason with a .545 average, while Kaylan Howard leads the team with one home run and five RBI.

Jessica Moore leads the team with a 16-7 record and a 1.87 ERA. She ahs struck out 232 batters this year while walking only 66.  Moore has pitched 18 1/3 innings in three postseason games, striking out 16. In the postseason, Mikayla Endicott has struck out four of the five batters she has faced.

Super-Regional # 3: UCLA vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

UCLA - The Bruins are hosting their third Super-Regional in a row.  Last year they were upset by an unseeded Missouri team in three games.  

The Bruins went 17-9 against NCAA Teams this year, facing teams such as Michigan and Ohio State in their nonconference portion of the schedule, in addition to their tough Pac 10 schedule.

Megan Langenfeld, when healthy, is one of the most dangerous dual-threats in college softball and that has been the case this year.  While she has not been as great of a presence on the mund, her production at the plate is something to be in awe of.  She has knocked out 16 home runs on her way to a team-high 49 RBI.  Her 16 HR are matched by teammate Julie Burney, who also has 44 RBI.  Andrea Harrison (13) and Samantha Camuso (11) each have double digit home runs as well.

Donna Kerr has been the UCLA workhorse this year, starting a team-high 29 of 54 games.  Despite this fact, she is one of three pitchers who has double digit wins on the year.  She holds an 18-7 record and 2.41 ERA, while teammates Langenfeld and Aleah Macon each have 10-1 records.  Macon leads the team with a 0.92 ERA.

Louisiana-Lafayette:  A complete team effort secured Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team a spot at the NCAA Super Regionals after the Cajuns downed Texas A&M, 6-1, at LSU's Tiger Park in the Baton Rouge Regional Championship.

The Cajuns put on a hitting clinic, rattling off 14 hits, including a three-run home run by Gabriele Bridges.  Eight Cajuns recorded a hit in the win with Vallie Gaspard, Melissa Verde, Nerissa Myers and Bridges boasting multi-hit performances. For the day, UL posted at least two hits in each inning.

For her effort, Bridges was tabbed as the Baton Rouge Regional's Most Valuable Player. For the weekend, the junior first baseman hit .444. She had four hits, three of which went for extra bases, a slugging percentage of 1.222. She racked up six RBI in nine at bats against the competition.

Gabrielle Bridges leads the Cajuns with 17 HR and 55 RBI, while Chrisiy Orgeron has 15 HR and 56 RBI.  

Brittany Cuevas was stellar in the circle. In the complete game victory, the senior hurler allowed just four hits and forced the Aggies into 12 ground outs. She struck out three, including the final out, to improve to 22-7 this season. She is only one part of a stellar two-headed monster.  Her counterpart in the circle is Donna Bourgeois, who leads the team with 23 wins and a 1.78 ERA.

The Cajuns went 8-10 against NCAA teams this year.

Super-Regional # 4:  Arizona State vs. Florida

Arizona State: The Regional Championship was the fifth consecutive for the 13th-seeded Sun Devils. They managed to make it through the Regional without dropping a game, dispatching Boston University and an underrated Long Island  University team twice.  

If the Devils' schedule didn't prepare them for postseason play, I don't know what can.  They faced 17 tournament teams, including 11 nonconference foes.  

The team has always been known as one to pack an offensive punch and that has continued to be the case this year.  Of their regular starters, all of them except one are hitting above .300 and three have double-digit home runs, as well as four who have over 40 RBI.   Katelyn Boyd is the table-setter, as she leads the team in average (.414), hits (70), home runs (15), RBI (49) and stolen bases (27).  Lesley Rogers is a perfect 22-of-22 on the basepaths.

Hilary Bach is the ace of the staff, having compiled a 25-7 record in 37 appearances.  She picked up two wins on the weekend, while Megan Elliott pitched a gem in the first game against LIU, only giving up four hits in over five innings.

ASU is 2-1 against Florida, with their last meeting being a loss last year, 8-2.  

Florida - The fourth-seeded University of Florida softball team used a 13-3, five-inning victory over FIU on Sunday afternoon at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in front of 1,503 fans to advance to its fourth straight NCAA Super Regional appearance. With the three Regional wins, Florida improved its all-time record to 16-15 in NCAA Regional action and 29-21 overall in the NCAA Tournament.  The Gators finished the season 10-1 against in-state rivals, defeating all three Florida teams in the Gainesville Regional.  Florida is hosting Super Regionals for the third time in program history

 Stephanie Brombacher picked up wins in all three games, improving her record to 32-6, while only giving up three runs and eight hits the entire weekend.  She has struck out 221 batters over her 199 innings pitched.

The Gator offense is stacked as well, as no player is hitting below .266.  Francesca Enea leads the team with 20 home runs and 65 RBI.  She leads a total of four players who have hit 13 or more home runs on the year.  In addition five players have over 40 RBI.  Florida also has some speed on the basepaths, swiping 75 of 95 opportunities.

Part 2, the other side of the bracket will try to be up before I leave for Cleveland Thursday afternoon.