By Chris Girandola

Top-ranked Florida State demonstrated why the Seminoles are front runners to repeat as champions with an impressive performance in a tournament that featured 16 teams playing under the Florida sunshine. UCLA was dominant at the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament and Alabama remained undefeated through two weeks of play. 

Holy Noles!

Florida State’s 6-0 performance included wins over No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 6 Tennessee and No. 7 LSU, each of whom entered the tournament with undefeated records. The Seminoles, who are now on a 17-game winning streak, fired on all cylinders in their six wins at the tournament, batting .375 as a team with a .720 slugging percentage, outscoring their opponents 51-19 and crushing 15 home runs. In the 7-5 win over No. 3 Oklahoma (8-1) on Friday, the lower half of the Seminole order carried Florida State on Friday as batters 5-9 in the lineup hit 11-for-29 on the day, including two doubles, five home runs, seven RBI and seven runs scored. 

Before we could even tweet this home run, @FSU_Softball launched two more. ?

They've now hit 15 (!!!) and counting at the @SPCEliteInvite. pic.twitter.com/atcMJ24OtX

— espnW (@espnW) February 18, 2019

Meghan King recorded 11 strikeouts in a 3-1 win over Ohio State (3-2). After staving off upsets by unranked Minnesota and Florida Atlantic University on Saturday, the Seminoles wrapped up the weekend with a 10-5 victory over Florida Atlantic (3-7) in the early game on Sunday and then an exciting 5-2 victory against No. 6 Tennessee (8-2), an ESPN-televised game that featured a highlight-reel catch by Dani Morgan. Morgan’s home run-robbing catch with two runners on base came in the fourth inning and helped preserve the lead and eventual win.

ROBBERY ? #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/Wa7AbY5ylT

— espnW (@espnW) February 18, 2019

Going, Going, Going, Going, Gone: Sooner Bombs

Oklahoma had a smashing good time against Hofstra Saturday morning at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational, hitting five home runs and scoring 11 runs in one inning in a 17-3 victory. 

Sophomore Jocelyn Alo hit two home runs in the contest while senior Sydney Romero and freshmen Grace Green and Grace Lyons each had one. The Sooners' (8-1) five home runs against the Pride (0-2) were the most by an OU team in one game since hitting six against Kansas on April 14, 2017. 

MID 2 | OU 15, Hofstra 3 #Sooners score ELEVEN runs on seven hits in the second, including three huge home runs! pic.twitter.com/u68i1FRgMu

— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) February 16, 2019

It’s All Good, Megan Good

Despite suffering her first loss of the season in a 6-1 defeat by Kentucky, Megan Good looked impressive in her return to the softball field. Good, one of three finalists for the 2017 USA Softball player of the year, went 2-1 in the circle and hit two home runs after missing all of last season with a knee injury. 

T6 | LET'S GOOO!

Good drops a ? over the wall in center for her first home run of the game (second on the day) and the team's FIFTH‼️

Dukes lead 6-2. pic.twitter.com/rRZt1diTFh

— JMU Softball (@JMUSoftball) February 16, 2019

James Madison knocked off No. 6 Tennessee 6-2 to ruin the Lady Vols' chances at running the table behind three home runs from Kate Gordon. Gordon hit four home runs in 17 at-bats and scored six runs over James Madison's first five games.

The BruWins

UCLA is arguably the other best team of the best and the Bruins showcased both their offensive potential and pitching prowess in the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament. The Bruins shattered a school record for most runs in one inning in a 17-3, five-inning victory over UC Riverside, while closing the weekend with a 3-1 win against Loyola Marymount on Sunday at Easton Stadium. 

BRUINS WIN!!!! UCLA scores 16 runs in the first inning, 13 runs before recording an out and beats UC Riverside, 17-3.

Back in 30 minutes against Loyola Marymount.#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/RIsD2j85Ge

— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) February 18, 2019

Against UCR (3-7), UCLA (8-0) scored 16 runs in the bottom of the first inning, including 13 before making an out. The 16-run outburst broke the previous school record of 13 runs scored on April 21, 1992, against Cal Poly Pomona. The 16 first-inning runs are tied for the second most first-inning runs of any team in the nation in NCAA history, according to UCLA sports information.

In UCLA’s other games, redshirt junior Rachel Garcia struck out 13 in seven innings in a 4-0 shutout win over Ole Miss, while freshman Megan Faraimo followed that up with a five-inning, 10-strikeout no-hitter in an 8-0 victory over Fresno State on Saturday at Easton Stadium.

A Nickles ground out scores Vines with the mercy-rule run.

BRUINS WIN!!!! 8-0 over Fresno State in five innings.

AND IT'S A NO-HITTER!!!! Megan Faraimo with the first of her career, striking out 10 and retiring the last 14 batters in a row.#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/ZJIH40EMFX

— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) February 17, 2019

Gators Gamers

While Florida State was burning up the basepaths in the Seminoles’ home state, No. 4 Florida went across the country and earned five victories in the Littlewood Classic, hosted by Arizona State. The Gators capped the weekend with a dominant 8-0 victory over Central Michigan as senior hurler Kelly Barnhill (6-0) picked up her sixth win of the season, striking out eight of the 14 batters faced over four innings. Barnhill limited the CMU offense to just one hit and a walk. 

Struck out a season-high 14 batters in the complete-game win over #14/16/24 Arizona State. @kkatlyn111 is the #SECSB Pitcher of the Week. pic.twitter.com/fCHGsXNO9e

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) February 18, 2019

Natalie Lugo came in relief in the fifth and picked up three strikeouts while only allowing one hit on just 14 pitches. In the circle, three UF pitchers have a 1.00 ERA or lower so far this year. Barnhill is pacing the staff with a 0.88 ERA, while Lugo sports a 0.97 ERA and freshman Elizabeth Hightower has an even 1.00 ERA. All three also have a .104 opposing batting average or lower.

Tide Rolling

The other undefeated team in the SEC is the Alabama Crimson Tide and a balanced offensive attack and pitching have been a big part of the Tide’s impressive 10-0 start. Alabama freshman pitcher Montana Fouts, named the SEC Softball Freshman of the Week on Monday, went 2-0 in the circle at the Hillenbrand Invitational in Tucson, Ariz., pitching a pair of complete-game victories against USF and ninth-ranked Arizona. She threw 14.0 innings with just one unearned run allowed on nine hits with 20 strikeouts and no walks. Fouts has yet to walk a batter through 27.0 innings pitched this season and is 4-0 with two runs allowed, one earned, and 33 strikeouts.

Montana Fouts Named SEC Freshman of the Week ?

?: https://t.co/9VndD1cVRQ#BamaSB | #RollTide pic.twitter.com/MsIBmsrHbN

— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB) February 18, 2019

Fouts’ award follows the SEC Player of the Week honors that went to Alabama sophomore Kaylee Tow, who was named SEC Player of the Week after the opening weekend in which Tow posted stellar numbers at the Trojan Classic, leading the team with a .692 batting average which included nine hits, nine runs scored, three doubles and six walks. She earned at least one hit, one run and one walk in all five games and had an RBI in four of the five contests.