High-powered offenses, stout defenses and the hunt for POY: The numbers behind the 2024 season

We’re one month into the 2024 college softball season and are already seeing many stars emerge, staggering stats and interesting trends.

Numbers can reveal a lot. They tell us about strengths, which players bring the most value to their teams and also indicate areas of concern that might not be easily seen when watching the game. Of course, these statistics will fluctuate as the season treads on, but these numbers can tell a story about what we might see in the Women’s College World Series.

As we close the chapter on Week 5 and fix our eyes to the updated top-25 poll, here are the key numbers to know from the beginning of this college softball season.

Numbers are through March 11.

10: One month into the season, 10 Division I softball players have hit double-digit home runs, with five earning their spot in the mix over the weekend.

Jenna Golembiewski and Karli Spaid from Miami (OH) lead the nation with 14 a piece and are followed by McKayla Timmons with 13 (Ball State). Reese Atwood (Texas), Britain Beshears (Michigan State), Elon Butler (California), Taryn Jenkins (Nevada), Jayda Kearney (Georgia) and Brooklynn Maxwell (UNC Greensboro) round out the ground with 10 homers each.

9: Tiare Jennings needs nine extra-base hits to reach 146 in her career. If she reaches that total she would surpass Lauren Chamberlain for the second most in Sooners’ history, behind only Jocelyn Alo (173). Jennings also ranks second in career RBIs with 267, behind Alo who has 323.

8: There have been eight different Division I players to hit at least three home runs in a game this season.

Taryn Jenkins (Nevada), Trinity Schlotterbeck (FAU), Cami Compson (Pitt), Laura Mealer (Tennessee), Lindsey Richardson (Jacksonville State), Sophia Knock (Longwood), Aly Kaneshiro (Stanford) and Kassidy Moore (Mercer)

7: Duke has not allowed a run in seven games. The season started with Florida State heavily favored to win the ACC, but Duke has since taken the conference’s spotlight.

6: LSU has six hitters (with a minimum of 40 at-bats) hitting over .300. Danieca Coffey leads the pack (.404), she is followed by McKenzie Redoutey (.393), Ali Newland (.391), Raeleen Gutierrez (.375), Taylor Pleasants (.349) and Ciara Briggs (.324).

5: Nebraska, Northwestern, Louisiana, Utah and Oregon have dropped out of the top 25 after being ranked there in the preseason.

4: Florida, Duke, Oklahoma and Tennessee are the four programs that have double-digit shutout wins. The Gators lead the nation with 15.

3: In Oklahoma’s loss to Louisiana, the Sooners committed a season-worst three errors. That was their first game with three errors since June 8, 2021 (Game 1 of the WCWS Championship Series vs. Florida State). The Sooners have not committed an error since.

2.32: The Stanford pitching staff has a 2.32 ERA in 78.1 innings pitched excluding NiJaree Canady. With Canady, they boast the ninth-best mark, a 1.43 ERA, with her contributing 73 innings pitched. Simply put: Canady means a lot to Stanford’s staff.

1: Georgia Tech is one home run shy of beating their 2023 home run total. Mallorie Black, Madison Dobbins and Sara Beth lead the team with nine each.

Marquee games and series to watch

No. 15 Alabama vs. No. 18 Florida State
7 p.m. ET, March 13, ACCN

Can the Seminoles get back on track? Can Alabama keep the momentum going after shutting out Florida on Monday night? Although FSU has struggled to retain its 2023 dominance so far this season, it holds a 10-1 record at home. You’d think that’d be enough to give the Seminoles optimism. But as good as FSU is at home, Alabama is even better on the road. The Crimson Tide boast a 10-0 record when not playing in Tuscaloosa. This will be a battle.

North Carolina vs. No. 11 Clemson
March 15-17, ACCNX

One of the biggest surprises this season has been seeing the previously 26-28 Tar Heels transform into a program that is currently 19-4. North Carolina’s bats are led by Sanaa Thompson and Alex Coleman, who rank first and second nationally in batting average. Clemson will keep this matchup competitive as it has a .485 slugging percentage and a .299 batting average.

No. 19 Texas A&M vs. No. 23 Mississippi State
March 15-17, SECN+

The Aggies’ pitching staff looks to continue to roll against SEC opponents — Texas A&M enters the series 3-0 in conference play. Emiley Kennedy has stepped up as a leader, appearing in all three games of the South Carolina series and striking out 15 batters in 13 innings. But can the Aggies’ defense hold up against Mississippi State’s offense? The Bulldogs boast one of the highest-scoring offenses in the nation with 163 runs on the season.