Spartans 29th in NCAA RPI, Miller in Dead Heat for National Strikeout Lead
5/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
NCAA RPI | Upstate's NCAA Ranking Summary
Spartanburg, S.C. – Anna Miller is in a near dead heat for the national lead in strikeouts per game and USC Upstate will enter the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 29 in the latest NCAA RPI report issued Monday.
Miller enters the NCAA Tournament with 11.9 strikeouts per game, extending to 11.9339 for ranking purposes. Tulsa's Aimee Creger also owns an 11.9 strikeouts per game average. However, Creger is listed No. 1 in the national ranking because her strikeout per game extended total is 11.9476, a difference of just 0.0137 per game.
Upstate has been ranked in the Top 30 in every RPI released by the NCAA this season. The Spartans peaked at No. 21 and enter the NCAA Tournament with a No. 29 ranking. The Spartans are the highest A-Sun team in the ranking, followed by fellow NCAA Tournament teams Lipscomb at No. 32 and Stetson at No. 35. In all, the A-Sun placed four teams in the Top 50 and six teams in the Top 100 in the latest ranking. Upstate is also the highest-ranked team from the Palmetto State, topping South Carolina at No. 31. In all, the Spartans have played 11 teams ranked in the Top 100 in this week's RPI.
The Tuscaloosa Regional is going to be a fierce battle based on the latest RPI. Alabama is ranked No. 3 in the nation, while South Alabama, Upstate's opening opponent, is ranked 18th. SIU Edwardsville is 90th. Three of the four Tuscaloosa Regional teams are inside the Top 30 in the NCAA RPI.
When Upstate opens play in the Tuscaloosa Regional Friday against South Alabama, it will be a matchup of the first- and third-ranked teams in the nation for ERA. South Alabama tops the nation with a 1.28 mark, while Upstate is third at 1.36. Upstate had topped South Alabama in each of the previous two weeks, but South Alabama regained the top spot after the conclusion of conference tournament play.
In all, Upstate ranks in the Top 25 in eight different team categories. In addition to ranking third in the nation in ERA, the Spartans are fifth with a .865 winning percentage, 11th with a .328 batting average and .973 fielding percentage, 13th with a .519 slugging percentage, 20th with 1.13 home runs per game and 6.23 runs per game and 22nd with 1.52 doubles per game.
In addition to ranking second in the nation in strikeouts per game, Miller ranks seventh with 3.79 hits allowed per game, 11th with 10 shutouts, 15th with a 1.33 ERA and 24th with 233 strikeouts. Her pitching mates also find themselves in the national rankings. Lexi Shubert is 10th with a 1.25 ERA, 29th with 4.81 hits allowed per game and 40th with 1.35 walks allowed per game, while Hannah Alexander is 34th with a 1.65 ERA.
Shellie Robinson ranks 13th with a .822 slugging percentage, 14th with 17 home runs, 17th with 0.33 home runs per game, 25th with 1.02 runs per game and 37th with a .420 batting average. She is also the 43rd-toughest batter to strikeout. Maddison Kieffer is the 50th-toughest batter to strikeout.
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