MIAMI SOFTBALL NOTES

Spaid drafted; MU among talented group in Knoxville

By MIKE SMITH
-- Miami infielder Karli Spaid has already etched her name into the record books (Miami, MAC, NCAA), but she added to her accomplishments Tuesday when she was drafted No. 7 (coincidentally her uniform number) in the Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball league. 
Clemson pitcher Valerie Cagle was the No. 1 pick. followed by Maya Brady (OF/UCLA), Tiare Jennings (INF/OKLAHOMA), Jayda Coleman (OF/OKLAHOMA) Payton Gottsshall (P/TENNESSEE) and Skylar Wallace (INF/FLORIDA). 
Fifteen players were drafted and invited to participate in the fifth season of AU Pro Softball
Spaid ranks second in NCAA history with 103 career home runs. Thirty-six of those have come this year. That is just one behind Laura Espinoza's 37 in 1995. 
Spaid's next chance for another homer comes Friday when Miami faces Virginia in the Tennessee Regional at Knoxville. Dayton and host Tennessee are also in the group, so if MU faces Tennessee, Spaid could face another pro draftee in Gottshall.

-- Miami was RANKED No. 21, while Tennessee was No. 2 in the May 5 Softball America Top 25. 

-- They know their softball in Oklahoma, and a writer for the Oklahoman feels Miami could be a candidate to pull off one of the NCAA tournament's upsets. 

Click HERE  for story. 

ABOUT TENNESSEE
-- Tennessee figures as the biggest hurdle for MU this weekend. Their overall No. 3 NCAA seeding is the highest in program history, although this is their second straight year as a top-eight seed. The Lady Vols  (40-10 overall) prevailed as 

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 . . Southeastern Conference regular season champs in both those seasons. They knocked off seven ranked opponents while finishing 19-5 in SEC play in 2024. 

UT won seven of its final eight games before LSU edged the Lady Vols 2-1 in SEC Tournament action May 9. 

Five UT players earned All-SEC First Team honors, led by pitcher Karlyn Pickens, who was voted SEC Pitcher of the Year. She is the first Tennessee player to earn that honor since softball pitching icon Monica Abbott. 

Click HERE for more on Pickens.

Click HERE to see more on the eight UT players to earn All-Conference honors. 

As the host and No. 1 regional seed, Tennessee opens against No. 4 seed Dayton on Friday.
Although not nationally ranked, Virginia, a No. 2 seed in Knoxville, faces Miami Friday (Noon, ESPN+). The Cavaliers are making their second NCAA Softball Tournament appearance in program history. 

ABOUT VIRGINIA
Virginia goes to Knoxville with a 32-18 overall record. It finished fourth in the ACC with a 15-9 mark. The Cavaliers won 7 of 8 ACC series, knocking off No. 11 Clemson and No. 3 Duke along the way. The latter were by 4-3 and 3-2 counts April 20. One day earlier, Duke edged UVa 1-0 in 12 innings. No. 5 Clemson knocked Virginia out of the ACC tourney with an 8-1 triumph May 9. 

Four Cavaliers earned All-ACC honors, including first team selections Eden Bigham (P) and Jade Hylton (SS). Shelby Barbee (1B) made the third team, while Bella Cabral (2B) was an All-Freshman pick. 

As a team, the Cavaliers outscored opponents 203-144. have hit .248, while opponents hit just .213. Virginia totaled 32 homers while allowing 23. 

Bigham went 14-7 in the circle, allowing 2.47 earned runs per game. he struck out 163 while allowing 63 walks. Madison Harris has a 7-5 record with a 1.55 ERA. She recorded 82 Ks against 27 walks. 

Hylton (.338) was the only Virginia player to hit over .300 and led the team in homers (12), RBIs (37) and stolen bases (14-of-18).

Click HERE for Cavalier softball stats

ABOUT DAYTON
The Flyers are making their first NCAA Softball Tournament appearance and earned that berth with an A-10 tournament title. The title and berth came on the heels of the Flyers first regular season title.

Dayton, who faces host Tennessee (the tourney's overall No. 3 seed) in a 2:30 game Friday, brings a 33-19 overall record to Knoxville. The Flyers were 19-7 in regular season A-10 play and swept through three conference tournament games, defeating UMass 13-3 (5), Loyola Chicago 2-0 and Saint Louis 3-0. 

Dayton and UT have met twice before, with Tennesee winning both -- 3-1 in 2016 and 9-0 in 2015. 

Three Dayton players earned First Team All-Conference honors: Infielders Kiman Bailey (SS), Maddie Kapsimalis (2B) and pitcher Haven Dwyer. Four more were tabbed for Second Team All-Conference: Molly Grace (1B), Chloe Wong (3B), Emma Schutter (OF), and Izzy Kemp (P). Shutter was named Defensive Player of the Year. 

Kemp (1.77) and Bailitz (1.96) led the A-10 in lowest ERA. The former limited hitters to a .173 batting average and struck out 133 batters while walking 31. 

As a staff, the Flyers were first in the A-10 with a 2.46 ERA. Meanwhile, the offense ranked second with a .282 average. The Flyers were fourth in runs scored (246) 

Click HERE for Dayton softball stats

Click HERE for A-10 softball stats