AMERICAN SOFTBALL RELEASE - FEB. 12
500 FOR BARGFELDT
Tulsa gave 14th-year head coach John Bargfeldt his 500th career victory on the final day of the Tiger Classic. The winningest coach in Tulsa history, Bargfeldt now has a career 500-253-1 record. He has led the Golden Hurricane (2-3) to a winning record in all 13 seasons, six regular-season conference titles, seven conference postseason crowns and 10 NCAA Regional appearances.
TOUGH COMPETITION
The American’s opening weekend produced 38 total games, including matchups with nine opponents that finished in the RPI Top 35 last season. Overall, American teams faced off with 12 teams that finished inside the final RPI Top 65: Florida, LSU, Arizona, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Michigan, Ole Miss, Pitt, FIU and USC Upstate.
LONG DISTANCE CALLS
A pair of American teams will make long treks for this weekend’s action, as UCF will travel from the East Coast to western Mexico and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to compete in the PV College Challenge and USF hits the road to Tucson, Ariz., to play in the Hillenbrand Invitational. The road trips will be the only times the Knights and Bulls travel outside of the state of Florida for games until conference play.
HOT STARTS
ECU and UConn sit as the two top teams in The American after one weekend of play, with the Pirates out to a 4-1 mark and the Huskies at 3-1. ECU began the year in Spartanburg, S.C., with three wins (against Youngstown State, Miami (Ohio) and Towson) and its 4-1 start is its best since beginning the 2015 campaign with a 5-1 record. UConn opened its season on the road in Miami and jumped out to a 3-0 start to a season for the first time since 2007 following a victory over Michigan State and a pair of wins against Bryant. The 2007 Huskies opened the year with five straight victories on the way to a 22-win campaign.
HOME SWEET HOST
Six different American teams will host at least one weekend of tournament play during the non-conference season, with USF leading the way as the Bulls play host to five tournaments. Houston will welcome teams on four separate weekends, while ECU, UCF and Memphis all host three tournaments. Additionally, Tulsa will play host on one weekend of non-conference action, and Wichita State will make the trek to play in one of the USF-hosted tournaments in mid-March.