Take it as a promise that we won't ignore the rest of the country in the weeks ahead. But with five series that would be worthy of a super regional in May, or even a matchup in the Women's College World Series, the weekend's most interesting softball belongs to the Pac-12 and SEC.
No. 2 UCLA at No. 6 Oregon
A year ago, UCLA defended its own record when it stopped Oregon's season-opening winning streak at 35 games. That meant the Ducks only matched the 1999 Bruins for the longest such streak in NCAA history. Now Oregon can make sure the 2018 UCLA team, which enters this series 24-0, doesn't make a run at the same record. UCLA visits for a three-game series starting Friday night. Keep an eye on how Oregon coach Mike White manages the Ducks' pitching staff in conference play. So far, Maggie Balint, Miranda Elish and Megan Kleist have split starts almost equally. But with Elish and Kleist each putting up player-of-the-year numbers, does Balint become the ace of the bullpen?
No. 1 Washington at No. 10 Arizona State
The bad news for Arizona State, as it seeks to cement its return to the Pac-12 elite, is that it scored just four runs in three games while being swept by Washington a season ago. And Taran Alvelo and Samantha Manti, the pitchers who threw every inning for the Huskies in that series, are back and complemented by freshman Gabbie Plain. The good news is only two teams limited the Huskies to fewer runs in a Pac-12 series a season ago. The three-game series starts Saturday and ends Monday.
No. 3 Florida at No. 12 Georgia
It's a big deal in football. It's a big deal in softball, all the more after a 2016 super regional that ended Florida's hopes of a third consecutive national title. Kelly Barnhill and Delanie Gourley threw every inning for the Gators in a three-game sweep a season ago, so this weekend (games are Friday, Saturday and Sunday) will presumably be the first time Aleshia Ocasio steps in the circle against the Bulldogs since the super regional that ended on a walk-off home run against her. Georgia may have the best heart of the order in the SEC in Alyssa DiCarlo, Alysen Febrey and Justice Milz, but it also has something to prove after playing just three ranked teams in its 24-1 start.
No. 15 Alabama at No. 14 Auburn
You know it's a good weekend when this is only the fourth-best series on our list. Pitching will be abundant in the Friday-Sunday showdown. The question is does either team have the lineup to be better than its current ranking by the end of the season? Alabama freshman Kaylee Tow has thus far been a reason to believe so for the Tide. Her power -- five home runs and an .783 slugging percentage -- are essentially what separate the Tide from last season's anemic .390 slugging percentage, the first sub-.400 effort since 2002.
No. 8 LSU at No. 23 Kentucky
Can the Wildcats find the runs that Auburn couldn't against LSU a week ago? Kentucky is slugging better than .500 at the moment, about 100 percentage points better than we've come to expect in recent seasons. But it's the running game that could be intriguing in the Saturday-Monday series. It didn't stop LSU from its sweep, but Auburn was successful on five of six stolen base attempts against LSU last weekend. No SEC team has allowed more stolen bases than LSU, and Kentucky is third among conference teams in stolen bases.