In The Circle

It's all about royalty on the latest episode of In The Circle. First, we look back at Jocelyn Alo's record breaking blast this past weekend in her home state of Hawaii. We hear from the new Home Run Queen herself as well as how the coverage of her chase from history differs from when Lauren Chamberlain set the previous record. 

From royalty at the plate to royalty in the circle, we then head to Tampa where USF's Georgina Corrick has been one of the biggest stories this season. She chats with Eric Lopez about the Bulls great start in 2022, working with catcher Josie Foreman, and her thoughts on growing softball in Europe. She also talks about pitching for Great Britain and nearly leading them to the Tokyo Olympics. 

We wrap up this episode with thoughts on opening weekend in the SEC and Sun Belt plus a loaded schedule coming up on Wednesday. Is there anything else happening that day as well? 

It’s time for another edition of In The Circle with the boys chomping at the bit to break down Before getting into that, Victor sits down with USC Upstate’s Chris Hawkins who became the newest member of the 1,000 Win Club last weekend in DeLand. Coach shares his thoughts on reaching the historic milestone as well as facing his former All-American and current Stetson Head Coach Shelli Robinson last week. He also chats about his teams historic start to the season, the depth of his roster, how he ended up coaching softball, and much more.  Eric joins the show as he and Victor take an in-depth look at the first RPI that came out earlier this week. After Eric gets on his soap box about the latest softball polls, the guys look at who are the biggest winners and losers in regard to the RPI (which is fluid by the way). They also look at what conferences could be in the best and worst positions as conference play begins.

Another exciting week of softball is in the books, and it's time to break it all down on this latest edition of In The Circle. The guy's breakdown Virginia Tech's sweep of Clemson, Bama rolling again, and some historic feats that took place in Tampa, DeLand & Orlando. One of the guys makes a bold declaration during the opening innings of the show. 

Eric then talks with Hall of Fame Head Coach and commentator Yvette Girouard about calling Louisiana/LSU last weekend and what she expects from both moving forward with conference play starting for both next week. 

The guys wrap up the show, breaking down receiving gifts during and after their respective games and a possible showdown between the National Player and Pitcher of the Week. 

It's a new month and a new episode of In The Circle. In today's episode, Eric Lopez chats with UNLV Head Coach Kristie Fox about the Rebel's 12-2 start and their outlook so far in 2022. She also discusses her upcoming return to Arizona and facing her former teammate Caitlin Lowe at Mike Candrea Field, a preview of the Mountain West, and more. 

We also look at how softball could benefit from MLB's current lockout and recap an upset-filled Wednesday as both Virginia Tech & Florida fell to C-USA foes. 

On the latest edition of In The Circle, Victor Anderson takes over as your host while Eric Lopez recovers from an epic Sunday tilt between Florida and UCF. That didn't stop him from chatting with current San Diego State Volunteer Assistant and two-time National POY Rachel Garcia. Eric and Rachel discuss what led her to the coaching side, signing with Athletes Unlimited, her playing days at UCLA, and much more. 

Victor then brings in Justin McLeod from Extra Innings Softball to break down the record-breaking weekend in Durham and the still waiting record at the Mary Nutter. They also reacted to social media comments about the commentary heard on the air during the tournament and cleaned up two misconceptions. 

Finally, Eric joins the show to recap all he saw during Florida-UCF Sunday night. 

With so much softball to talk about on our latest episode of In The Circle, it's best to break down what's on the show so you can follow along.

Chasing History: 2:37-41:00
Our episode discusses Jocelyn Alo's pursuit of Lauren Chamberlain's Home Run record this weekend at Mary Nutter. We hear from Alo, Chamberlain, and Patty Gasso leading to their trip to California. We also discuss Michigan's Carol Hutchins quest to become the winningest coach in Division 1 history. Wolverine Ace Megan Beaubien spoke earlier this week with the media about that. 
 
Oakland HC Lauren Karn: 43:12-1:25:32
Eric chats with Oakland Head Coach Lauren Karen as the Golden Grizzlies prepare to open their season this weekend in Orlando. Coach shares her thoughts on being the Horizon League favorites, a demanding non-conference schedule, and who she will rely on for Oakland in 2022. The guys also share their thoughts of the tournament hosted by UCF featuring Florida and James Madison, as well as their outlook on the Horizon League
 
Alabama State HC Todd Bradley: 1:26:26-1:55:03
Victor chats with Alabama State's Todd Bradley as his team gets ready to host the HBCU Celebration Classic this weekend. Coach Bradley shares how he became the host institution for this event and his long-term vision for the event. He also shares the importance of having the event at the epicenter of the Civil Rights movement. 
 
Tarleton HC Mark Cumpian: 1:56:56-2:22:15
Our super-sized show of guests concludes with Texans HC Mark Cumpian, who has Tarleton off to their best start since 2018 at 10-0. He reflects on the solid start to the season and what has made this year much different from 2021. Coach Cumpian also looks back at the transition from Division 2 to Division 1 and their rough first season. 
 
Record-Breaking Viewership and Closing: 2:22:18-2:34:38
Eric wraps up the show by breaking down the ratings for Florida State and UCLA on Sunday and what it could mean down the line for college softball.

Start your week with a new edition of In The Circle as we break down all the happenings this weekend at the St. Pete Clearwater Elite Invitational presented by Wilson. Eric Lopez, Victor Anderson, and Justin McLeod of Extra Innings Softball share their thoughts on the teams, the storylines, the games, and the broadcasts. They also chat about the return of Danielle Lawrie to the booth and the continuing rise of Madison Shipman as one of the elite analysts in the sport. 

Week 1 of College Softball is in the books and we're going to talk about where we were on this episode. Well, Eric and Justin McLeod from Extra Innings Softball will while Victor has the show off after calling the action at the Northern Lights Southern Nights tournament. We recap what Justin saw in Leesburg and some of the biggest storylines heading into Clearwater. 

Plus, we have Part 2 of our chat with Jenna Becerra from Bleav in Softball as she talks about how she got into broadcasting and the genesis of her podcast. 

We wrap up our opening week extravaganza on In The Circle by heading down I-4 to Orlando and our chat with UCF Head Coach Cindy Ball-Malone. After a trip to the regional finals in 2021, the Knights field a talented but young roster in 2022, which will be tested early and often, which Coach talks to Eric Lopez about. She also chats about her former ace Alea White going into coaching and returning to her alma mater Pacific & her former coach Brian Kolze.

We then look ahead to some of the matchups worth following during week one of the season and where Eric and Victor will be this weekend (or in Victor's case, where won't he be with all the traveling he'll be doing). The show wraps up with some thoughts on the expanded ESPN Softball schedule for 2022, which was announced Tuesday.