[Papa John]

BobK, I would make the case that it's better for Stanford to play Louisville. The Cardinal (singular) have a 14-game winning streak but have barely budged in the rankings/RPI since the FSU sweep because the competition has been so weak.

Here are the most recent rankings of ACC teams:
FSU - #10 in ESPN/USA Softball, #8 D1 Softball, #7 Softball America, #8 NFCA/Gorout, #13 RPI
Duke - #12, #13, #11, #12, #10
Va Tech - #16, #15, #18, #13, #20
Stanford - #17, #19, #15, #14, #17
Clemson - #21, #22, #20, RV, #23
Louisville - #24, #24, #22, #25, #30

NB: Virginia has a #26 RPI

Stanford is on the cusp of earning a top-16 seed and hosting regionals in the NCAA tournament. A win over Louisville gives us a much greater chance of accomplishing that goal than a win over NC State (#62 RPI), especially since whoever wins between Stanford and Louisville will likely face #1 ACC seed FSU on Friday.

[Papa John]

BobK, I would make the case that it's better for Stanford to play Louisville. The Cardinal (singular) have a 14-game winning streak but have barely budged in the rankings/RPI since the FSU sweep because the competition has been so weak.

Here are the most recent rankings of ACC teams:
FSU - #10 in ESPN/USA Softball, #8 D1 Softball, #7 Softball America, #8 NFCA/Gorout, #13 RPI
Duke - #12, #13, #11, #12, #10
Va Tech - #16, #15, #18, #13, #20
Stanford - #17, #19, #15, #14, #17
Clemson - #21, #22, #20, RV, #23
Louisville - #24, #24, #22, #25, #30

NB: Virginia has a #26 RPI

Stanford is on the cusp of earning a top-16 seed and hosting regionals in the NCAA tournament. A win over Louisville gives us a much greater chance of accomplishing that goal than a win over NC State (#62 RPI), especially since whoever wins between Stanford and Louisville will likely face #1 ACC seed FSU on Friday.