No. 1 Florida continues to roll along. The Gators swept LSU , with the Tigers not even scoring until the third game of the series (a 6-2 UF win). No. 2 Michigan didn't take too kindly to losing its conference opener to Northwestern. The Wolverines rebounded with run-rule victories on Saturday and Sunday . No. 3 Auburn swept a three-game series (including a Saturday doubleheader ) from South Carolina. Finally, the No. 4 Texas A&M Aggies went into Athens and didn't know what hit them, as the No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs swept three from A&M (also including a Saturday doubleheader ). And the three UGA wins were all pretty decisive.

Northwestern brought a 9-16 nonconference record into today's B1G opener at No. 2 Michigan (who entered 22-2). Things seemed to be going according to form, as the Wolverines held leads of 6-0 after three innings and 7-2 after four ( box score , game article ). The Wildcats exploded for 7 in the fifth and 4 in the sixth, to take a 13-7 lead. UM then rallied for 5 in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn't enough, as Northwestern prevailed 13-12. The same teams play again Saturday and Sunday.

National Top-10 teams Oregon and Washington face off in a three-game series this weekend, as part of the Pac 12's opening slate of games. Elsewhere, traditional rivals Arizona State and Arizona meet. Neither the Sun Devils nor the Wildcats are showing signs of their respective glorious pasts, but both are currently ranked in the Top 25.

Auburn leads 2-1, as it comes to bat in the bottom of the fourth... Thanks to a Kirsti Merritt three-run homer (where have we heard that before) that makes it 4-2 Florida at the time, the Gators hold a 4-3 lead as Auburn bats in the bottom of the seventh... Tigers have the tying run at third with one out... Tying run scores on a grounder to first. Fielder immediately throws home, with runner getting under the tag... Hard line-drive single to left, putting runners on first and second with one out. Lead runner is the potential game-winner... Ground-out to second (fielder not able to tag runner going from first to second, but throws batter out at first), advancing runners to second and third with two down... Deep grounder to short. Very close at first base as to whether batter or throw got there first, but moot because first-baseperson drops ball . Winning run scores from third... AUBURN WINS 5-4, FIRST LOSS OF SEASON FOR FLORIDA (26-1).

Gators win again, 8-5 .

Kirsti Merritt's three-run homer gives Florida a 3-0 lead at Auburn in the top of the third... After Auburn ties the game 3-3 in the sixth, Florida's Kayli Kvistad hits a three-run shot in the top of the seventh. The lead holds up, as the Gators take a 6-3 victory .

The SEC opens conference play this weekend with a marquee series: No. 1 Florida (24-0) at No. 3 Auburn (22-1). Previews are available here and here . The series will take place on an unusual Saturday, Sunday, Monday schedule, with the games to be televised on the SEC Network. The Tigers' only loss so far this season was to James Madison .

The Judi Garman Classic at Cal State Fullerton, the last major in-season tournament of the year, gets underway today. The list of teams and schedule are available here . For whatever reason, the 12-team field is short on elite teams this year. In fact, No. 2/3 Michigan is the only Top 10 team in the Garman Classic. Some of the other teams are in the back half of the Top 25: Missouri (No. 14/18), Arizona State (No. 17/19), Fresno State (No. 21/22), Baylor (No. 22T/24) and Oregon State (tied for No. 22 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll). The Michigan squad, staying in southern California all week after the Mary Nutter Classic , beat UCLA 8-6 on Wednesday night.

No. 2 Michigan suffered its second loss of the season, falling 6-5 to Washington Sunday in the Mary Nutter Classic. The No. 9 Huskies lost twice over the weekend, to No. 1 Florida and to unranked  Oklahoma State . The Gators continue to roll along, raising their record to 16-0 . However, two of their wins in the Nutter Classic were by just one run (2-1 over UCLA, and 1-0 over Utah). Full results of the tournament's second weekend are available here .