What went down in the 13th week of college softball? The aim each week is to bring you five stories that defined the week in college softball or helped a team navigate the long road to Oklahoma City and the Women's College World Series.

1. Making a stand at Missouri

Watching on TV, it looked like nothing transpired in Sunday's regular-season finale between Missouri and South Carolina that suggested the Tigers are anything other than a contender to return to the Women's College World Series for the first time since 2011.

Perhaps Missouri won't be favored to go to Oklahoma City. It enters the SEC tournament as the No. 6 seed and will likely be in position to host an NCAA tournament regional but not a super regional. But even with its best asset, the top-of-the-order trio of seniors Taylor Gadbois, Emily Crane and Sami Fagan, struggling at the plate all weekend, Missouri won the series and gave up just three hits in its Saturday loss. On any given day, the Tigers have the talent to win with power, base running or pitching. Put a couple of those together in the postseason, and a run is born.

Ehren Earleywine and Missouri open the SEC tournament Wednesday against South Carolina. AP Photo/L.G. Patterson

Not that anyone is talking about any of that after what transpired Saturday.

As Missouri honored its seniors and played a video celebrating coach Ehren Earleywine's 10th season, a statement of protest circulated that gave the impression that it represented the views of the entire roster. The statement criticized a university investigation of Earleywine, an inquiry that the athletic department subsequently confirmed is ongoing without specifying the scope beyond complaints from "inside and outside" of the program. For their part, players alleged that the administration bullied them during interviews.

Although Earleywine is not unfamiliar with controversy -- for example, he received a one-game suspension earlier this season for a minor recruiting violation and an earlier reprimand from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association -- he is also clearly well-liked in several quarters. Crowd shots Sunday showed fans holding signs of support, a display that a Columbia Daily Tribune reporter indicated extended to 75 percent of people in the main grandstand. A Tribune story also detailed the support he received from former players Chelsea Thomas and Ashley Fleming, as well as comments from Fagan made prior to the protest that lauded the coach's increased relatability this season.

Players declined comment Sunday on the specifics of their criticism of athletic director Mack Rhoads and the investigation, but Crane, Paige Lowary and Amanda Sanchez reiterated general support for Earleywine and a desire to see him coach next season. In his first comments, Earleywine acknowledged missteps of style but defended the substance of his coaching philosophy and accomplishments.

Closest to the situation generally and present in the moment, the Tribune said in an excellently reported piece that the mood on the day was at least partly that of a "farewell party."

That may be, but it remains to be seen what the rest of this season holds. Did matters reach a boil Saturday, only for the administration to attempt to lower the heat by staying silent through the postseason? Or is this only the beginning of players attempting to assert their will, unanimous or otherwise?

The scene looked normal from afar during Sunday's game. That much we know was an illusion.

2. Texas A&M builds hard-earned momentum

Entering the more pedestrian territory of runs, hits and errors, Texas A&M was one of the few teams to make full use of the regular season's dwindling opportunities to impress.

Even as the Aggies had every excuse to lick their wounds and wait for the postseason.

To say the schedule was unkind to Texas A&M is to say Cinderella's stepmother was a tad overbearing. A&M closed the regular season with SEC series against, in order, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, Florida and Auburn, a 15-game gauntlet as grueling as anything a team will face en route to winning the national championship. But after losing 10 of the first 11 games in that run, a win in the series finale against Florida a week ago set the stage for two wins this weekend at Auburn. Those three results alone may keep the Aggies at home as a regional host.

With its weekend power display, which included 10 home runs, Texas A&M should move up this week to rank among the top five major conference teams in slugging percentage. Over the past five seasons, that has meant at least a super regional trip in 19 of 25 instances. Despite the schedule, the Aggies have hit 30 home runs in their past 13 games -- more than postseason-worthy California, Mississippi or South Carolina teams have hit all season.

Kentucky clinched the No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament by sweeping Mississippi State. LSU solidified its NCAA tournament resume by rallying three times to win the series finale, and thus the series, against Washington on Allie Walljasper's walk-off home run. Some contenders fared well during a week in which almost all lost at least once. But none did more than Texas A&M.

3. Even Florida's pitchers may not solve Florida's pitchers