Oklahoma won 5-4 over Florida to claim their second straight national title and third in the last five years. (Photo courtesy of Oklahoma Softball on Twitter)
Oklahoma Sooners Capture Second Straight Softball Title
It was a great run for Oklahoma as they lost their opening game of the regional they were hosting and then ripped off 11 wins in a row en rout to the title. The Sooners have now won three of the last five National Championships including last year’s.
In this year’s clincher, the Sooners started the bottom of the first with a Nicole Mendes solo shot, her second in as many games. Florida responded in kind with Sophia Reynoso hitting her own lead off solo shot in the top of the second. The Gators added two more runs on a single by Aleshia Ocasio and when Kayli Kvistad was hit by a pitch. Florida held a 3-1 lead after an inning and a half.
Oklahoma wasted no time regaining the lead in the bottom of the second. The Sooners loaded the bases with two outs when Caleigh Clifton drew a walk to make it a 4-2 deficit. Game one heroineShay Knighten had a bases load opportunity and took full advantage clearing the bases with a double. That put the Sooners up 5-3 and it would also prove to be the second straight game Knighten recorded the game winning RBI.
Florida drew one run back in the top of the third on a solo shot by Chelsea Herndon. They would not see a runner get to second base until the sixth inning, but a line out and strike out ended that threat. The Gators went down in order in the top of the seventh to give Oklahoma another National Championship, their fourth in school history (also won in 2000, 2013, and 2016).
Nicole Mendes started the game at pitcher for the Sooners going one inning and giving up one hit. Paige Parker allowed three runs on four hits while Mariah Lopez gave up the one run and earned the win. Paige Lowary finished off the game with two perfect innings and three strikeouts.
Shay Knighten had just one hit on three at bats, but it was a big hit driving home those three runs. Caleigh Clifton was the only Sooner to record multiple hits going two for two with a walk and a run scored.
The Gators opted to start Aleshia Ocasio in the circle and she gave up four runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings while taking the loss. Delanie Gourley came on in relief giving up one run on four hits with five strikeouts. The offense for Florida was spread out as six different batters recorded a hit (no batter had multiple hits).
The opening game of the 2017 Women’s College World Series Championship Series was an all-time classic with Oklahoma winning 7-5 in 17 innings. (Photo courtesy of Oklahoma Softball on Twitter)
Oklahoma Wins Epic Extra Inning Championship Series Game One
A close and enthralling contest needed more than two full games to decide a victor. Oklahomawon 7-5 over Florida in 17 innings as they took a 1-0 lead in the 2017 Women’s College World Series Championship Series. Shay Knighten’s three run home run in the top of the 17th put the Sooners in front for good after the Gators battled back not once, but twice on their final strike.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when the Gators got on the board with a single by Aleshia Ocasio that brought home Nicole DeWitt. The Sooners responded right away in the top of the fifth with Sydney Romero driving home Nicole Pendley on a single.
Oklahoma took a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth on a solo shot by Nicole Mendes. The Gators were down to their final out (and strike) when Sophia Reynoso hit a blooper into left-center field. The Sooners were deep in the outfield and could not come up with the catch as Ocasio came around to tie the game up and send the game into extra innings.
The teams failed to get much going in the eighth through eleventh innings as neither team had a runner get to second base in those innings. In the twelfth inning, Oklahoma’s Shay Knighten led off with a double and was followed by Fale Aviu, who crushed a two run shot to give Oklahoma a 4-2 lead.
The Gators started the bottom of the twelfth with a walk and a hit to put two on with no outs. The Gators then popped out on a bunt and struck out with back-to-back pinch hitters. Amanda Lorenz came up with two outs as Oklahoma went from Paige Parker back to starter Paige Lowary. Lowary got Lorenz to her final strike, but Lorenz was able to drive a ball to the left center field wall for a triple to bring home both runners and keep the game going.
The Sooners were able to get runners on first and second in the top of the 15th inning after Delanie Gourley hit Lea Wodach and a wild pitch followed to move the runners up a base. The next pitch was a ball to load the bases, but a ground out ended the threat.
In the top of the 16th, Oklahoma put two runners on with no outs and saw them both sacrificed up a base on a fly out to right center. A walk loaded the bases but a force out at home and strikeout left the bases loaded for the second straight inning.
The Sooners once again put two runners on base in the 17th and Shay Knighten finally put the runs across for Oklahoma with a three run home run. The Gators were able to load the bases with one out and Lorenz at the plate where she hit a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 7-5. A strikeout from Lowary ended the game to give the Sooners the win after an incredible game.
Lowary started and ended the game as she went 10 1/3 innings giving up two runs on eight hits while striking out seven to earn the win. Parker went 6 2/3 innings giving up three runs on four hits with seven strikeouts. Mendes, Knighten, Aviu, and Romero were the only Oklahoma hitters to finish with multiple hits.
Barnhill also started and ended the game for Florida, but she took the loss. She pitched 9 innings giving up five runs on nine hits with 13 strikeouts. Gourley threw 8 innings of relief ball giving up two runs on four hits with 13 strikeouts. Justine McLean, Reynoso, and Lorenz all finished with multiple hits for the Gators.
The Oklahoma Sooners are one victory away from their second straight national championship. Game 2 is Tuesday, June 6 at 8 PM Eastern Time and can be seen on ESPN.
Florida advances to their third WCWS Championship Series in the past four season and will face Oklahoma. (Photo courtesy of Florida Gators Softball on Twitter)
2017 Women’s College World Series Championship Series Schedule
The final two teams for the 2017 Women’s College World Series have reached the pinnacle of the season. The Florida Gators and Oklahoma Sooners are the two teams that will play in best of three series to determine the 2017 NCAA Division 1 Softball National Champion.
The best of three series will start on Monday, June 5 at 7 PM Eastern Time. All three games can be seen on ESPN and we take a look at the path to the Championship Series for both teams.
Florida Gators (58-8 Overall)
Regular Season: SEC Champions (50-5 Overall and 20-3 SEC)
Conference Tournament: Lost in Quarterfinals to Ole Miss 2-0
Regional: Defeated Florida A&M 9-0, defeated Oklahoma State 2-0, lost to Oklahoma State 1-0, defeated Oklahoma State 5-0
Super Regional: Lost to Alabama 3-0, defeated Alabama 2-0, defeated Alabama 2-1
The Gators were the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and were one of the best teams all season especially in the circle. Florida has been on the brink of elimination a couple of times in this tournament, but they responded resolutely against Oklahoma State in the regionals and Alabama in the Super Regionals.
In Oklahoma City, the Gators hit another gear posting back-to-back shutouts against SEC foes Texas A&M and LSU. They nearly had a third against Washington, but gave up a home run when the Huskies were down to their final out. Nevertheless, Kelly Barnhill and Delanie Gourley pose an extremely formidable duo against the Sooners in what should be a series showcasing great pitching.
Oklahoma Sooners (59-9 Overall)
Regular Season: Big 12 Champions (50-8 Overall and 17-1 Big 12)
Conference Tournament: Won Big 12 Tournament (Defeated Texas 3-0, defeated Texas Tech 8-0, defeated Oklahoma State 2-0)
Regional: Lost to North Dakota State 3-2, defeated Arkansas 5-3, defeated North Dakota State 10-2, defeated Tulsa 6-4, defeated Tulsa 3-0
Super Regional: Defeated Auburn 4-0, defeated Auburn 5-2
Oklahoma began the season as the top team, but hit a rough patch early on. Since the Sooners lost back-to-back games against Cal Poly in mid-March, they have been on a tear losing just twice: once to Baylor in the regular season and to North Dakota State in the opening game of the regional.
Since the loss to NDSU, the Sooners have not dropped a game though they were nearly eliminated against Tulsa in the regional. However, their last five games against Auburn (twice on the road), Baylor, Washington, and Oregon have been nothing short of impressive. PaigeParker and PaigeLowary will be key in the circle in the same manner as Barnhill and Gourley for the Gators.
2017 Women’s College World Series Championship Series
Below is the schedule for the 2017 Women’s College World Series Champions Series. This is set to be an excellent matchup between Florida and Oklahoma particularly in the circle with four excellent pitchers. This will mark the fifth straight season that either the Gators or Sooners will go home with the NCAA Championship.
The Oklahoma Sooners will be back in Oklahoma City to defend their title. (Photo courtesy of OU Softball on Twitter)
2017 Women’s College World Series Schedule
The final eight teams in the 2017 NCAA Division 1 Softball season will be playing for the chance to win the Women’s College World Series with an updated bracket here. Each game of the 2017 Women’s College World Series will take place from ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The 8 teams will compete in a double elimination format until only two teams are left. Those two remaining teams will then play in a best of three championship series to determine the 2017 National Champion.
The Oklahoma Sooners are the defending National Champions and return after a taking the difficult road in the first two rounds. They lost their Regional opener against North Dakota State and had to battle back by winning four straight elimination games. In the Super Regional they had to go to Auburn and they won the first two games to book their spot back in Oklahoma City. Results for the Regional round can be found here and the Super Regional round can be found here.
Of the eight schools, all of them have made a previous appearance at the WCWS and the field includes Florida, UCLA, and Washington. All eight teams are listed below with only Texas A&M (2008) not having made an appearance in the previous four seasons.
Seed
Team
Last WCWS
Record
Conf.
WCWS
Appearances
1
Florida
2015
55-8
SEC
8th
3
Oregon
2015
52-6
Pac-12
5th
4
UCLA
2016
47-13
Pac-12
27th
6
Washington
2013
48-12
Pac-12
12th
9
Texas A&M
2008
47-11
SEC
8th
10
Oklahoma
2016
55-9
Big 12
11th
13
LSU
2016
47-20
SEC
6th
15
Baylor
2014
48-13
Big 12
4th
The Women’s College World Series will get underway on Thursday, June 1 with four games scheduled for the opening day. The entire schedule can be found in the table below with the Championship Series located in a separate table.
The tables below will be updated with final scores as the games go final each day. Please note all times listed below are Eastern.
Date
Game
Time (EST)
TV
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
6/1/17
Game 1
12 PM
ESPN
#9 Texas A&M
#1 Florida
0-8
5 Innings
6/1/17
Game 2
2:30 PM
ESPN
#13 LSU
#5 UCLA
2-1
6/1/17
Game 3
7 PM
ESPN2
#6 Wash.
#3 Oregon
3-1
6/1/17
Game 4
9:30 PM
ESPN2
#15 Baylor
#10 Okla.
3-6
6/2/17
Game 5
7 PM
ESPN
#1 Florida
#13 LSU
7-0
6/2/17
Game 6
9:30 PM
ESPN
#10 Okla.
#6 Wash.
3-1
6/3/17
Game 7
12 PM
ESPN
#5 UCLA
#9 Texas A&M
8-2
Texas A&M Elim.
6/3/17
Game 8
2:30 PM
ESPN
#3 Oregon
#15 Baylor
7-4
Baylor Elim.
6/3/17
Game 9
7 PM
ESPN
#6 Wash.
#5 UCLA
1-0
UCLA Elim.
6/3/17
Game 10
9:30 PM
ESPN
#13 LSU
#3 Oregon
1-4
LSU Elim.
6/4/17
Game 11
1 PM
ESPN
#1 Florida
#6 Wash.
5-2
Wash. Elim.
6/4/17
Game 12
3:30 PM
ESPN
#3 Oregon
#10 Okla.
2-4
Possible
Elim.
Game
6/4/17
Game 13
7 PM
ESPN2
Game 11
Winner
Game 11
Loser
If Necessary
6/4/17
Game 14
9:30 PM
ESPN2
Game 12
Winner
Game 12
Loser
If Necessary
2017 Women’s College World Series Championship Series
The national seeds and favorites dominated the regional round including the #5 seed UCLA Bruins. (Photo Courtesy of UCLA Softball on Twitter)
2017 NCAA Division 1 Softball Super Regionals Schedule
The 2017 NCAA Division 1 Softball Tournament has been pared from 64 teams down to 16. The national seeds were in good form as all 16 made it to the Super Regionals with an updated bracket here. There will be 8 best of three matchups in the Super Regional round with the games slated to take place between Thursday, May 25 and Sunday, May 28.
Below is a list of the 16 teams that made the Super Regional Round.
Seed
Team
Record
Conference
Super
Regional
Appearances
1
Florida
53-7
SEC
10th
2
Arizona
51-7
Pac-12
12th
3
Oregon
50-6
Pac-12
8th
4
Florida State
54-6-1
ACC
6th
5
UCLA
45-13
Pac-12
9th
6
Washington
46-11
Pac-12
11th
7
Auburn
49-10
SEC
3rd
8
Tennessee
47-10
SEC
9th
9
Texas A&M
45-10
SEC
6th
10
Oklahoma
54-9
Big 12
11th
11
Utah
36-14
Pac-12
2nd
12
Ole Miss
43-18
SEC
1st
13
LSU
45-19
SEC
6th
14
Kentucky
39-17
SEC
5th
15
Baylor
46-12
Big 12
6th
16
Alabama
45-16
SEC
13th
Below, we list each Super Regional in order of the potential Women’s College World Series matchup (1 v 8, 4 v 5, etc.). All dates and times listed below are tentative. Updates, along with final scores, will be made as the changes are known.
Super Regional #1 – Gainesville
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/25/17
Game #1
7 PM
#16 Alabama
#1 Florida
3-0
5/26/17
Game #2
8 PM
#1 Florida
#16 Alabama
2-0
5/27/17
Game #3
5 PM
#16 Alabama
#1 Florida
1-2
Florida To WCWS
Super Regional #8 – Knoxville
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/26/17
Game #1
6 PM
#9 Texas A&M
#8 Tenn.
1-8
5/27/17
Game #2
5 PM
#8 Tenn.
#9 Texas A&M
5-6
5/28/17
Game #3
3 PM
#9 Texas A&M
#8 Tenn.
5-3
TAMU to WCWS
Super Regional #4 – Tallahassee
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/26/17
Game #1
5 PM
#13 LSU
#4 Fla. St
1-3
5/27/17
Game #2
3 PM
#4 Fla. St
#13 LSU
0-1
5/28/17
Game #3
1 PM
#13 LSU
#4 Fla. St
6-4
LSU To
WCWS
Super Regional #5 – Los Angeles
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/25/17
Game #1
9 PM
#12 Ole Miss
#5 UCLA
7-8
11 Innings
5/26/17
Game #2
9 PM
#5 UCLA
#12 Ole Miss
1-0
UCLA To WCWS
5/27/17
Game #3
7 PM
#12 Ole Miss
#5 UCLA
If Necessary
Super Regional #6 – Seattle
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/26/17
Game #1
11 PM
#11 Utah
#6 Wash.
4-10
5/27/17
Game #2
9 PM
#6 Wash.
#11 Utah
8-9
5/28/17
Game #3
10 PM
#11 Utah
#6 Wash.
1-2
Wash. To
WCWS
Super Regional #3 – Eugene
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/26/17
Game #1
7 PM
#14 Kentucky
#3 Oregon
0-4
5/27/17
Game #2
7 PM
#3 Oregon
#14 Kentucky
6-5
Oregon To WCWS
5/28/17
Game #3
3 PM
#14 Kentucky
#3 Oregon
If Necessary
Super Regional #7 – Auburn
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/26/17
Game #1
4 PM
#10 Okla.
#7 Auburn
4-0
5/27/17
Game #2
1 PM
#7 Auburn
#10 Okla.
2-5
Okla.
To WCWS
5/28/17
Game #3
1 PM
#10 Okla.
#7 Auburn
If Necessary
Super Regional #2 – Tucson
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/26/17
Game #1
8 PM
#15 Baylor
#2 Arizona
2-3
5/27/17
Game #2
8 PM
#2 Arizona
#15 Baylor
4-6
5/28/17
Game #3
6 PM
#15 Baylor
#2 Arizona
6-5
Baylor To WCWS
Women’s College World Series
The 2017 Women’s College World Series will take place between Thursday, June 1 and Wednesday, June 7 with every game shown on one of the ESPN family of network channels. All of the games will take place at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium and OGE Energy Field from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Katiyana Mauga led the Arizona Wildcats with 22 home runs and 55 RBIs. She hopes to lead Arizona back to a National Title for the first time since 2007. (Photo Courtesy of Arizona Athletics)
Four Predictions For The 2017 NCAA Softball Tournament
With the 2017 NCAA Division 1 Softball Tournament about to start, it is time for some predictions. We have four predictions below, which are a combination of some likely and unlikely scenarios.
1. An Unseeded Team Will Make The WCWS
As noted prior to the start of the 2017 season, it has been five years since a team outside of the top 16 national seeds has meandered their way to the Women’s College World Series. Back in 2012, LSU and South Florida were the two teams who went to the WCWS as unseeded squads.
Who will be the teams this year? There are actually plenty of candidates starting with Minnesota. They were completely disregarded by the Selection Committee and sent to the top quadrant. They have a road trip to the Tuscaloosa Regional followed by a probable three game set in Gainesville if they can make it out of the Regionals. That will be a very tough test for the Gophers.
How about Louisiana-Lafayette? They too were ignored by the Selection Committee, but at least they stay within the state. They go to #13 LSU and they could conceivably win that Regional. A big hurdle is the potential Super Regional against Florida State, but the Ragin’ Cajuns have the bats to knock some big names out of this tournament.
The #6 and #11 quadrants have probably the highest potential to send an unseeded team to Oklahoma City. #11 Utah has to face three solid teams in Fordham, Mississippi State, and BYU. #6 Washington welcomes a surging Fresno State team, Montana, and a Michigan. The Wolverines know all about making the WCWS as they have reached that destination three of the last four years.
Could there be a bigger shock in store in the Regional and Super Regionals rounds? Or will the national seeds hold sway and make it to the Super Regional round? Stay tuned to find out.
2. Minnesota Wins The Tuscaloosa Regional
This is hardly going out on a limb, but the Gophers will be determined to show the Selection Committee how badly they messed up. Minnesota’s pitching led by Sara Groenewegen, who is 30-2 with a 10-1 strikeout to walk ratio. She has struck out 280 batters, allowed 28 walks, and has an ERA of 0.59. The Gophers main competition will be Alabama, but they must make sure not to overlook Louisiana Tech in the opening game.
Alabama is a team that has struggled to score runs this year averaging just 4.40 per game, which ranks 121st in the nation. The pitching and defense are stellar at 10th and 12th respectively. The Tide have only scored more than five runs four times since April 1, but consider their opposition they achieved that against: Missouri, Lipscomb, UAB, and Samford. Alabama may not be as lucky to survive a close game against Minnesota if the offense continues their struggle.
3. At Least One National Seed Does Not Win A Regional Game
This is somewhat similar to the first prediction and this also has not happened since 2012 when UCLA lost to Hofstra and Florida State in back-to-back games as the 12 seed. Before that, it was Northwestern in 2009 that lost their first two games to Texas State and Louisiana-Lafayette also as the 12 seeds.
The reason this rarely happens is because the seeded teams face the lowest seed in the region for the opener, which is almost always weaker opposition. On paper, this year is seems no different as most of the national seeds look likely to win the opening game, but this tournament is pretty deep especially if the selection committee mis-seeded more teams than just Minnesota.
We think at least one or two teams might be able to scratch out a close victory over a national seed in the first game (DePaul, Fordham, Albany, Southern Illinois, or Kent State?) to give this prediction a chance of coming true.
4. The National Champion Will Be A Top 8 Seed
Since 2001, no team outside the top 6 National Seeds has won the Championship. That happened in 2008 when Arizona State won the National Title as the #6 seed and only once has a double digit seed even made the Championship or Championship Series. Arizona did so in 2010, but were swept in the Championship Series.
It is likely that the champion will once again be from the top 6 of Florida, Arizona, Oregon, Florida State, UCLA, and Washington. We will also include #7 Auburn, last year’s runner up, and #8 Tennessee, a team that has the ability to go on a run to win it all.
Two teams outside the top 8 who definitely could win the title are #9 Texas A&M and #10 Oklahoma. The Sooners are the defending National Champions and could eliminate Auburn once again if the two meet up in the Super Regional round. Even a team like #12 Ole Miss could pose problems if they continue to play like they did in the SEC Tournament.
Still, we think the winner is likely coming from the top of the seeding even in a tournament as strong as this year’s. Florida’s defense and pitching, Arizona’s offense and pitching, and Oregon’s late season sweep of Florida State (another strong contender) all look poised to lift the trophy.
The Gophers claim 18 of 32 first place votes in the Coaches Poll with Florida dropping a spot to second and taking 12 first place votes. Oregon is third with the final two first place votes while Florida State and Arizona round out the top with neither team moving in the poll. The Seminoles won both the ACC and Regular Season titles while Arizona were crowned Pac-12 Champions.
Oklahoma, the Big 12 Regular Season and Tournament champions, remains sixth while Washington (seventh) and Auburn (eighth) swap positions. Also switching spots in the polls are UCLA (ninth) and Tennessee (tenth).
CAA Champions James Madison are up one spot to 11th, Texas A&M is down a spot to 12th, and Ole Miss rockets up six places to 13th after winning the SEC tournament. Sun Belt Champions Louisiana-Lafayette (14th) and Alabama (15th) stay in place from last week’s rankings.
Utah is down three spots to 16th, Baylor is down a spot to 17th, and LSU is up three spots to 18th. Kentucky drops one place to 19th and rounding out the top 20 is Michigan, who fell three places.
BYU, winners of the West Coast Conference Regular Season Title, is down one place to 21st, Arizona State stays at 22nd, and Tulsa makes an appearance at 23rd after winning the American Athletic Conference. They were unranked last week and take the place of Marshall. South Carolina and Georgia remain at 24th and 25th respectively. The entire Coaches Poll can be seen below.
Rank
School (1st place votes)
Points
Record
Last Week's
Rank
1
Minnesota (18)
767
54-3
2
2
Florida (12)
758
50-6
1
3
Oregon (2)
739
47-6
3
4
Florida State
700
51-6-1
4
5
Arizona
689
48-7
5
6
Oklahoma
638
50-8
6
7
Washington
593
43-11
8
8
Auburn
566
46-10
7
9
UCLA
560
42-13
10
10
Tennessee
504
44-10
9
11
James Madison
453
50-6
12
12
Texas A&M
424
42-10
11
13
Ole Miss
407
40-18
19
14
Louisiana
382
45-6
14
15
Alabama
344
42-16
15
16
Utah
329
33-14
13
17
Baylor
295
43-12
16
18
LSU
270
41-18
21
19
Kentucky
238
36-17
18
20
Michigan
206
41-11-1
17
21
BYU
183
43-11
20
22
Arizona State
97
30-20
22
23
Tulsa
69
39-15
Not
Ranked
24
South Carolina
44
32-23
24
25
Georgia
29
33-21
25
In the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll, Oregon jumps ahead of Florida to claim the top spot. Oregon received just five of the 20 first place votes while Florida took nine. Third through fifth stay the same with Minnesota (five first place votes), Florida State, and Arizona (one first place vote).
Oklahoma stays in sixth and Washington is up two spots seventh. A tie for eighth place occurred between Auburn (no change) and UCLA (up two spots). Tennessee is down three places to tenth.
There was not much change between 11th and 15th as Texas A&M stays at 11th, James Madison (12th) and Baylor (13th) switch spots and another tie occurred at 14th. Alabama (up two spots) and Louisiana-Lafayette (up one spot) tied on 228 points to round out the top 15.
Ole Miss went up just two spots in this poll to 16th, Utah fell three to 17th, and Michigan was down one spot to 18th. 19th belongs to LSU (up two) and Kentucky is down one to finish out the top 20.
The bottom of the poll starts with BYU in 21st (down one), Arizona State (no change), and Tulsa (up one). South Carolina is 24th and the 25th place resulted in a third tie of this poll. Ohio State (down one) is joined by South Carolina Upstate for the final spot. The Spartans are ranked for the first time after winning the Atlantic Sun Regular Season and Conference Titles. The entire USA Softball poll can be seen below.
Despite a first game loss in the SEC Tournament to Ole Miss, the Florida Gators were awarded the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. (Photo courtesy of SEC Country)
2017 NCAA Division 1 Softball Bracket Announced
The 2017 NCAA Division I Softball bracket is now known and the bracket can be found here. The Oklahoma Sooners are the defending National Champions after defeating the Auburn Tigers in the 2016 WCWS Championship Series. The Florida Gators are the top overall seed followed by Arizona, Oregon, and Florida State.
The tournament will get started with the regionals between Thursday, May 18 and Sunday, May 21. Below are the 16 National Seeds as ranked by the NCAA.
Seed
Team
Record
Conference
1
Florida
50-6
SEC
2
Arizona
48-7
Pac-12
3
Oregon
47-6
Pac-12
4
Florida State
51-6-1
ACC
5
UCLA
42-13
Pac-12
6
Washington
43-11
Pac-12
7
Auburn
46-10
SEC
8
Tennessee
44-10
SEC
9
Texas A&M
42-10
SEC
10
Oklahoma
50-8
Big 12
11
Utah
33-14
Pac-12
12
Ole Miss
40-18
SEC
13
LSU
41-18
SEC
14
Kentucky
36-17
SEC
15
Baylor
43-13
SEC
16
Alabama
42-16
SEC
2017 NCAA Division 1 Softball Teams
Below are all 64 teams that have made the 2017 NCAA Division 1 Softball tournament. In the sortable table below, the automatic bids are listed first followed by the at-large bids listed in order of conference. The records for each team and which regional they have been assigned to are provided as well.
Conference
Team
Record
Route
Regional
American East
Albany
27-16
Tournament Champions
Tuscaloosa
American
Tulsa
39-15
Tournament Champions
Norman
ACC
Florida State
51-6-1
Tournament Champions
Tallahassee
Atlantic 10
Fordham
45-15
Tournament Champions
Salt Lake City
Atlantic Sun
USC Upstate
44-11
Tournament Champions
Knoxville
Big 12
Oklahoma
50-8
Tournament Champions
Norman
Big East
DePaul
29-21
Tournament Champions
Lexington
Big Sky
Montana
35-22
Tournament Champions
Seattle
Big South
Longwood
28-27
Tournament Champions
Knoxville
Big Ten
Minnesota
54-3
Tournament Champions
Tuscaloosa
Big West
Cal State Fullerton
33-21
Regular Season Champions
Los Angeles
Colonial
James Madison
50-6
Tournament Champions
Waco
C-USA
Louisiana
Tech
37-22
Tournament Champions
Tuscaloosa
Horizon
Illinois-Chicago
38-20
Tournament Champions
Eugene
Ivy
Princeton
25-18
Championship Series Winner
Tallahassee
Mid-American
Kent State
32-26
Tournament Champions
Waco
Metro Atlantic
Fairfield
26-26
Tournament Champions
Baton Rouge
Mid-Eastern
Florida A&M
23-30-1
Tournament Champions
Gainesville
Missouri Valley
Southern
Illinois
33-22
Tournament Champions
Oxford
Mountain West
San Jose State
36-17
Regular Season Champions
Los Angeles
Northeast
Saint Francis
48-9
Tournament Champions
Tuscon
Ohio Valley
Jacksonville
State
40-10
Tournament Champions
Tallahassee
Pac-12
Arizona
48-7
Regular Season Champions
Tuscon
Patriot
Lehigh
36-18
Tournament Champions
Los Angeles
SEC
Ole Miss
40-18
Tournament Champions
Oxford
Southern
East Tenn.
State
29-24
Tournament Champions
Auburn
Southland
McNeese
42-16
Tournament Champions
Baton Rouge
SWAC
Texas Southern
25-19
Tournament Champions
College
Station
Summit
North Dakota
State
28-31
Tournament Champions
Norman
Sun Belt
Louisiana
45-6
Tournament Champions
Baton Rouge
WAC
New Mexico
State
29-23
Tournament Champions
Tuscon
West Coast
BYU
44-11
Regular Season Champions
Salt Lake City
ACC
North Carolina
38-19
At-Large
Oxford
ACC
Notre Dame
32-21
At-Large
Auburn
Big 10
Illinois
37-18
At-Large
Lexington
Big 10
Michigan
41-11-1
At-Large
Seattle
Big 10
Ohio State
35-16
At-Large
Knoxville
Big 10
Wisconsin
33-15
At-Large
Eugene
Big 12
Baylor
43-12
At-Large
Waco
Big 12
Texas
31-24
At-Large
College
Station
Big 12
Oklahoma
State
35-23
At-Large
Gainesville
C-USA
Florida
International
45-13
At-Large
Gainesville
C-USA
Marshall
41-10
At-Large
Lexington
Mountain West
Fresno State
34-21
At-Large
Seattle
Pac-12
Arizona State
30-20
At-Large
Oxford
Pac-12
California
30-22
At-Large
Auburn
Pac-12
Oregon
47-6
At-Large
Eugene
Pac-12
Oregon State
28-25
At-Large
Waco
Pac-12
UCLA
42-13
At-Large
Los Angeles
Pac-12
Utah
33-14
At-Large
Salt Lake City
Pac-12
Washington
43-11
At-Large
Seattle
SEC
Alabama
42-16
At-Large
Tuscaloosa
SEC
Arkansas
31-22
At-Large
Norman
SEC
Auburn
46-10
At-Large
Auburn
SEC
Florida
50-6
At-Large
Gainesville
SEC
Georgia
33-21
At-Large
Tallahassee
SEC
Kentucky
36-17
At-Large
Lexington
SEC
LSU
41-18
At-Large
Baton Rouge
SEC
Missouri
29-26
At-Large
Eugene
SEC
Mississippi
State
36-20
At-Large
Salt Lake City
SEC
South Carolina
32-23
At-Large
Tuscon
SEC
Tennessee
44-10
At-Large
Knoxville
SEC
Texas A&M
42-10
At-Large
College
Station
Sun Belt
Texas State
41-15
At-Large
College
Station
Regionals
The 2017 NCAA Division 1 Softball tournament will start with 16 regionals divided into four teams per regional. Each regional employs the double-elimination format with the 16 national seeds listed above hosting a regional. The regionals are listed in order of the potential Super Regional matchup (i.e. #1 vs #16, #9 vs #8, #13 vs. #4, etc.).
All dates and times listed below are tentative. Updates, along with final scores, will be made as the changes are known.
Regional #1 – Gainesville
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
12 PM
Okla.
State
Fla. Int'l
2-0
5/19/17
Game #2
2:30 PM
Florida A&M
#1 Florida
0-9
5 Innings;
No Hitter
5/20/17
Game #3
12 PM
Okla.
State
#1 Florida
0-2
5/20/17
Game #4
2:30 PM
Florida A&M
Fla. Int'l
0-3
FAMU
Elim.
5/20/17
Game #5
5 PM
Okla.
State
Fla. Int'l
5-0
FIU Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
12 PM
#1 Florida
Okla.
State
0-1
Potential
Elim.
Game
5/21/17
Game #7
2:30 PM
Okla. State
#1 Florida
0-5
Okla. State
Elim.
Regional #16 – Tuscaloosa
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
2:30 PM
La. Tech
Minnesota
3-11
5 Innings
5/19/17
Game #2
5 PM
Albany
#16 Alabama
1-5
5/20/17
Game #3
2:30 PM
Minnesota
#16 Alabama
0-1
9 Innings
5/20/17
Game #4
5 PM
Albany
La. Tech
1-8
Albany
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #5
2:30 PM
Minnesota
La Tech.
5-2
9 Innings;
La. Tech
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
5 PM
#16 Alabama
Minnesota
1-0
Minn.
Elim.
5/22/17
Game #7
5 PM
Game #6 Winner
Game #6 Loser
If Necessary
Regional #9 – College Station
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
5 PM
Texas
State
Texas
2-1
12 Innings
5/19/17
Game #2
7:30 PM
Texas
Southern
#9 Texas A&M
0-14
5 Innings
5/20/17
Game #3
2:30 PM
Texas
State
#9 Texas A&M
1-3
5/20/17
Game #4
5 PM
Texas
Southern
Texas
0-8
5 Innings;
Texas Southern
Elim.
5/20/17
Game #5
7:30 PM
Texas
State
Texas
3-6
Texas St
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
2:30 PM
#9 Texas A&M
Texas
3-1
Texas Elim.
5/21/17
Game #7
5 PM
Game #6 Winner
Game #6 Loser
If Necessary
Regional #8 – Knoxville
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
4:30 PM
USC
Upstate
Ohio State
7-3
5/19/17
Game #2
7 PM
Longwood
#8 Tenn.
0-5
5/20/17
Game #3
12 PM
#8 Tenn.
USC
Upstate
7-3
5/20/17
Game #4
2:30 PM
Ohio State
Longwood
1-3
Ohio St
Elim.
5/20/17
Game #5
5 PM
Longwood
USC
Upstate
4-2
USC Upstate
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
12 PM
#8 Tenn.
Longwood
3-0
Longwood
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #7
2:30 PM
Game #6 Winner
Game #6 Loser
If Necessary
Regional #5 – Los Angeles
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
9 PM
Cal State
Fullerton
San Jose
State
0-3
5/19/17
Game #2
11:30 PM
Lehigh
#5 UCLA
0-8
5 Innings;
No Hitter
5/20/17
Game #3
5 PM
#5 UCLA
San Jose
State
10-2
6 Innings
5/20/17
Game #4
7:30 PM
Cal State
Fullerton
Lehigh
10-8
Lehigh Elim.
5/20/17
Game #5
10 PM
Cal State
Fullerton
San Jose
State
1-0
San Jose
St Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
7 PM
#5 UCLA
Cal State
Fullerton
9-1
Cal State Fullerton Elim.
5/21/17
Game #7
9:30 PM
Game #6 Winner
Game #6 Loser
If Necessary
Regional #12 – Oxford
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
7 PM
North Carolina
Arizona
State
3-9
5/19/17
Game #2
9:30 PM
Southern
Illinois
#12 Ole Miss
0-8
5 Innings
5/20/17
Game #3
2:30 PM
Arizona
State
#12 Ole Miss
0-2
5/20/17
Game #4
5 PM
Southern
Illinois
North Carolina
0-4
Southern
Ill. Elim.
5/20/17
Game #5
7:30 PM
Arizona
State
North Carolina
2-3
Arizona St.
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
2:30 PM
#12 Ole Miss
North Carolina
7-2
North Carolina
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #7
5 PM
Game #6 Winner
Game #6 Loser
If Necessary
Regional #13 – Baton Rouge
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
4 PM
Louisiana
McNeese
6-0
No Hitter
5/19/17
Game #2
6:30 PM
Fairfield
#13 LSU
0-2
5/20/17
Game #3
1 PM
Louisiana
#13 LSU
4-2
5/20/17
Game #4
3:30 PM
Fairfield
McNeese
2-6
Fairfield
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #5
8:30 PM
#13 LSU
McNeese
10-1
6 Innings;
McNeese
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
11:30 PM
#13 LSU
Louisiana
6-1
5/22/17
Game #7
2 PM
Louisiana
#13 LSU
1-5
Louisiana
Elim.
Regional #4 – Tallahassee
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
4:30 PM
Jax. State
Georgia
2-4
5/19/17
Game #2
7 PM
Princeton
#4
Fla. St
0-3
5/20/17
Game #3
12 PM
Georgia
#4
Fla. St
1-7
5/20/17
Game #4
2:30 PM
Princeton
Jax. State
2-10
6 Innings;
Princeton
Elim.
5/20/17
Game #5
5 PM
Georgia
Jax. State
8-2
Jax. State
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
12 PM
#4
Fla. St
Georgia
8-5
Georgia
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #7
2:30 PM
Game #6 Winner
Game #6 Loser
If Necessary
Regional #3 – Eugene
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
9 PM
Missouri
Wisc.
2-7
5/19/17
Game #2
11:30 PM
Illinois-
Chicago
#3 Oregon
0-13
5 Innings
5/20/17
Game #3
5 PM
#3 Oregon
Wisc.
6-5
8 Innings
5/20/17
Game #4
7:30 PM
Missouri
Illinois-
Chicago
4-5
Missouri
Elim.
5/20/17
Game #5
10 PM
Illinois-
Chicago
Wisc.
0-2
Illinois-
Chicago Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
7 PM
Wisc.
#3 Oregon
0-9
5 Innings;
Wisc. Elim
5/21/17
Game #7
9:30 PM
Game #6 Winner
Game #6 Loser
If Necessary
Regional #14 – Lexington
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
12 PM
Marshall
Illinois
2-3
12 Innings
5/19/17
Game #2
2:30 PM
DePaul
#14 Kentucky
0-6
5/20/17
Game #3
12 PM
Illinois
#14
Kentucky
0-1
5/20/17
Game #4
2:30 PM
DePaul
Marshall
1-2
9 Innings;
DePaul
Elim.
5/20/17
Game #5
5 PM
Illinois
Marshall
10-2
5 Innings;
Marshall
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
12 PM
#14 Kentucky
Illinois
4-2
Illinois
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #7
2:30 PM
Game #6 Winner
Game #6 Loser
If Necessary
Regional #11 – Salt Lake City
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/18/17
Game #1
6 PM
Miss.
State
BYU
0-8
6 Innings
5/18/17
Game #2
8:30 PM
Fordham
#11 Utah
0-10
5 Innings
5/19/17
Game #3
3 PM
BYU
#11 Utah
2-3
5/19/17
Game #4
5:30 PM
Miss.
State
Forhdam
9-3
Miss. State
Elim.
5/19/17
Game #5
8 PM
BYU
Fordham
12-1
5 Innings;
Fordham Elim.
5/20/17
Game #6
4 PM
#11 Utah
BYU
14-0
6 Innings;
BYU Elim.
5/20/17
Game 7
6:30 PM
Game #6 Winner
Game #6 Loser
If
Necessary
Regional #6 – Seattle
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
9 PM
Fresno
State
Michigan
1-3
5/19/17
Game #2
11:30 PM
Montana
#6 Wash.
0-8
5 Innings;
No Hitter
5/20/17
Game #3
5 PM
Michigan
#6 Wash.
4-12
5 Innings;
5/20/17
Game #4
7:30 PM
Montana
Fresno
State
0-7
Montana
Elim.
5/20/17
Game #5
10 PM
Michigan
Fresno
State
4-0
No Hitter;
Fresno St
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
7 PM
#6 Wash.
Michigan
4-2
Michigan
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #7
9:30 PM
Game #6 Winner
Game #6 Loser
If Necessary
Regional #7 – Auburn
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
2 PM
Cal
Notre
Dame
6-2
5/19/17
Game #2
4:30 PM
E Tenn.
State
#7 Auburn
0-11
5 Innings
5/20/17
Game #3
2:30 PM
Cal
#7 Auburn
3-4
9 Innings
5/20/17
Game #4
5 PM
E Tenn.
State
Notre Dame
6-7
8 Innings;
ETSU Elim.
5/21/17
Game #5
11 AM
Cal
Notre Dame
5-3
Notre Dame
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
2:30 PM
#7 Auburn
Cal
8-2
Cal Elim.
5/21/17
Game #7
5 PM
Game #6 Winner
Game #6 Loser
If Necessary
Regional #10 – Norman
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
12:30 PM
Arkansas
Tulsa
4-5
5/20/17
Game #2
2:30 PM
North
Dak. St
#10 Okla.
3-2
9 Innings
5/20/17
Game #3
2:30 PM
Tulsa
North
Dak. St
2-1
5/20/17
Game #4
5 PM
#10 Okla.
Arkansas
5-3
Arkansas
Elim.
5/20/17
Game #5
7:30 PM
#10 Okla.
North
Dak. St
10-2
6 Innings;
NDSU Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
2:30 PM
Tulsa
#10 Okla.
4-6
10 Innings
5/22/17
Game #7
1 PM
#10 Okla.
Tulsa
3-0
Tulsa Elim.
Regional #15 – Waco
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
5 PM
James
Madison
Oregon
State
3-2
5/19/17
Game #2
7:30 PM
Kent
State
#15
Baylor
0-1
No Hitter
5/20/17
Game #3
2 PM
James
Madison
#15
Baylor
2-4
5/20/17
Game #4
4:30 PM
Kent
State
Oregon
State
2-1
Oregon St
Elim.
5/20/17
Game #5
7 PM
James
Madison
Kent
State
4-0
Kent St
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
2 PM
#15
Baylor
James
Madison
1-0
No Hitter;
James Madison
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #7
4:30 PM
Game #6 Winner
Game #6 Loser
If Necessary
Regional #2 – Tucson
Date
Game
Time
(EST)
Team #1
Team #2
Score
Notes
5/19/17
Game #1
7 PM
St Francis
South Carolina
2-12
5 Innings
5/19/17
Game #2
9:30 PM
New Mexico State
#2 Arizona
0-11
5 Innings
5/20/17
Game #3
5 PM
South Carolina
#2 Arizona
0-5
5/20/17
Game #4
7:30 PM
New Mexico State
St Francis
4-8
New Mex.
St Elim.
5/20/17
Game #5
10 PM
South Carolina
St Francis
3-1
St Francis
Elim.
5/21/17
Game #6
7 PM
#2 Arizona
South Carolina
9-0
South Carolina Elim.
5/21/17
Game #7
9:30 PM
Game #6 Winner
Game #6 Loser
If Necessary
Super Regionals
The Super Regional round of the 2017 NCAA Division 1 Softball Tournament will be a best of three series between the dates of Thursday, May 25 and Sunday, May 28. The campus sites for each Super Regional will be determined upon completion of the Regionals by the NCAA.
Women’s College World Series
The 2017 Women’s College World Series will take place between Thursday, June 1 and Wednesday, June 7 with every game shown on one of the ESPN family of network channels. All of the games will take place at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium and OGE Energy Field from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Oregon impressively swept Florida State at home in a massive late season non-conference matchup. (Collin Andrew/The Register-Guard)
2017 College Softball Power Rankings: Ninth Edition
The 2017 college softball regular season is over for most teams across the country following week thirteen. There were some big games and upsets among the top teams in our final regular season power rankings. We take a look at the top 16 teams in our power rankings as well as the next four teams.
We will start by providing last week’s rankings below. Please note the records in the table below are as of May 2.
Rank
Team
Conf.
Overall
Record
Conf.
Record
Last
Week's Ranking
1
Florida
SEC
46-4
20-3
1
2
Arizona
Pac-12
47-5
17-4
2
3
Oklahoma
Big 12
44-8
14-1
4
4
Minnesota
Big 10
48-3
19-1
5
5
Florida State
ACC
47-3-1
24-0
6
6
Texas A&M
SEC
41-7
15-5
3
7
Washington
Pac-12
37-10
11-7
8
8
Oregon
Pac-12
41-6
14-6
9
9
Tennessee
SEC
42-8
14-6
7
10
Utah
Pac-12
32-9
12-4
10
11
Auburn
SEC
43-8
15-6
11
12
UCLA
Pac-12
37-12
11-7
12
13
Louisiana
Sun Belt
39-6
20-1
13
14
Baylor
Big 12
39-10
11-4
14
15
James Madison
Colonial
44-6
15-2
15
16
Michigan
Big 10
38-10-1
17-3
17
17
Ole Miss
SEC
34-17
8-13
18
18
Alabama
SEC
39-13
11-9
16
19
LSU
SEC
37-15
11-10
19
20
BYU
West Coast
36-10
9-0
Not
Ranked
Below are the previous editions of our Power Rankings.
Below is the ninth edition of our 2017 power rankings. Please note the records listed are through games as of May 9.
#1 – Florida Gators (50-5 Overall, 20-3 SEC)
Florida (#1 last week) went 4-1 with the week beginning with a loss to Florida State. The Gators had their best ace in the circle with Kelly Barnhill, but despite the 21 strikeouts, they lost 3-1 in 11 innings. Florida finished the week going 4-0 over North Texas and Florida A&M by a combined score of 32-1 with only 13 hits allowed. The Gators will play in the SEC Tournament this week as the top seed.
#2 – Oklahoma Sooners (47-8 Overall, 17-1 Big 12)
Oklahoma (#3 last week) went 3-0 with a sweep of Oklahoma State in which they allowed only one run during the series. The series ended with a combined no-hitter from Nicole Mendes and Paige Lowary. The Sooners are playing their best ball of the season right now and they will be the top team in the Big 12 softball tournament.
#3 – Oregon Ducks (44-6 Overall, 14-6 Pac-12)
Oregon (#8 last week) makes a big move up after sweeping Florida State at home. Game one was an 11-0 final as seven different Ducks recorded an RBI and Megan Kleist allowed only two hits. Game two was a Maggie Balint three hitter with the Ducks scoring three sixth inning runs to win 3-1. The finale was tight throughout as FSU took a 1-0 lead in the second and Oregon tied it in the fifth. The bottom of the ninth saw Danica Mercado’s lead off double turn into the game winning run as Gwen Svekis hit a sacrifice fly to walk off for the win.
Oregon looked fantastic in sweeping the Seminoles and have the look of a national title contender. They have one final series at Stanford to close out the regular season.
#4 – Minnesota Golden Gophers (51-3 Overall, 22-1 Big 10)
Minnesota (#4 last week) had a great week going 3-0 over Penn State en route to capturing the Big 10 regular season title. The Gophers won each game by at least 9 runs and by a combined score of 35-3. Sara Groenewegen threw one hitters in the first and third games as the Gopher pitching staff allowed six hits over the three games. The Big 10 conference tournament is on deck for Minnesota.
#5 – Florida State Seminoles (48-6-1 Overall, 24-0 ACC)
Florida State (#5 last week) went 1-3 this week, but they took on a couple of the top teams in the nation. They won the midweek game at home to Florida 3-1 in nine innings. They overcame 21 strikeouts from Kelly Barnhill as the walk off home run was hit by Alex Powers.
The road trip to Eugene was not very successful as they were swept by Oregon. They were completely dominated in the opener losing 11-0, but were much more competitive in the final two losing 3-1 and 2-1 with the latter coming via walk off. It is hard to fault the Seminoles for taking on a tough schedule and their win over Florida keeps them here. They will be playing in the ACC Tournament this week as the top team.
#6 – Arizona Wildcats (48-7 Overall, 18-6 Pac-12)
Arizona (#2 last week) finished the season going 1-2 against UCLA in a three game set. Despite the series loss, the Wildcats won the Pac-12 Regular Season title and the Pac-12 automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Arizona was shut out twice to open the series before roaring back to win the finale 7-2 with four first inning runs.
The Wildcats do not have a series this weekend as they await finding out their national seed for the tournament. Arizona will undoubtedly be a top 8 team, which guarantees them hosting both a Regional and Super Regional should they get past the first round.
Tennessee (#9 last week) played a three game series at Texas A&M and came away with two wins. The Vols did not get much going in a 5-1 loss to open the series, but came alive on offense scoring 8 runs in each of the final two games. Six different Vols recorded an RBI in game two while Meghan Gregg had 5 RBIs in the third game. Tennessee is a dangerous team going into post season play, which begins this week for the Vols with the SEC Tournament.
#8 – UCLA Bruins (39-13 Overall, 13-8 Pac-12)
UCLA (#12 last week) took two of three from Arizona at home. It was an impressive first two games as they shut out the Wildcats and allowed seven hits over the two games. They did not fare so well in the third game losing 7-2, but they had already taken the series.
UCLA continues to be one of the most enigmatic teams this season. They have won the first two games of three game series versus Washington, Oregon, and Arizona, but also have a series loss to Oregon State. There is no doubt UCLA is talented enough to beat any team when their hitting and pitching is on at the same time, it is just a matter of if those two happen at the same time. The Bruins are at Arizona State this weekend for one final series.
#9 – Texas A&M Aggies (42-9 Overall, 16-7 SEC)
Texas A&M (#6 last week) dropped two of three against Tennessee at home. They started well with a 5-1 win before the pitching gave up 16 runs on 22 hits over the final two games. The Aggies have hit a bit of rough patch losing four of their last six going into the SEC Tournament.
#10 – Washington Huskies (40-11 Overall, 13-8 Pac-12)
Washington (#7 last week) had a 3-1 week winning over Seattle on Wednesday and taking two of three from Stanford at home. The Huskies were in a battle in game one against Stanford, taking it 1-0 on a walk off home run from Kirstyn Thomas. Game two was the same for Washington in the fact they had a tough time scoring. They were one hit in a 6-0 loss before bouncing back to win 10-2 in game three.
It is a bit odd that the Huskies struggled with Stanford, a team that had only one Pac-12 win coming into this series. They have another tough opponent in Utah this weekend to end the regular season.
#11 – Auburn Tigers (45-9 Overall, 17-7 SEC)
Auburn (#11 last week) went into rival Alabama’s place and took two of three. It was their first series win in Tuscaloosa in program history. Each game was tightly contested as they needed 9 innings to win the opening game 3-0 and then won 4-1 in the second game behind Alyssa Rivera’s three run double. The Tigers had their chances to sweep Alabama in the final game as they loaded the bases in both of the first two innings, but came away empty. Haley Fagan hit two solo home runs, but it was enough as they lost 3-2.
Auburn is hungry to avenge last year’s loss in the WCWS Championship Series and their next step is the SEC Tournament this week.
#12 – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (42-6 Overall, 23-1 Sun Belt)
Louisiana-Lafayette (#13 last week) went 3-0 thanks to a sweep of in state foe Louisiana-Monroe. They posted two four hit shutouts and also won a close 6-5, which they led 6-0 after three innings. The Ragin’ Cajuns have the Sun Belt Tournament this week as they loom a very serious threat going into the NCAA Tournament.
#13 – Baylor Bears (41-11 Overall, 13-5 Big 12)
Baylor (#13 last week) took two of three from Texas to close out the regular season. Game one was a 2-1 victory as Kelsee Selman allowed two walks and four hits in a complete game. Game two was a 3-1 loss as the Bears gave up three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Baylor won the third game 4-0 with Ari Hawkins driving in three runs. Baylor will be in the Big 12 Tournament this week.
#14 – Utah Utes (33-11 Overall, 13-6 Pac-12)
Utah (#10 last week) lost two of three to Oregon State on the road. The opener was a 5-0 loss as Taylor Cotton one hit the Utes. Utah was only able to muster two hits in a 3-1 game two loss before rebounding for a 6-0 win in the finale. Kay Kay Fronda and Anissa Urtez both recorded 2 RBIs. The regular season ends with a three game series against Washington.
#15 – James Madison Dukes (47-6 Overall, 18-2 Colonial)
James Madison (#15 last week) ended their regular season with a sweep of Elon. They won the three games by a combined score of 22-3 as Megan Good won all three games to improve to 34-1. Jessica Mrozek recorded 5 RBIs while Taylor Newton had 4 RBIs. The Dukes will be the top seed and host of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament.
#16 – Michigan Wolverines (41-10-1 Overall, 20-3 Big 10)
The Wolverines (#16 last week) ended their regular season with a fantastic sweep of Rutgers by a combined score of 45-2 over the three games. The finale was a combined no-hitter between Megan Betsa and Tera Blanco with Betsa striking out 17 over the her two starts. Michigan is rolling into the Big 10 tournament, which will be held at their home field.
Next Four
#17 – Ole Miss Rebels (36-18 Overall, 10-14 SEC)
Ole Miss (#17 last week) wrangled two of three from Missouri on the road, which can be a difficult place to win at. They opened with 6-0 and 12-4 wins as Kaitlin Lee threw the opening game shutout allowing one walk and four hits. Game two was dominated by Ole Miss’ offense between Courtney Syrett (4 RBIs), Dylinn Stancil (3 RBIs), and Kylan Becker (2 RBIs).
The Rebels nearly had the sweep, but gave up the tying run in the seventh and walk off run in the ninth inning of the finale. They will be in the SEC Tournament and kickoff against Mississippi State.
#18 – BYU Cougars (42-10 Overall, 12-0 West Coast)
BYU (#20 last week) continued their tear through the West Coast Conference going 6-0 on the week and 3-0 in conference. The sweep gave them their fourth straight West Coast Conference title and the automatic bid. They opened the week with a 6-0 win over Grand Canyon thanks to a two hitter by McKenna Bull where she struck out 9.
They swept Santa Clara on the road. The first two games were 5-0 and 3-1 wins while the final game was a 19-5 destruction with 11 first inning runs scored. Ashley Thompson and Libby Sugg both had 4 RBIs in the game.
BYU finished the week with a 10-2 win over Utah Valley and a 4-1 victory over Utah State. The Cougars will have one final series at St Mary’s before the NCAA Tournament begins.
Alabama (#18 last week) lost two of three to rival Auburn at home. They lost the opener 3-0 in nine innings and 4-1 in game two. They came back to win the finale 3-2 to salvage something against their rival. Alabama is 9-11 in their last 20 games going into the SEC Tournament where they open with Arkansas.
#20 – LSU Tigers (38-17 Overall, 12-12 SEC)
LSU (#19 last week) went on the road and lost two of three to South Carolina. All three games were decided by two runs or less. LSU’s offensive production was quite even as only two players (Emily Griggs and Amber Serrett) finished with multiple RBIs in the series. LSU opens with Missouri in the SEC Tournament.
Oregon and Minnesota Rise In Softball Polls Following Week 13
The duo of Oregon and Minnesota enjoyed a boost in the NCAA Softball polls after week 13’s action. The pair still trail Florida, who is number one in both polls.
In the Coaches Poll, Florida took 22 of 32 first place votes as Minnesota (five first place votes) and Oregon (five first place votes) are close in tow. Florida State falls two spots to fourth after being swept by the Ducks and beating Florida. Arizona also drops two spots and round out the top five.
Oklahoma stays in place at sixth, Auburn is up two spots to seventh, and Washington falls one spot to eighth. Tennessee is up two places to ninth after taking two of three from Texas A&M and UCLA is also up two spots after defeating Arizona twice.
Texas A&M is down three spots to 11th, James Madison is up one place to 12th, and Utah is down three spots to 13th after losing two games against Oregon State. Louisiana-Lafayette is 14th and Alabama is 15th with those two teams switching places from last week.
Baylor (up one) is 16th, Michigan (up two) is 17th, and Kentucky (down two) is 18th. Ole Miss moves up two spots to 19th and BYU stays in place at 20th.
LSU falls three places to 21st, Arizona State stays at 22nd, and Marshall stays 23rd. The duo of South Carolina (24th) and Georgia (25th) round out the top 25 with both teams new to the poll this week. Arkansas and Tulsa both fell out of the Coaches Poll, which can be seen below.
Rank
School (1st place votes)
Points
Record
Last Week's
Rank
1
Florida (22)
782
50-5
1
2
Minnesota (5)
754
51-3
4
3
Oregon (5)
744
44-6
5
4
Florida State
694
48-6-1
2
5
Arizona
671
48-7
3
6
Oklahoma
645
47-8
6
7
Auburn
570
45-9
9
8
Washington
564
40-11
7
9
Tennessee
547
44-9
11
10
UCLA
529
39-13
12
11
Texas A&M
505
42-9
8
12
James Madison
440
47-6
13
13
Utah
414
33-11
10
14
Louisiana
373
42-6
15
15
Alabama
337
40-15
14
16
Baylor
306
41-11
17
17
Michigan
275
41-10-1
19
18
Kentucky
253
35-16
16
19
Ole Miss
232
36-18
21
20
BYU
213
40-10
20
21
LSU
198
38-17
18
22
Arizona State
113
30-17
22
23
Marshall
74
40-8
23
24
South Carolina
50
32-22
Not
Ranked
25
Georgia
30
33-21
Not
Ranked
In the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll, Florida is also #1 with 12 of the 20 first place votes. Oregon (up from fifth) is second in this poll with four first place votes while Minnesota (up one) is third with the final four first place votes. Florida State (fourth) and Arizona (fifth) both fall two spots.
Oklahoma is up one spot to sixth after sweeping Oklahoma State. Tennessee (seventh) and Auburn (eighth) move up two spots each as Washington falls one place to ninth. UCLA is up two spots to round out the top 10.
Texas A&M plummets five spots to 11th after losing two of three at home to Tennessee. The pair of Baylor and James Madison are up one spot to 12th and 13th respectively. Utah is down three places to 14th while Louisiana is up on place to 15th.
Alabama is down a spot to 16th, Michigan stays at 17th, Kentucky remains in 18th, Ole Miss is up two spots to 19th, and BYU stays at 20th. LSU is 21st (down two spots), Arizona State moves up a place to 22nd, and South Carolina enters the poll at 23rd.
The bottom of the poll sees a three way tie for 24th. Marshall, Ohio State, and Tulsa all received 27 points. Ohio State is the newcomer, replacing Illinois. The entire USA Softball Poll can be seen below.
