SATURDAY RESULTS -- 2013 NCAA SOFTBALL REGIONALS
With the exception of the Eugene, Oregon region, which is one day ahead, today's action will result in one team per region with a 2-0 record, one with a 2-1 record, and two teams eliminated. The team with the 2-0 record needs only one win on Sunday to advance to the super-regionals, whereas the team entering Sunday's play at 2-1 will need to beat the previously undefeated team twice. I will update the following chart throughout the day and#40;teams' seeds in parenthesesand#41;. The official NCAA bracket is here. Region 2-0 2-1 Eliminated Eliminated Norman OK Gainesville FL Florida and#40;2and#41; Eugene OR Oregon and#40;3and#41; Wisconsin N. Carolina BYU Austin TX Texas and#40;4and#41; Tempe AZ Columbia MO Missouri and#40;6and#41; Knoxville TN Ann Arbor MI Michigan and#40;8and#41; Baton Rouge LA LA-Lafayette Tuscaloosa AL Seattle WA Lexington KY Kentucky and#40;12and#41; Mobile AL Lincoln NE Louisville KY College Station TX HTML Tables [Read More]published May 18, 2013 at 3:46pm EDT
NCAA SOFTBALL'S SCOREBOARD PAGE TO FOLLOW REGIONALS
The NCAA website has a softball scoreboard page to follow the regionals. The bulk of the action gets underway today. The only exception is the Oregon regional, which began yesterday with the host Ducks beating BYU and North Carolina edging Wisconsin. All regionals are double-elimination. [Read More]published May 17, 2013 at 1:51pm EDT
NCAA SOFTBALL: 2013 GEOSPATIAL NCAA TOURNAMENT MAP
My annual maps of the NCAA regional groupings are shown below, based on the official tournament bracket. In all cases, the four teams sharing the same color and style and#40;based on the host team's school colorsand#41; are in the same regional; the seeded team and#40;with number in parenthesesand#41; will host. To increase readability, I've done something new this year. I've created two maps, shown below. You may click on the maps to enlarge them.The top map shows relatively compact regionals, in which three or four of the teams in a given set are geographically close to each other. As an example of four nearby schools, Tennessee, North Carolina State, James Madison, and Longwood and#40;the latter two from Virginiaand#41; are all shown in light orange, with light-blue outline and white letters. As an example of three nearby schools with a distant fourth school, LSU, Louisiana-Lafayette, and Northwestern State are all from the state of Louisiana, with Central Connecticut State joining in and#40;all [Read More]published May 13, 2013 at 12:43am EDT
NCAA SOFTBALL: TEXAS TECH ENDS SCORING DROUGHT, BUT STILL LOSES SUNDAY FINALE TO OKLAHOMA
A quick follow-up to yesterday's posting:Texas Tech scored today with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, ending the Red Raiders' offensive scoreless streak at 32 innings. Tech's batters actually went wild for 7 runs on the day; the only problem is that Oklahoma scored 13 and#40;box score and play-by-play sheetand#41;. [Read More]published April 14, 2013 at 4:39pm EDT
NCAA SOFTBALL: OKLAHOMA CONTINUES TO ROLL, TEXAS TECH STILL CAN'T SCORE
No. 1 Oklahoma is visiting Texas Tech this weekend, so I took in this afternoon's contest. The Red Raiders, who have made the NCAA tournament the past three years, are looking like they won't make it this year. The Sooners, on the other hand, continue to soar.In today's 6-0 OU win, Michelle Gascoigne was in the circle for the Sooners, so Tech only had to deal with star pitcher Keilani Ricketts as a batter and#40;in the designated-player roleand#41;. Unfortunately for the Raiders, Ricketts and#40;shown at right walking up to the plateand#41; hit a pair of homers today!In Friday night's series opener, Ricketts pitched a six-inning and#40;run-ruledand#41; no-hitter over Tech, as the final was 9-0 OU.Immediately prior to the Oklahoma series, the Raiders had also been no-hit last Sunday and#40;for seven inningsand#41; in a 4-0 loss to Kansas. Tech was also shut-out by the Jayhawks 3-0 and#40;seven inningsand#41; in the Saturday game of the KU series; the Raiders got four hits in this game, the last with two ou [Read More]published April 14, 2013 at 12:54am EDT
SOFTBALL: BIG 12 CONFERENCE PLAY REALLY GETS GOING THIS WEEKEND
The Big 12 is the last of the four major conferences to get going this season. Baylor and Texas played a two-game series last weekend -- swept by the Longhorns -- with the bulk of the teams beginning league play this weekend.The reason for the late start is that few Big 12 schools field softball teams and, with few teams, it doesn't take that long to play a conference schedule. Even when the conference actually had 12 schools, it was only a 10-team league for softball, as Colorado and Kansas State didn't compete in the sport. The first wave of conference realignment saw two Big 12 teams depart: Nebraska to the Big 10 and Colorado to the Pac 12. The net result was the loss of one Big 12 softball program and#40;Nebraskaand#41;, bringing the league down to nine teams.In the next phase of realignment, however, the Big 12 lost two softball programs to the SEC -- and pretty darn good ones, at that. Missouri made the Women's College World Series in 2009, 2010, and 2011, whereas Texas Aandamp;M was [Read More]published March 28, 2013 at 10:14pm EDT
GARMAN CLASSIC, FLORIDA-TENNESSEE SOFTBALL SERIES TOP WEEKEND'S PLAY
The annual Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, California, and the Tennessee-Florida SEC series topped this weekend's play.First, here are the highlights from the Garman. Led by Keilani Ricketts, top-ranked Oklahoma didn't allow a run all tournament in five games. Admittedly, the Sooners' opponents and#40;Pacific, NC State, Arizona, Penn State, and Cal State Fullertonand#41; were not the best available at the tournament.Several other teams lost only one game each.Michigan went 4-1, beating Washington, 6-1, Arizona State, 5-4, Arizona, 9-1, and NC State, 1-0, but losing a 3-2 decision to Virginia Tech.Arizona State and#40;4-1and#41;, along with the loss to Michigan, defeated Fullerton, 9-0, Texas, 3-0, Virginia Tech, 11-0, and Pacific, 5-4.Texas and#40;4-1and#41; bounced back from its opening loss to ASU by knocking off Penn State, 8-4, Washington, 4-1, NC State, 7-4, and DePaul, 8-3.In Gainesville, Florida took two out of three from Tennessee, with all three contests going to extra innings. The Gato [Read More]published March 17, 2013 at 6:53pm EDT
CITRUS CLASSIC TOPS THIS WEEKEND'S SOFTBALL ACTION
This week's top destination appears to be the Citrus Classic in Orlando, Florida. The 26-team field includes six ranked squads: Texas Aandamp;M, Texas, LSU, Oregon, Michigan, and Louisville. Spy Softball provides a more detailed preview. [Read More]published February 28, 2013 at 9:45pm EST
TOP PERFORMING TEAMS AT MARY NUTTER CLASSIC
Here are some of the top performing teams at this weekend's Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, California, near Palm Springs: No. 1/2 Oklahoma breezed through its five games, shutting out the opponent in four of them. The Sooners' biggest-name opponent was No. 14/19 Arizona. UCLA went 5-0, with wins over No. 4 Tennessee, Maryland, Oklahoma State, No. 10/11 LSU, and Nevada. These wins should catapult the No. 13/16 Bruins into the national Top 10. Unranked Northwestern and#40;5-0and#41;, whose victims included Tennessee.andnbsp; Oregon State, which went 5-0 and#40;although not against any elite teamsand#41; and has now won 11 straight overall. The Beavers are unranked, although they are listed as receiving some votes for the Top 25 in the USA Today/NFCA poll. Cal went 4-0, although the No. 8 Golden Bears did not face elite opposition. No. 7 Missouri went 3-0, edging its new SEC rival, No. 5 Florida 4-3 in 12 innings. The loss was the Gators' only one of the tourney. Separate from the Nutter [Read More]published February 24, 2013 at 6:32pm EST
CAMPBELL-CARTIER CLASSIC (SAN DIEGO STATE) FEATURES OKLAHOMA, WASHINGTON, KENTUCKY
Oklahoma, ranked No. 1 in one of the major national polls and No. 2 in the other, highlights the field at San Diego State's Campbell-Cartier Classic. Two other nationally ranked teams, Washington and Kentucky, are among the field of seven. [Read More]published February 15, 2013 at 2:52pm EST