Most of the seeded teams are doing well, but one has lost and two four others have squeaked by...No. 4 Georgia has fallen to NC State, 5-4.No. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette needed a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to edge Texas, 3-2.No. 7 Oklahoma put across three in the bottom of the seventh to … [Read more...]
2014 NCAA Tournament Geospatial Map #NCAAsoftball
Here is my annual geospatial map of NCAA tournament teams, based on the official bracket. As I did last year, I created two separate maps, one for what I call "relatively compact" regionals (i.e., in which all or most of the teams come from contiguous states or even a single state) and one for … [Read more...]
PT Playbook: Softball 101
Softball is a direct descendant of baseball (sometimes referred to as hardball to differentiate the two), but differs from it in several ways, of which the chief four are: The ball is always pitched (thrown to the opposing team’s batter) underarm – in other words, it is released when … [Read more...]
Softball: Michigan Run-Ruled for First Time in 270 B1G Games
On April 22, 2000 (or April 23, according to some sources), B1G* softball power Michigan suffered a five-inning loss to Northwestern by a score of 12-0, via run-rule.From 2000-2013, Michigan's softball program won 10 regular-season B1G titles (nine outright and one tie), made the Women's … [Read more...]
Sweeps Characterize Big 12 Opening Weekend #ncaasoftball
I don't know how many fans took brooms out to Big 12 softball fields today, but it would have been appropriate, as all three of the conference's opening-weekend* series ended in three-game sweeps: Kansas over Oklahoma State (link); Oklahoma over Iowa State (all three wins via run-rule; link); … [Read more...]
SEC, Pac 12 Begin NCAA Softball Conference Play
Among the major conferences, league play begins this weekend in the SEC and Pac 12. In the SEC, national No. 1 Florida headlines the schedule with a three-game series at LSU (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). In the Pac 12, the marquee match-up is a three-game series featuring Arizona at UCLA, in an … [Read more...]
Michigan Hands UCLA its First Loss of the Year, Gains Split in Series (NCAA Softball)
The following Twitter tweet says it all... Ground out to Ramirez ends the game! U-M wins 9-4, handing UCLA its first loss of the season #GoBlue— Michigan Softball (@umichsoftball) March 6, 2014 Shortstop Sierra Romero led the Wolverines, falling a triple shy of the cycle (see box score and … [Read more...]
Mary Nutter/Cathedral City Tournament NCAA Softball
The 35-team Mary Nutter Classic (previously known as the Cathedral City Classsic) begins today in the Palm Springs area. As the tournament website states, "Five of the eight teams from the 2013 NCAA Women’s College World Series, including defending champion Oklahoma, will be at this years … [Read more...]
Arizona Shuts Out No. 4 Alabama — Twice! NCAA Softball
The University of Arizona softball program has won eight NCAA championships, but has been down a little the last few seasons, not having made the Women's College World Series since 2010. It's still very early in the season, but the Wildcats may be back!This weekend, the No. 24/22 Wildcats went … [Read more...]
How Leading Teams Did — Week 1 NCAA Softball
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) has put out this document, showing how all of the nation's leading teams did in their games from February 3-9. Summaries are available for all teams in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25, plus all teams that received votes in the poll but didn't make the Top … [Read more...]