NCAA SB Tournament

[flyingMoose]

Regionals begin tonight with the Eugene Regional. With BYU as one of its participants, this Regional starts a day earlier than the other fifteen Regionals since BYU does not play on Sundays. If nothing else, it may be worth checking out what Nike does with softball uniforms, to see how flattering that shade of yellow is. :)

Northern Iowa plays tomorrow in the Lincoln Regional.

[flyingMoose]

Northern Iowa 0-4 Nebraska

This was a close game until Nebraska scored three in the sixth. However, UNI only had two hits, so there was little doubt about the eventual outcome.

[flyingMoose]

Tulsa 1-2 Northern Iowa

Jamie Fisher scattered six hits and allowed only one run in a bases-loaded, nobody-out situation. The Panthers then used a bases-loaded walk to score the lead and eventual winning run to stay alive in the Lincoln Regional. They play Stanford later this evening.

[flyingMoose]

Stanford 4-1 Northern Iowa

And the Panthers are eliminated. Jamie Fisher acquitted herself well in the circle, but UNI never generated much offense during the Regional.

[flyingMoose]

Super Regionals which begin Thursday with National Seeding noted:

16 Texas A&M at 1 Oklahoma
Louisiana-Lafayette at 8 Michigan

12 Kentucky at 5 Arizona State
Florida State at 4 Texas

14 Nebraska at 3 Oregon
11 Washington at 6 Missouri

10 Alabama at 7 Tennessee
UAB at 2 Florida

[WuDrWu]

Is Coach Walton still at Florida? He seems to have done well for himself.

[1972Shocker]

Is Coach Walton still at Florida? He seems to have done well for himself.

Yes. He is in his 8th season. He only wins 80% of his games at Florida. My guess is he will retire as a Gator.

http://www.gatorzone.com/softball/staff/walton/

[Quick Pitch]

Yes. He is in his 8th season. He only wins 80% of his games at Florida. My guess is he will retire as a Gator.

http://www.gatorzone.com/softball/staff/walton/

Walton proved that the right person can turn any team around instantly. It is disappointing that just making the Valley tournament now is considered a successful season.

[flyingMoose]

Super Regionals which begin Thursday with National Seeding noted:

16 Texas A&M at 1 Oklahoma
Louisiana-Lafayette at 8 Michigan

12 Kentucky at 5 Arizona State
Florida State at 4 Texas

14 Nebraska at 3 Oregon
11 Washington at 6 Missouri

10 Alabama at 7 Tennessee
UAB at 2 Florida

The Super Regionals at Norman and Columbia begin Thursday. Those at Austin, Knoxville and Ann Arbor begin Friday with the remaining starting on Saturday. Each is a best two-of-three series with a single game on the first day and a doubleheader (if necessary) on the second day.

[flyingMoose]

The WCWS begins Thursday in Oklahoma City with all eight teams playing. The match-ups with the National Seeding of the teams are:

14 Nebraska
11 Washington

7 Tennessee
2 Florida


5 Arizona State
4 Texas

8 Michigan
1 Oklahoma

[Hovpen]

So, the Big 12 qualified three teams and got two in, while the SEC qualified 11 teams and got two in. Big 10 qualified two and got two in.

AND the Big 8 is 2-2. Love that part.

[LuskingforGuttin]

So, the Big 12 qualified three teams and got two in, while the SEC qualified 11 teams and got two in. Big 10 qualified two and got two in.

AND the Big 8 is 2-2. Love that part.

Not sure I am understanding your point here. Are you stating that the Big Ten and Big XII are better softball conferences than the SEC? In my opinion the SEC and Pac-12 are the two best conferences.

The Big XII is top heavy with Texas and Oklahoma both featuring good teams. Though Texas has struggled in the postseason for several years prior to this one.

The Big Ten did well this year. No doubt but it has been a while since one of those schools has left a mark in OKC.

[Hovpen]

You are entitled to your opinion. But not counting last year, when was the last time an SEC team won anything? ESPN controls who qualifies through their TV market and that sucks but get used to it.

Curious, how tough would the Big 12 be if Nebraska, Missouri and A&M were still involved??

[LuskingforGuttin]

You are entitled to your opinion. But not counting last year, when was the last time an SEC team won anything? ESPN controls who qualifies through their TV market and that sucks but get used to it.

Curious, how tough would the Big 12 be if Nebraska, Missouri and A&M were still involved??

Big XII would have a lot more depth if those three schools were still involved. Subtracting those three and ending up with no additional programs--neither TCU nor West Virginia have softball--has hurt that league no question.

I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I would say that the SEC deserved that many bids. I did a softball mock bracket and South Carolina and Mississippi State's profiles were better than any schools left out (let's say Northwestern, DePaul, Oklahoma State, or Kansas).

[flyingMoose]

Assuming someone thinks RPI is germane to this discussion ...

South Carolina, the eleventh SEC school, has a higher RPI than Kansas, the next Big XII school after Baylor, and than DePaul, the next Big East school after Notre Dame. However, Iowa of the Big Ten has a higher RPI than South Carolina. And this is just RPI, not record the last so many games, not record against the top so many teams, etc.