Jump to content

2021 NCAA Division I softball tournament

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2021 NCAA Division I
softball tournament
Teams64
Finals site
ChampionsOklahoma (5th title)
Runner-upFlorida State (11th WCWS Appearance)
Winning coachPatty Gasso (5th title)
MOPGiselle Juarez (Oklahoma)
TelevisionESPN
ESPN2
ESPN3
ABC

The 2021 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 21 through June 10, 2021 as the final part of the 2021 NCAA Division I softball season. 31 teams were awarded automatic bids as champions of their conferences after the Ivy League opted out of the 2021 softball season. The remaining 33 were selected at-large by the NCAA Division I softball selection committee on May 16, 2021. The tournament culminated with eight teams playing in the 2021 Women's College World Series at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.[1]

Bids

[edit]

Automatic bids

[edit]

The Big Ten, Big West, Mountain West, Pac-12, and West Coast Conference bids were awarded to the regular-season champion. All other conferences had their automatic bid go to the conference tournament winner.

Conference School Best finish Reference
America East UMBC Regionals
(2002, 2019)
American Wichita State Regionals
(1989, 2005, 2016, 2018)
ACC Duke First appearance
A-10 George Washington First appearance
ASUN Liberty Regionals
(2002, 2011, 2018)
Big 12 Oklahoma Champions
(2000, 2013, 2016, 2017)
Big East Villanova First appearance
Big Sky Portland State Regionals
(2013)
Big South Campbell Regionals
(1995, 2008, 2009)
Big Ten Michigan Champions
(2005)
Big West Long Beach State WCWS
(1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993)
CAA James Madison Super Regionals
(2016, 2019)
Conference USA Western Kentucky Regionals
(2013, 2015)
Horizon League UIC WCWS
(1994)
Ivy League Ivy League season canceled
MAC Miami (OH) Regionals
(2005, 2009, 2012, 2016)
MAAC Manhattan Regionals
(1999)
MEAC Morgan State First appearance
MVC Southern Illinois WCWS
(1970, 1977, 1978)
Mountain West Fresno State Champions
(1998)
Northeast Saint Francis (PA) Regionals
(2017, 2018, 2019)
OVC Eastern Kentucky Regionals
(2002, 2004)
Pac-12 UCLA Champions
(1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2019)
Patriot League Boston University Regionals
(1996, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019)
SEC Alabama Champions
(2012)
SoCon UNC Greensboro Regionals
(1997, 2018)
Southland McNeese State Regionals
(1994, 2005, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018)
SWAC Alabama State Regionals
(2016, 2019)
Summit League South Dakota State First appearance
Sun Belt Louisiana WCWS
(1993, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2008, 2014)
WAC Seattle Regionals
(2019)
West Coast BYU Super Regionals
(2010)

At-large

[edit]
Team Conference
Arizona Pac-12
Arizona State Pac-12
Arkansas SEC
Auburn SEC
Baylor Big 12
Clemson ACC
Florida SEC
Florida State ACC
Georgia SEC
Iowa State Big 12
Kentucky SEC
Kennesaw State ASUN
LSU SEC
Minnesota Big Ten
Mississippi State SEC
Missouri SEC
Northern Iowa MVC
Northwestern Big Ten
Notre Dame ACC
Oklahoma State Big 12
Ole Miss SEC
Oregon Pac-12
South Alabama Sun Belt
South Florida American
Stanford Pac-12
Tennessee SEC
Texas Big 12
Texas A&M SEC
Texas State Sun Belt
Troy Sun Belt
UCF American
Virginia Tech ACC
Washington Pac-12

By conference

[edit]
Conference Total Schools
SEC 12 Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M
Pac-12 6 Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, Washington
ACC 5 Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech
Big 12 5 Baylor, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas
Sun Belt 4 Louisiana, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy
American 3 South Florida, UCF, Wichita State
Big Ten 3 Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern
ASUN 2 Liberty, Kennesaw State
Missouri Valley 2 Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois
Mountain West 1 Fresno State
America East 1 UMBC
Atlantic 10 1 George Washington
Big East 1 Villanova
Big Sky 1 Portland State
Big South 1 Campbell
Big West 1 Long Beach State
Colonial 1 James Madison
Conference USA 1 Western Kentucky
Horizon 1 UIC
MAAC 1 Manhattan
Mid-American 1 Miami (OH)
Mid-Eastern 1 Morgan State
Northeast 1 Saint Francis (PA)
Ohio Valley 1 Eastern Kentucky
Patriot 1 Boston University
SoCon 1 UNC Greensboro
Southland 1 McNeese State
Southwestern 1 Alabama State
Summit 1 South Dakota State
WAC 1 Seattle
West Coast 1 BYU

National seeds

[edit]

16 National Seeds were announced on the Selection Show, on Sunday, May 16 at 9 p.m. EDT on ESPN2. 15 of the 16 national seeds hosted Regionals. Teams in italics advanced to Super Regionals. Teams in bold advanced to the Women's College World Series.

Regionals and Super Regionals

[edit]

The Regionals took place May 20–23. The Super Regionals took place May 27–30.

Norman Super Regional

[edit]
Round 1 Round 2 Regional Finals Super Regionals
               
1 Oklahoma 19(5)
Morgan State 0
1 Oklahoma 7
Wichita State 5
Texas A&M 7
Wichita State 9
1 Oklahoma 24
Norman Regional – OU Softball Complex
Wichita State 7
Morgan State 3
Texas A&M 10
Wichita State 9
Texas A&M 6
1 Oklahoma 4 9(5)
16 Washington 2 1
16 Washington 3
Portland State 0
16 Washington 1
Michigan 2
Seattle 0
Michigan 2
Michigan 0 5
Seattle Regional – Husky Softball Stadium
16 Washington 2 10
Portland State 5
Seattle 6
16 Washington 8(5)
Seattle 0

Columbia Super Regional

[edit]
Round 1 Round 2 Regional Finals Super Regionals
               
8 Missouri 8(6)
UIC 0
8 Missouri 4
Northern Iowa 0
Northern Iowa 8(5)
Iowa State 0
8 Missouri 5
Columbia Regional – Mizzou Softball Stadium
Iowa State 0
Iowa State 4
UIC 0
Northern Iowa 3
Iowa State 4
8 Missouri 1 7 2
James Madison 2 1 7
9 Tennessee 8
Eastern Kentucky 1
9 Tennessee 1
James Madison 3
James Madison 4(10)
Liberty 3
James Madison 8
Knoxville Regional – Sherri Parker Lee Stadium
Liberty 5
Liberty 5
Eastern Kentucky 1
9 Tennessee 1
Liberty 3

Stillwater Super Regional

[edit]
Round 1 Round 2 Regional Finals Super Regionals
               
5 Oklahoma State 10(5)
Campbell 0
5 Oklahoma State 9
Mississippi State 3
Boston University 1
Mississippi State 3
5 Oklahoma State 10(5)
Stillwater Regional – Cowgirl Stadium
Mississippi State 2
Campbell 7
Boston University 1
Mississippi State 12(5)
Campbell 0
5 Oklahoma State 6 2 2
12 Texas 1 4 0
12 Texas 12(5)
Saint Francis (PA) 0
12 Texas 6
Texas State 0
Texas State 5
Oregon 1
12 Texas 2 1
Austin Regional – Red and Charline McCombs Field
Oregon 3(8) 0
Oregon 7
Saint Francis (PA) 0
Texas State 0
Oregon 2

Gainesville Super Regional

[edit]
Round 1 Round 2 Regional Finals Super Regionals
               
4 Florida 1
South Florida 0
4 Florida 10
South Alabama 0
South Alabama 2
Baylor 0
4 Florida 8
Gainesville Regional – Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium
South Florida 0
Baylor 0
South Florida 5
South Alabama 0
South Florida 1
4 Florida 0 0
Georgia 4 6
13 Duke 2
UNC Greensboro 0
13 Duke 0
Georgia 1
Western Kentucky 3
Georgia 11(6)
Georgia 10
Athens Regional – Jack Turner Stadium
13 Duke 9
UNC Greensboro 4
Western Kentucky 8
13 Duke 4(12)
Western Kentucky 0

Tuscaloosa Super Regional

[edit]
Round 1 Round 2 Regional Finals Super Regionals
               
3 Alabama 9(6)
Alabama State 0
3 Alabama 6
Clemson 0
Troy 0
Clemson 8(5)
3 Alabama 5
Tuscaloosa Regional – Rhoads Stadium
Clemson 0
Alabama State 0
Troy 8(6)
Clemson 4
Troy 2
3 Alabama 4 4
14 Kentucky 3 1
14 Kentucky 3
Northwestern 2
14 Kentucky 3
Notre Dame 12(5)
Miami (OH) 2
Notre Dame 3
Notre Dame 0 0
Lexington Regional – John Cropp Stadium
14 Kentucky 7 4
Northwestern 7
Miami (OH) 1
14 Kentucky 7
Northwestern 2

Fayetteville Super Regional

[edit]
Round 1 Round 2 Regional Finals Super Regionals
               
6 Arkansas 8(5)
Manhattan 0
6 Arkansas 4
South Dakota State 0
South Dakota State 7
Stanford 1
6 Arkansas 7
Fayetteville Regional – Bogle Park
Stanford 3
Stanford 11
Manhattan 2
South Dakota State 1
Stanford 2(10)
6 Arkansas 4 1
11 Arizona 10 4
11 Arizona 7
UMBC 0
11 Arizona 12
Ole Miss 6
Villanova 1
Ole Miss 5
11 Arizona 12
Tucson Regional – Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium
Ole Miss 6
UMBC 3
Villanova 4
Ole Miss 6
Villanova 2

Baton Rouge Super Regional

[edit]
Round 1 Round 2 Regional Finals Super Regionals
               
7 LSU 10(6)
McNeese State 2
7 LSU 10
Louisiana 3
George Washington 0
Louisiana 1(11)
7 LSU 0 8
Baton Rouge Regional – Tiger Park
Louisiana 2 5
McNeese State 12(5)
George Washington 0
Louisiana 4
McNeese State 0
7 LSU 0 3
10 Florida State 1 4(9)
10 Florida State 6
Kennesaw State 2
10 Florida State 3
UCF 0
UCF 5
Auburn 4
10 Florida State 2
Tallahassee Regional – JoAnne Graf Field
UCF 0
Auburn 0
Kennesaw State 1
UCF 2
Kennesaw State 0

Los Angeles Super Regional

[edit]
Round 1 Round 2 Regional Finals Super Regionals
               
2 UCLA 8(5)
Long Beach State 0
2 UCLA 5(8)
Fresno State 4
Fresno State 3
Minnesota 0
2 UCLA 2
Los Angeles Regional – Easton Stadium
Minnesota 1
Minnesota 11
Long Beach State 0
Fresno State 3
Minnesota 6
2 UCLA 2 2 6
Virginia Tech 7 0 0
15 Arizona State 7
Southern Illinois 4
15 Arizona State 2
Virginia Tech 8
BYU 2
Virginia Tech 5
Virginia Tech 11(5)
Tempe Regional – Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium
BYU 3
Southern Illinois 2
BYU 7
15 Arizona State 8
BYU 9

Women's College World Series

[edit]

The Women's College World Series was held June 3 through June 10 in Oklahoma City.

Participants

[edit]
School Conference Record (conference) Head coach WCWS appearances†
(including 2021 WCWS)
WCWS best finish†* WCWS W–L record†
(excluding 2021 WCWS)
Alabama SEC 50–7 (18–6) Patrick Murphy 13
(last: 2019)
1st
(2012)
20–23
Arizona Pac-12 41–13 (12–10) Mike Candrea 24
(last: 2019)
1st
(1991, 1993, 1994, 1996
1997, 2001, 2006, 2007)
62–34
Florida State ACC 44-10-1 (26–5-1) Lonni Alameda 11
(last: 2018)
1st
(2018)
13–18
Georgia SEC 34–21 (7–17) Lu Harris-Champer 5
(last: 2018)
3rd
(2009, 2010)
5–8
James Madison CAA 39–2 (17–1) Loren LaPorte 1
Oklahoma Big 12 50–2 (16–1) Patty Gasso 14
(last: 2019)
1st
(2000, 2013, 2016, 2017)
32–20
Oklahoma State Big 12 47–10 (15–3) Kenny Gajewski 9
(last: 2019)
3rd
(1989, 1990, 1993, 1994)
12–16
UCLA Pac-12 46–5 (19–2) Kelly Inouye-Perez 30
(last: 2019)
1st
(1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2019)
103–36

† = From NCAA Division I Softball Championship Results

Bracket

[edit]
First round Second round Semifinals Finals
               
1 Oklahoma 3
James Madison 4(8)
James Madison 2
5 Oklahoma State 1
5 Oklahoma State 3
Georgia 2
James Madison 3 1
1 Oklahoma 6 7
1 Oklahoma 8(6)
Georgia 0
2 UCLA 3
1 Oklahoma 10
1 Oklahoma 4 6 5
10 Florida State 8 2 1
3 Alabama 5
11 Arizona 1
3 Alabama 6
2 UCLA 0
10 Florida State 0
2 UCLA 4
3 Alabama 0 5
10 Florida State 2 8
11 Arizona 3
10 Florida State 4
5 Oklahoma State 2
10 Florida State 4

Game results

[edit]
Date[2] Game Winning team Score Losing team Winning pitcher Losing pitcher Save Notes
June 3 Game 1 James Madison 4–3 (8) Oklahoma Odicci Alexander (17–1) Shannon Saile (17–1)
Game 2 Oklahoma State 3–2 Georgia Carrie Eberle (26–3) Mary Wilson Avant (20–11)
Game 3 Alabama 5–1 Arizona Montana Fouts (26–3) Hanah Bowen (11–3)
Game 4 UCLA 4–0 Florida State Rachel Garcia (18–1) Kathryn Sandercock (24–3)
June 4 Game 5 James Madison 2–1 Oklahoma State Odicci Alexander (18–1) Carrie Eberle (26–4) JMU: First unseeded team in WCWS history to advance to the semifinals[3]
Game 6 Alabama 6–0 UCLA Montana Fouts (27–3) Rachel Garcia (18–2) Montana Fouts perfect game; sixth in WCWS history[4][5]: 64 
June 5 Game 7 Oklahoma 8–0 (6) Georgia Giselle Juarez (19–1) Mary Wilson Avant (20–12) Georgia eliminated
Game 8 Florida State 4–3 Arizona Kathryn Sandercock (25–3) Mariah Lopez (9–3) Arizona eliminated
Game 9 Oklahoma 10–3 UCLA Giselle Juarez (20–1) Rachel Garcia (18–3) UCLA eliminated
Game 10 Florida State 4–2 Oklahoma State Kathryn Sandercock (26–3) Kelly Maxwell (15–5) Oklahoma State eliminated
June 6 Game 11 Oklahoma 6–3 James Madison Nicole May (15–1) Odicci Alexander (18–2)
Game 12 Florida State 2–0 Alabama Kathryn Sandercock (27–3) Lexi Kilfoyl (14–3)
June 7 Game 13 Oklahoma 7–1 James Madison Giselle Juarez (21–1) Odicci Alexander (18–3) James Madison eliminated
Game 14 Florida State 8–5 Alabama Danielle Watson (11–1) Montana Fouts (27–4) Alabama eliminated
Finals
June 8 Game 1 Florida State 8–4 Oklahoma Danielle Watson (12–1) Nicole May (15–2) Florida State 1–0
June 9 Game 2 Oklahoma 6–2 Florida State Giselle Juarez (22–1) Kathryn Sandercock (27–4) Tied 1–1
June 10 Game 3 Oklahoma 5–1 Florida State Giselle Juarez (23–1) Danielle Watson (12–2) Oklahoma wins WCWS

Finals

[edit]
June 8, 2021 – 6:30 p.m. (CDT) at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Florida State 0 0 2 5 0 0 1 8 11 2
Oklahoma 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 4 8 3
WP: Danielle Watson (12–1)   LP: Nicole May (15–2)   Sv: Kathryn Sandercock (2)
Home runs:
FSU: Kalei Harding
OKLA: Kinzie Hansen, Nicole Mendes
Attendance: 12,173
Boxscore
June 9, 2021 – 6:00 p.m. (CDT) at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Oklahoma 0 0 1 0 0 4 1 6 11 0
Florida State 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 1
WP: Giselle Juarez (22–1)   LP: Kathryn Sandercock (27–4)
Home runs:
OKLA: Jocelyn Alo, Jana Johns
FSU: Elizabeth Mason
Attendance: 12,115
Boxscore
June 10, 2021 – 2:00 p.m. (CDT) at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Florida State 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0
Oklahoma 1 1 3 0 0 0 x 5 5 0
WP: Giselle Juarez (23–1)   LP: Danielle Watson (12–2)
Home runs:
FSU: None
OKLA: Jocelyn Alo, Jayda Coleman
Attendance: 10,830
Boxscore

All-tournament Team

[edit]

The following players were members of the Women's College World Series All-Tournament Team.

Position Player School
P Giselle Juarez (MOP) Oklahoma
Odicci Alexander James Madison
Montana Fouts Alabama
Kathryn Sandercock Florida State
2B Tiare Jennings Oklahoma
OF Mackenzie Donihoo Oklahoma
Kate Gordon James Madison
Nicole Mendes Oklahoma
Kaley Mudge Florida State
C Kinzie Hansen Oklahoma
U Jocelyn Alo Oklahoma
Bailey Hemphill Alabama

Record by conference

[edit]
Conference # of Bids Record Win % RF SR WS NS F NC
Big 12 5 23–12 .657 4 3 2 1 1 1
ACC 5 19–11 .633 5 2 1 1 1
SEC 12 35–25 .583 9 7 2 1
CAA 1 7–3 .700 1 1 1 1
Pac-12 6 21–14 .600 5 3 2
American 3 6–6 .500 3
Big Ten 3 5–6 .455 2
ASUN 2 3–4 .429 1
Sun Belt 4 6–8 .429 1
WCC 1 2–2 .500 1
Other 22 8–44 .154

The columns RF, SR, WS, NS, F, and NC respectively stand for the Regional Finals, Super Regionals, College World Series Teams, National Semi-Finals, Finals, and National Champion.

Media coverage

[edit]

Radio

[edit]

For the first time ever Westwood One will provide nationwide radio coverage of every game in the Women's College World Series. It was streamed online at westwoodsports.com, through TuneIn, and on SiriusXM. Ryan Radtke and Leah Amico return as the broadcast team.

Television

[edit]

ESPN held exclusive rights to the tournament. The network aired games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, Longhorn Network, ACC Network and ESPN3. For just the fourth time in the history of the women's softball tournament, ESPN covered every regional. ABC will air a super regional game for the first time in tournament history.[6]

Broadcast assignments

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2021 Women's College World Series schedule". NCAA.com. May 4, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  2. ^ Chester, Michella (May 30, 2021). "2021 Women's College World Series: Bracket, schedule, scores". NCAA.com. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  3. ^ Adelson, Andrea (June 5, 2021). "College softball: Inside Odicci Alexander, James Madison's Cinderella WCWS run". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  4. ^ Brunt, Cliff (June 5, 2021). "Fouts throws perfect game, leads Alabama past UCLA in WCWS". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  5. ^ Plummer III, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-9893007-0-4. In the AIAW 1982 WCWS, Jenny Stallard of USIU pitched an 8-inning perfect game against top-seeded Texas A&M, winning 1-0.
  6. ^ Elchlepp, Kimberly (May 26, 2021). "The Road to the WCWS: ESPN Networks to Televise Every Game of the NCAA Division I Softball Super Regionals". espnpressroom.com. Retrieved May 26, 2021.