2018 NCAA Division I softball tournament
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2018) |
| Teams | 64 |
|---|---|
| Finals site | |
| Champions | Florida State (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Washington (13 WCWS Appearance) |
| Winning coach | Lonni Alameda (1st title) |
| MOP | Jessie Warren (Florida State) |
| Television | ESPN ESPN2 ESPN3 |
The 2018 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was held from May 18 through June 6, 2018 as the final part of the 2018 NCAA Division I softball season. Thirty-two teams were awarded automatic bids as champions of their conferences, and the remaining 32 were selected at-large by the NCAA Division I softball selection committee. The tournament culminated with eight teams playing in the 2018 Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. This was the first year since the 2010 Women's College World Series that neither the Florida Gators nor the Oklahoma Sooners made the Championship Series. The Florida State Seminoles played in their first Women's College World Series Championship Series and became the first ACC team to make the Championship Series. The Washington Huskies made their fourth appearance in the Championship Series.
Automatic bids
The Big West, Mountain West, Pac-12, and West Coast Conference bids were awarded to the regular-season champion. All other conferences have the automatic bid go to the conference tournament winner.
National seeds
16 National Seeds were announced on the Selection Show Sunday, May 13 at 10 p.m. EDT on ESPN2.[1] The 16 national seeds host the Regionals. Teams in italics advanced to Super Regionals. Teams in bold advance to Women's College World Series.
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1. Oregon (47–7)
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9. South Carolina (45–14)
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Regionals and Super Regionals
The Regionals took place May 17–20, 2018. One regional- Eugene, Oregon, took place May 17–19, 2018, because of BYU's no-Sunday-play policy; all other regionals occurred May 18–20, 2018. The Super Regionals took place from May 24–27, 2018.
Eugene Super Regional
Tempe Super Regional
Seattle Super Regional
Norman Super Regional
Los Angeles Super Regional
Tallahassee Super Regional
Athens Super Regional
Gainesville Super Regional
Women's College World Series
The Women's College World Series was held May 31 through June 6, 2018, in Oklahoma City.
Participants
| School | Conference | Record (Conference) | Head Coach | WCWS Appearances† (including 2018 WCWS) |
WCWS Best Finish†* | WCWS W-L Record† (excluding 2018 WCWS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State | Pac-12 | 48–11 (16–8) | Trisha Ford | 12 (last: 2013) |
1st (2008, 2011) |
17–16 |
| Florida | SEC | 55–9 (20–4) | Tim Walton | 9 (last: 2017) |
1st (2014, 2015) |
25–14 |
| Florida State | ACC | 52–11 (21–3) | Lonni Alameda | 10 (last: 2016) |
3rd (2002, 2016) |
8–17 |
| Georgia | SEC | 48–11 (16–8) | Lu Harris-Champer | 4 (last: 2016) |
3rd (2009, 2010) |
5–6 |
| Oklahoma | Big 12 | 55–3 (18–0) | Patty Gasso | 12 (last: 2017) |
1st (2000, 2013, 2016, 2017) |
28-15 |
| Oregon | Pac-12 | 52–8 (21–3) | Mike White | 6 (last: 2017) |
3rd (2014, 2017) |
6–10 |
| UCLA | Pac-12 | 55–5 (20–4) | Kelly Inouye-Perez | 28 (last: 2017) |
1st (1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995*, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2010) |
96–34 |
| Washington | Pac-12 | 49–8 (15–8) | Heather Tarr | 13 (last: 2017) |
1st (2009) |
21–19 |
† = From NCAA Division I Softball Championship Results
Bracket
Championship Game
| School | Top Batter | Stats. |
|---|---|---|
| FSU Seminoles | Elizabeth Mason (DP) | 2-3 3RBIs HR K |
| Washington Huskies | Noelle Hee (DP) | 1-2 RBI |
| School | Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | AB | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSU Seminoles | Meghan King (W) | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 25 | 28 |
| Washington Huskies | Taran Alvelo (L) | 3.1 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 18 |
| Washington Huskies | Gabbie Plain | 2.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 11 |
Schedule
| Game | Time* | Matchup# | Television | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, May 31 | ||||||
| 1 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 8 Arizona State | ESPN | 8,561 | ||
| 2 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Washington | ||||
| 3 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 2 Florida vs. No. 7 Georgia | ESPN2 | 8,472 | ||
| 4 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 6 Florida State | ||||
| Friday, June 1 | ||||||
| 5 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 5 Washington | ESPN | 9,311 | ||
| 6 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 3 UCLA vs No. 2 Florida | ||||
| Saturday, June 2 | ||||||
| 7 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 8 Arizona State vs. No. 4 Oklahoma | ESPN | 8,728 | ||
| 8 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 6 Florida State vs. No. 7 Georgia | ||||
| 9 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 2 Florida vs. No. 4 Oklahoma | 8,728 | |||
| 10 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 6 Florida State | ||||
| Sunday, June 3 | ||||||
| 11 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 5 Washington vs. No. 4 Oklahoma | ESPN | 8,932 | ||
| 12 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 6 Florida State | ||||
| 13* | 6:00 p.m.* | No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 6 Florida State | ESPN2 | 6,903 | ||
| 14* | 8:30 p.m.* | Not Necessary | ||||
| Monday, June 4 | ||||||
| Finals, G1 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 5 Washington vs. No. 6 Florida State | ESPN | 8,152 | ||
| Tuesday, June 5 | ||||||
| Finals, G2 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 5 Washington vs. No. 6 Florida State | ESPN | 8,123 | ||
| Wednesday, June 6* | ||||||
| Finals, G3* | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN | – | |||
| *Game times in CDT. # – Rankings denote tournament seed.* = if necessary | ||||||
Record by conference
| Conference | # of Bids | Record | Win % | RF | SR | WS | NS | F | NC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACC | 2 | 11–4 | .714 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Pac-12 | 7 | 33–13 | .717 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | – |
| Big 12 | 4 | 11–8 | .579 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| SEC | 13 | 43–28 | .606 | 12 | 9 | 2 | – | – | – |
| Big Ten | 5 | 8–10 | .444 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – |
| American | 4 | 5–8 | .385 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Big West | 2 | 3–4 | .429 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sun Belt | 2 | 4–4 | .500 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Big South | 1 | 2–2 | .500 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| MAC | 1 | 2–2 | .500 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Missouri Valley | 1 | 2–2 | .500 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Ohio Valley | 1 | 2–2 | .500 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| CAA | 2 | 2–4 | .333 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Other | 19 | 5–38 | .116 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
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
Radio
Westwood One provided nationwide radio coverage of the championship series. It was streamed online at westwoodsports.com, through TuneIn, and on SiriusXM. John Sadak made his softball radio debut and joined returning analyst Leah Amico for Westwood One.
Television
ESPN holds exclusive rights to the tournament. They aired games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, and ESPN3. For the second time in the history of the women's softball tournament ESPN covered every regional.[3]
Broadcast assignments
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Regionals[3]
Super Regionals[4]
Women's College World Series[5]
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Regionals[3]
Super Regionals[4]
Women's College World Series Finals[5]
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References
- ^ "It's Absolute #MAYhem on ESPN for College Softball's Biggest Month with More than 70 Conference Games, 11 Championships in Four Days". ESPN Media Zone. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
- ^ "National Champions!!!". Seminoles.com. 2018-06-05. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
- ^ a b c "The Field is Set! ESPN Covers Every Game from All 16 NCAA Division I Softball Regionals". ESPN Media Zone. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
- ^ a b "ESPN to Televise Every Game of NCAA Division I Softball Super Regionals for 12th Consecutive Season". ESPN Media Zone. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
- ^ a b "All Roads Lead to OKC: ESPN Presents Every Inning of the Women's College World Series". ESPN Media Zone. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
- ^ "Women's College World Series Best of Three Championship Series Live on ESPN; For the First Time, Second-Screen Viewing Option Added on ESPN3". ESPN Media Zone. Retrieved 2018-06-04.