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Here are highlights of the second full day of action at the NCAA DI Regional Playoffs courtesy of NCAA.com…
Whoa.
You gotta love parity and the opening rounds of NCAA DI playoff action that gives us 16 strong Regionals held across the nation.
Yesterday, Arizona State—the #15 seed and the host in the Tempe Regional—was eliminated in the double elimination format and today it was #9 seed Tennessee, which lost twice in its own Knoxville Regional and will have to watch the rest of the playoffs from the stands.
The Vols fell to James Madison 3-1 and then to Liberty 6-4 to set up a great matchup tomorrow at 10 am EST between those two teams (James Madison doesn’t have a loss so Liberty would have to take two).
Have we found this year’s Regionals breakout star in JMU pitcher Odicci Alexander?
She struck out 19 Friday night in a 10 inning win over Liberty to set a school record and came back today and went the distance in the win over Tennessee scattering six hits over seven innings and giving up just one earned run while striking out five more in the Sunday-clinching win.
Love this tweet by the JMU Athletic Dept:
Odicci Alexander in two NCAA Regional games:
– 17 IP
– 4 ER
– 24 K
– 276 pitches
– 2-0 recordThat’s … very good.
— JMU Sports News (@JMUSportsNews) May 22, 2021
Very good, indeed…
Have to give props to leadoff batter and standout outfielder Kate Gordon also; it was her three-run home run that was the difference offensively in the game.
* Elsewhere, the aforementioned Hokies became the first team in the tourney to lock in to the Super Regionals when they beat BYU earlier today (the Tempe Regional started play on Thursday):
Virginia Tech is SUPER!!! 🌟@HokiesSoftball runs the table in the Tempe Regional and advances to the program's first Super Regional appearance since 2008 after defeating BYU, 11-3 (5 inn.).#RoadToWCWS pic.twitter.com/sPjiM8efNt
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 23, 2021
In the other nine Regionals there are two seeded teams that have to do some extra work on Sunday:
* In Seattle, #16 seed Washington lost to Michigan as the Wolverines punched their ticket to the Championship Game for tomorrow.
With Gabbie Plain giving up a pair of home runs in the 2-1 loss, Michigan faithful have to believe they can make it out of Sunday with more games to play.
The Husky fans might be a bit nervous, sure, but they do have the Canadian standout, one of the three finalists for National Player of the Year, able to win two against anyone. The loss ended a 52-game home winning streak in Regionals for the Huskies. Washington had not lost a Regionals game in Seattle since 1995.
For the Wolverines, Alex Storako looked strong giving up just three hits, one of those being a solo shot to Husky catcher Morganne Flores.
* In the Athens Regional, Georgia is looking good with no loses but #13 seed Duke has a chance.
The Blue Devils lost to the Bulldogs 1-0 earlier in the day, but bounced back with a win over Western Kentucky 4-0, a game that was much closer than it sounds as it went 12 innings:
THE BLUE DEVILS TAKE THE LEAD IN THE 12TH!! 😈
📺 ESPN3#RoadToWCWS x @DukeSOFTBALL pic.twitter.com/9uqKpG2RQd
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 23, 2021
Duke will have to beat Georgia twice with the next game tomorrow at 10 am EST and you have to wonder how much Marissa Young’s team has left in the tank.
* Tomorrow at 2 pm EST, the Austin Regional Final will begin and it’s got some interesting history between the two two teams: host Texas will face Oregon and if you know your recent history, Longhorns head man Mike White left Oregon a few years ago to take over in Austin and took several then-Oregon players with him.
Interesting dynamic to watch in this one for sure…
* Elsewhere the other seeds have made it through to Sunday but, interestingly, the top two seeds in Oklahoma and UCLA didn’t have it easy on Saturday, at least in one game.
The Sooners topped Wichita State 7-5 while UCLA won by one over Fresno State, 5-4. Were they looking ahead? Very doubtful, it’s more probable that at this stage of the playoffs most any team can beat any other on any given day.
And the chance for upsets makes it that much more fun!
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Click HERE to view the interactive bracket
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Regionals – Championship Sunday (May 23, 2021)
Left Side of Bracket
- Norman: Oklahoma vs. Wichita St (must win twice)
- Seattle: Michigan vs. Washington (must win twice)
- Knoxville: James Madison vs. Liberty (must win twice)
- Columbia: Missouri vs. Iowa State (must win twice)
- Stillwater: Oklahoma State vs. Miss. State (must win twice)
- Austin: Texas vs. Oregon (must win twice)
- Athens: Georgia vs. Duke (must win twice)
- Gainesville: Florida vs. South Florida (must win twice)
Right Side of Bracket
- Tuscaloosa: Alabama vs. Clemson (must win twice)
- Lexington: Notre Dame vs. Kentucky (must win twice)
- Tucson: Arizona vs. Ole Miss (must win twice)
- Fayetteville: Arkansas vs. Stanford (must win twice)
- Baton Rouge: LSU vs Louisiana (must win twice)
- Tallahassee: Florida State vs Central Florida (must win twice)
- Tempe: Virginia Tech advances to Super Regionals
- Los Angeles: UCLA vs Minnesota (must win twice)
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Teams Eliminated (by Region)
Left Side of Bracket
- Norman: Morgan State, Texas A&M
- Seattle: Portland State, Seattle
- Knoxville: Tennessee, Eastern Kentucky
- Columbia: UIC, Northern Illinois
- Stillwater: Boston Univ., Campbell
- Austin: St. Francis, Texas State
- Athens: Western Kentucky, UNC-Greensville
- Gainesville: Baylor, South Alabama
Right Side of Bracket
- Tuscaloosa: Troy, Alabama State
- Lexington: Northwestern, Miami (OH)
- Tucson: UMBC, Villanova
- Fayetteville: Manhattan, South Dakota State
- Baton Rouge: George Washington, McNeese
- Tallahassee: Kennesaw State, Auburn
- Tempe: Arizona State, BYU, Southern Illinois (VIRGINIA TECH ADVANCES)
- Los Angeles: Long Beach State, Fresno State
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Saturday, May 22, 2021 – Key Play Performances (courtesy NCAA.com)
- Montana Fouts had a 16K performance in Alabama’s win.
- Missouri’s Laurin Krings tossed 10 strikeouts and a one-hitter in the Tiger’s win over UNI.
- Kennesaw State picked up its first ever NCAA tournament win. (Later eliminated by UCF)
- Georgina Corrick threw her fourth no-hitter of the season with 12 strikeouts in win over Baylor.
- Liberty pulled off the upset over No. 9 Tennessee, knocking them out of the tournament.
- Morganne Flores set Washington record with 10 career postseason homers.
- Haley Lee hit two home runs in first game of the day and another in game vs. Wichita State to break Texas A&M single-season home run record with 25.
- Arizona’s Dejah Mulipola become Pac-12 RBI leader with two home run outing.
- Washington’s Pat Moore tossed her first-ever no-hitter in Huskie’s win over Seattle U.
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Saturday, May 22, 2021 – Regional Playoff Results
Montana stays on fire! 🔥🔥🔥@MontanaFouts was masterful in a complete game shutout of Clemson, as she tied a career high with 1️⃣6️⃣ strikeouts as @AlabamaSB rolled into the Tuscaloosa Regional Final with a 6-0 win.#RoadToWCWS pic.twitter.com/Y74qDUe6dU
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 22, 2021
ROCKY TOP UPSET!@JMUSoftball advances to the Knoxville Regional Final after taking down host (9) Tennessee, 3-1. 🔥#RoadToWCWS pic.twitter.com/Xfi6G52OMe
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 22, 2021
𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐖𝐈𝐍 ☘️@morganeryan and the Irish take down No. 1 Kentucky to advance to the regional final!
Ryan has a career day, going 2-3 at the plate with 3 RBI, a home run and a double, allowing two hits in 4.2 innings. #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/g4ikERzcBA
— Notre Dame Softball (@NDsoftball) May 22, 2021
- No. 10 Florida State def. UCF 3-0
- No. 6 Arkansas def. South Dakota State 4-0
- No. 8 Missouri def. UNI 4-0
- No. 5 Oklahoma State def, Mississippi State 9-3|
- No. 4 Florida def. South Alabama 10-0
- Kennesaw State def. Auburn 1-0
- Northwestern def. Miami (Ohio) 7-1
- Liberty def. Eastern Kentucky 5-1|
- Troy def. Alabama State 8-0
- Western Kentucky def. UNC Greensboro 8-4
- No. 7 LSU def. Louisiana 10-3
- No. 1 Oklahoma def. Wichita State 7-5
💥 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 💥
FINAL | No. 1 OU 7, Wichita State 5#ChampionshipMindset pic.twitter.com/mVC3m9Pdqg
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) May 22, 2021
- No. 2 UCLA def. Fresno State 5-4
- USF def. Baylor 5-0
- Campbell def. Boston University 7-1
- UCF def. Kennesaw State 2-0 (Elimination bracket)
- McNeese def. George Washington 12-0
- Iowa State def. UIC 4-0
- Stanford def. Manhattan 11-2
- No. 11 Arizona def. Ole Miss 12-6
- No. 12 Texas def. Texas State 6-0
- Clemson def. Troy 4-2 (Elimination bracket)
- Liberty def. No. 9 Tennessee (Elimination bracket)
DOWN GOES TENNESSEE!
The Flames brought the heat to Knoxville, defeating (9) Tennessee, 6-4, to advance to Sunday's Regional Final.🔥#RoadToWCWS x 🎥 @LibertySB pic.twitter.com/N30tKhJoRP
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 23, 2021
- Virginia Tech def. BYU 11-3(Regional Final)
- Michigan def. No. 16 Washington 2-1
SEE YA SUNDAY! #NCAASoftball #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/VGRrb26LUW
— Michigan Softball (@umichsoftball) May 23, 2021
- 14 Kentucky def. Northwestern 7-2 (Elimination bracket)
- 13 Duke def. Western Kentucky 4-0
- Texas A&M def. Morgan State 10-3
- Mississippi State def. Campbell 12-0
- South Florida def. South Alabama 1-0
- Iowa State def. UNI 4-3
- Oregon def. Saint Francis (PA) 7-0
- Minnesota def. Long Beach State 11-0
- Stanford def. South Dakota State 2-1
- Villanova def. UMBC 4-3
- Louisiana def. McNeese 4-0
- Seattle U def. Portland State 6-5
- Wichita State def. Texas A&M 9-6 (Elimination bracket)
S-E-C YA LATER!
Wichita State advances to the Norman Regional Championship game tomorrow vs. No. 1 OU.#watchus pic.twitter.com/tsHw1S65Fy
— Wichita State Softball (@GoShockersSB) May 23, 2021