There are a lot of year-end superlatives that can be applied and explored, but one category that often gets forgotten is the action itself, the very games that determine who lives to fight another day and who goes home. Once a game is past, it might be discussed for awhile, but then often-times, it’s left for the history books to remember.
As the calendar year ends in mere hours – less than 100 hours by now, if you’re keeping track – here’s our countdown of the Top 10 best games that were played during the college softball season.
Honorable Mention: “The 2 a.m. Game” Oklahoma State vs. Florida State, WCWS
As someone who was present in the press box for this game, it was one of the most unique sporting events that I’ve covered. Very rarely is softball played in the wee hours of the morning, especially with win-or-go-home stakes. That was the scenario when the Cowgirls took on the Seminoles, though, with the winner moving on to the WCWS semifinals and the loser packing their bags. The hour didn’t impact the level of competition, with FSU’s Kathryn Sandercock and a trio of OSU pitchers combining for sixteen strikeouts and allowing just ten hits between them. Florida State ultimately emerged victorious with a 4-2 win and went on to play in the WCWS Championship Series. More on that in a bit…
Honorable Mention: Virginia Wesleyan vs. Texas Lutheran, Game 2, Division III Championship Series
Two of Division III’s heavyweights battled for the crown, and the entire series was one worth watching. Game 2 was of particular interest, though, because it didn’t involve VWU ace Hanna Hull, but did include some of the series’ best competition. Emily Seale threw six inning of four-hit ball for the Marlins, but TLU’s Ashlyn Strother emerged victorious with a complete game win that tied the series and set up a winner-take-all game three.
10. “Hope Trautwein’s Immaculate Game” North Texas vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Trautwein already had a lot of hardware in her trophy case, but her performance against UAPB in April took things to another level. The shutout was nice, the no-hitter was better. But most impressive from Trautwein’s performance was *how* she recorded each out. In a complete-game performance, Trautwein recorded every out by strikeout. The ‘Immaculate Game’ was a stellar outing for Trautwein, notched her sixth win on the year, and earned her national recognition.
9. Long Beach State vs. Cal State Fullerton, Game 1
Fullerton was undefeated. Long Beach had two conference losses. The stakes couldn’t be higher when the two teams met to close the regular season with a four-game series. Long Beach State had to win every game to assure themselves a championship and the NCAA tournament berth. The Titans just needed to split the four games to take home their fifth consecutive crown. Cal State Fullerton scored two runs in the 4th inning and held the 2-0 lead until the bottom of the 6th, when the hosting Niners scored three runs against Titan ace Sophie Frost to take home the series-opening win. The game also set the tone for the series, which saw the Beach win three games in a row to sweep the series and take the conference title.
8. LSU vs. Florida State, Game 2, Baton Rouge Super Regional
LSU vs. Florida State has become a postseason mainstay, and the teams are practically rivals at this point based off their tournament face-offs alone. The teams faced off in the Baton Rouge Super Regional in 2021, with a trip to Oklahoma City on the line. FSU won game 1, but it was game 2 of the series that was the latest instant classic in the postseason rivalry. LSU scored twice in the 4th inning, then Florida State picked up a run in the 6th and a run in the 7th to send the game to extra innings. Both teams recorded solo home runs in the 8th that kept the game going, and it was a wild bottom of the 9th (FSU was the designated home team in the game) that ended in an RBI single and a runner that just beat the ball to the plate and send the Seminoles to the Women’s College World Series.
7. West Texas A&M vs. Biola, Game 3, Division II Championship Series
Neither West Texas A&M nor Biola was necessarily expected to play for the D2 national title, but both teams put together impressive runs in the postseason to reach the championship series. A pitcher’s duel dominated the first five innings of the winner-take-all game 3, but the offensive action took over in the 6th inning. After Biola scored on a solo home run in the top of the 6th inning, West Texas A&M responded with four runs in the bottom of the frame on a grand slam by Gabriella Valforte. A scoreless top of the seventh inning ended the game and gave the Buffs the championship. The fight between both teams that pushed the season to its final day culminated appropriately in the final game.Â
6. Florida State vs. Oklahoma, Game 1, WCWS Championship Series
Both Florida State and Oklahoma lost their opening games of the Women’s College World Series. Both Florida State and Oklahoma also played for a national championship. It wasn’t the final matchup that everyone expected, but it was a good one. All three games of the series were hard-fought affairs, but game 1 was particularly interesting. The starting pitchers were Danielle Watson and Nicole May – neither considered the absolute ace of their respective staffs, though both were valued parts of said pitching staffs. Both offenses clicked in the game and had big innings – a 5-run 4th inning became the difference that gave FSU the victory.
5. Arizona vs. Ole Miss, Tucson Regional Final
Mike Candrea’s last game at Hillenbrand Stadium included a classic performance by his Wildcat offense. Down 6-0 to an upstart Ole Miss squad, the Cats could have hung their heads and started looking ahead to the winner-take-all final game that would have followed if the score held. Playing as the away team in their own stadium, UA scored three in the top of the 4th inning to get back into the game and cut the deficit in half. Then the 5th inning happened; the Cats scored eight runs in the inning, on the back of three RBI singles and a trio of RBI doubles. They never relinquished the lead after that, and Mariah Lopez held the Rebels scoreless the rest of the way to send Candrea and the Wildcats to the Super Regional round.
4. UCLA vs. Fresno State, Los Angeles Regional Winner’s Bracket
If you haven’t noticed it yet, there were some really quality games that took place in the postseason and in the regional round. Another one of those games was in Los Angeles in a winner’s bracket game. Rachel Garcia and Hailey Dolcini battled in a true pitcher’s duel for seven innings. An RBI double by Fresno’s Avery Lawley in the 5th inning gave the Bulldogs a slim lead, but Garcia herself hit an RBI single for her Bruins in the seventh inning that tied the ball game and sent the matchup to extra innings. Garcia notched 13 strikeouts; Dolcini added five of her own. In the eighth inning, though, the offenses woke up. UCLA scored four runs in the top of the 8th, including a 2-RBI single by Aaliyah Jordan. The Bulldogs responded in the bottom of the frame with three runs of their own, but a swinging strikeout ended the game with two runners on base.
3. “Montana Fouts’ Perfect Game” Alabama vs. UCLA, WCWS
Fouts was already one of the best pitchers in the nation before the 2021 season, but she cemented that status with an impressive regular season performance. Her lights-out showing in the WCWS winner’s bracket, though, was her best showing yet. Facing off against Rachel Garcia and a hard-hitting UCLA lineup, Fouts didn’t even throw 100 pitches as she dominated the Bruins and threw a perfect game in primetime under the lights in OKC. Fouts recorded fourteen strikeouts en route to the major win, and her Crimson Tide ultimately earned a berth in the WCWS semifinals.
2. Georgia vs. Oklahoma, Game 1
Oklahoma was already in position as the best team in the country, and their offensive power had already been on display. They arrived in Athens, Georgia to play a somewhat-random doubleheader against the hosting Georgia Bulldogs. OU was undefeated; Georgia was 28-10 entering the day. OU’s Grace Lyons hit a solo home run in the second inning; the Bulldogs responded with Sydney Kuma’s solo shot in the fourth and took the lead with an RBI triple from Jaiden Fields that same inning. The latter part of the game was where the action got pretty crazy. Lynssie Elam hit a grand slam for OU in the top of the sixth inning, only for Georgia to return part of the favor with a two-run single by Fields in the bottom of the frame. A 2-1 game was suddenly 5-4 in the opposite direction. Both teams again scored in the seventh inning to force extras. Fields stepped up again in the bottom of the 9th with an RBI single that sealed the win for UGA. Even when Oklahoma won the second game of the doubleheader, the first game was an immediate classic and was a breakout performance for Fields especially.
1. Oklahoma vs. James Madison, WCWS
The game was David vs. Goliath. It wasn’t supposed to be close; the season-long dominance of Oklahoma and the Cinderella postseason run of James Madison collided to open the Women’s College World Series and the clash of two major stories was on. Both Odicci Alexander and Shannon Saile were pitching well, then in the 3rd inning, Sara Jubas hit a 3-run home run for the Dukes and the OU-heavy crowd saw the wind leave their sails. A 3-run shot in the bottom of the inning re-inflated those same sails and the pitching duel was back on. In the eighth inning, CAA home run record holder Kate Gordon knocked a longball that gave JMU the lead once again, and then for good. The game went down as an instant classic and continued JMU’s magical run that carried all the way into the WCWS semifinals. For Oklahoma, it simply added an unexpected chapter to what would ultimately be a national championship-winning season.
