Happy New Year on behalf of every one of us at Extra Inning Softball!
It’s been an interesting last couple of years in fastpitch softball:
- In 2020, COVID’s impact was the story as high school and club seasons were cancelled as well as the Women’s College World Series and the NPF while Tokyo Olympics were pushed into 2021.
- In 2021, there was a more normal schedule with the Tokyo Olympics played after being postponed from the year before, Athletes Unlimited played Year 2 and, at the college level Oklahoma took the NCAA DI National Championship
- So what was noteworthy about 2022? Perhaps the biggest impact was on the college level where terms not heard of a few years ago, like “Transfer Portal” or “NIL” (for Name, Image & Likeness), have become hugely important. Also on the college side, we saw the winningest coach ever in NCAA history retire and a powerhouse program win a second DI title in a row.
For us at EIS, it was another strong year as we set all-time highs in number of subscribers and number of stories published with more than five per day on average.
On January 28, it will mark the 5th anniversary of when Extra Inning Softball posted our first story and in that half decade we’ve published over 6,000 articles!
We have some big plans coming up this year as we continue to feature and honor these amazing athletes, coaches and families and write about what makes these people so compelling on and off the playing fields!
Below you’ll find our complete list of the Top 15 Softball Stories of 2022Â as well as 15 others we felt were in the running too (listed in random order).
Finally, on behalf of our entire staff, I’d like to wish everyone a happy and successful 2023… may it be our best year yet!
— Brentt Eads, President/Executive Editor of Extra Inning Softball
*****
Top 15 Softball Stories of 2022
Clink on links to read…
- #15… FAU’s Riley Ennis Feels Her Team’s Support After Hurricane Devastation
- #14… Four Football Helmets, One Anonymous Bidder, and a Difference Made for ULM Softball
- #13… High School & Club Coaching Great Mark Campbell Remembered in Collegiate Classic Bearing His Name
- #12… TV Ratings Continue to Climb – & Viewership Records Set – on Softball Telecasts
- #11… Former Softballer Rachel Balkovec Makes History in Professional Baseball
- #10… The Transfer Portal Winds On; Are College Superteams Now a Thing?
- #9… Mental & Emotional Health Pressures Lead to Anxiety, Depression & Even Suicides in Young Athletes
- #8… Carol Hutchins Retires as the NCAA All-Time Wins Leader
- #7… Rawlings Gold Gloves Expand to College Softball
- #6… Former Raider & Softball Ump Clarence Davis Dies (Or Does He? Yes… & No!)
- #5… The World Games Goes Down to the Wire & Is a Great Showcase for the Sport
- #4… Oklahoma Dominates On Way to the National Championship
- #3… Softball-Playing Daughter Helps Dad Find a New Kidney Through Her TikTok Account
- #2… Conference Realignment Changes the Landscape of College Softball
- #1… The Unstoppable, Indelible Impact of NIL
15 Other Stories Considered
Click on links to read…
- NFCA Convention: The Most Controversial Topic from Last Week’s Meetings in San Antonio Was…
- Title IX’s 50th Anniversary: The Story of How One Nebraska Family Helped Sue Its High School… and Won
- Club News: Championship Coaches Michael Danley & Josh Fisher Merge to Create Mojo Super Team
- Dejah Mulipola Crowned as Athletes Unlimited Season 3 Champion
- Maine Teenager Alexis Michaud Uses Make-a-Wish Request to Renovate Her High School Softball Field
- Former LSU Star Shemiah Sanchez Searching for a New Kidney
- 2021 National H.S. Coach of the Year T.J. Goelz Stepping Down at Lakewood Ranch (Fla.) High
- Jocelyn Alo Wins ESPY Award as Best Female Collegiate Athlete
- Coping – and Coaching – with Cancer: Two Coaches and Their Fight
- Amanda Chidester Announces Pending Softball Retirement
- Former LSU Star Shemiah Sanchez Searching for a New Kidney
- Why Louisiana High School Senior Belle Racca – One of Three Triplet Girls – Had 8 College Softball Offers, But Chose to Join the National Guard
- Extra Star Power: 2023 Pitcher/Infielder Kaylee Grace… Diagnosed with Scoliosis at Age 12, She’s Worked Tremendously Hard to Become One of the Northeast’s Best Players
- Feel Good Feature: USA Softball Hires Special Olympics Oklahoma Athlete Logan Doughty as National Office Staff Member
- Monica Abbott Retiring from Japanese Pro League
Top 15 Softball Stories Archives
- Click Here to see the Top 15 Stories of 2021
- Click Here to see the Top 15 Stories of 2020
- Click Here to see the Top 15 Stories of 2019
- Click Here to see the Top 15 Stories of 2018
To share your comments, insights or thoughts, email: info@extrainningsoftball.com.
