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We continue our list of the Top 15 Softball Stories of 2018, which will run through December 31st when we’ll present our No. 1 story of the year.
We’ve surveyed the softball community and talked internally as well to come up with what were the most impactful and relevant stories in 2018 pertaining to the world of fastpitch softball.
Here are the previous stories:
- #15… Alexia Carrasquillo: The Shot Heard Round the Recruiting World (Dec. 17, 2018)
- #14… Ashley Rogers Overcomes Tragedy to Become National Player of the Year
- #13… High School Senior Sydney Supple Approaching $100K To Build Hometown Field of Dreams
- #12… NFCA’s StrikeOut Cancer Initiative Provides Unity & Half Million-Plus For Research
- #11… There’s Rage in Them Cajuns…. Michael Lotief Firing at ULL Sparks Pushback from Coach & Players
- #10… Controversy at TC/USA Nationals As Championship Team Disqualified
- #9… Mike Stith Wins Club Title & Pro Championship In Same Season
- #8… Team USA Looks Unstoppable Heading Towards 2020 Olympics
- #7… The South Shall Rise Again (Is The West No Longer The Dominant Region?)
- #6… On-Campus Shootings; The Softball World Also Affected
- #5… MSU’s Alex Wilcox Cancer Death Sparks Movement of Support
Today is #4 and highlights a first in Women’s College World Series history: for the first time ever, an ACC school won the Div. I title and what a way for it to happen! Highlighting the ESPN-aired series was a SportsCenter Top 10 Play of the Day and a pitching performance for the ages…
To provide comments, insights or thoughts, email: [email protected].
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If you haven’t noticed, ESPN loves the Women’s College World Series and college softball in general.
A vast array of resources–supposedly a crew of 200–were allocated to the 2018 WCWS and, once again, the network got its money’s worth.
Not only was the National Championship the first in Florida State’s history, it was the first ever for an ACC school and despite being a two-game sweep for the Seminoles, it showed why the sport is, according to some sources, the fastest growing sport for ESPN.
I worked for the Worldwide Leader of Sports from 2009 to 2012 and when I was there, the WCWS would have higher TV rankings than NHL playoff games and was the third biggest college property (ratings-wise) after the football bowl games and men’s basketball during March Madness.
Even now, the women’s college World Series draws about 30 percent higher than the men’s baseball World Series.
So imagine how happy ESPN is when last year it got a 17-inning instant classic in Game 1 of the WCWS that would be decided by a Shay Knighten three-run home run for Oklahoma in a series it would win over Florida:
Shay Knighten's three-run 💣 in the top of the 17th won it for @OU_Softball! #WCWS pic.twitter.com/uDhsQhA4nT
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) June 6, 2017
And then this year, one of the greatest catches in World Series history: a diving infield grab by Jesse Warren that would make all the highlight reels, helped clinch Game 1 for FSU as it would go on to beat Washington the next day for the title.
ESPN did a nice recap clip of Game 1 which drew a lot of attention for the right reasons: a big home run by Anna Shelnut, the amazing grab by Jesse Warren and the dominant shutdown pitching of Meghan King who was a major reason why, despite Jessica Mendoza’s prediction of the series going three games, it was a sweep by Florida State:
What was great about the FSU championship is it showed that softball is a great sport for players and fans, especially on TV.
And, as we showed in an earlier article in our Top 15 Stories of 2018 about the South becoming a juggernaut region in the sport, it gave hope to any team in the NCAA playoffs that it too can win and break through.
Florida State was the #6 seed and with Oregon, Florida, Oklahoma and UCLA being the top four and Washington being a favorite as well (all have won WCWS titles other than the Ducks) few–other than FSU fans, perhaps–were thinking it would be a new team taking home the crown but that’s what made it so thrilling, the Noles got hot at the right time, the key players delivered and everything came together.
As Justin McLeod of Justin’s World of Softball said, “It was a classic Cinderella story where midnight hit and nobody turned back into a pumpkin!
The stat that jumped out at me was in Game 2 when the graphic was shown on ESPN that every Florida Starter starter got on base at least once in the game-deciding game. That’s a team clutch effort.
And the series was a perfect example of why softball is a great TV sport and continues to bring in fans. As Tennessee co-head coach Karen Weekly said in an interview we posted earlier today: “In the area of TV, it’s better than it’s ever been and we have to make sure it continues to be a great game for people watching on TV and the players involved.”
Mission accomplished, certainly for this year.
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
Below are some stories we did around the Florida State National Championship….
