2010 NCAA Division I softball tournament


The 2010 NCAA Division 1 softball tournament was held from May 20 through June 8, 2010 and is part of the 2010 NCAA Division 1 softball season. The 64 NCAA Division 1 college softball teams were selected out of an eligible 284 teams on May 16, 2010. 30 teams were awarded an automatic bid as champions of their conference, and 34 teams were selected at-large by the NCAA Division 1 Softball Selection Committee. The tournament culminated with eight teams playing in the 2010 Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. [2010 UCLA Bruins softball|UCLA Bruins softball team|UCLA] won their record 11th championship, defeating Arizona in the final.

National seeds

Teams in "italics" advanced to super regionals.
Teams in "bold" advanced to Women's College World Series.
  1. Alabama
  2. '
  4. Florida
  5. UCLA
  8. [2010 Arizona Wildcats softball|Arizona Wildcats softball team|Arizona]
  9. '
  11. '
  12. '
  14. ''''''''''

Women's College World Series

Rule changes

Field dimensions

Whereas in previous years, the outfield fence was set at 190 feet from home plate and standing four feet in height, the fence was moved back to 200 feet and raised to a height of six feet for this year's tournament. Despite the change, the 2010 Series saw a record-breaking number of home runs resulting from "some of the power brought into the game by composite-barreled bats."

Illegal pitching

The 2010 WCWS was marked by a proliferation of illegal pitch calls, following a memo by NCAA Softball Secretary Rules Editor Dee Abrahamson outlining an increased emphasis on legal pitching. Arizona Wildcats pitcher Kenzie Fowler, in particular, was cited for eight illegal pitches in Arizona's first-round 9-0 loss to Tennessee, and a further eight illegal pitches in Arizona's second-round 4-3 win over Washington; Fowler was cited for 16 of the 22 illegal pitches called in the first eight games of the tournament. Wildcats coach Mike Candrea reacted by saying that "the officials were way too involved in game," and that the citation of illegal pitches was "sporadic."

Participants

† Excludes results of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1981.

Results

Bracket


Game results

DateGameWinnerScoreLoserNotes
June 3, 2010Game 13–2Alexandra Aguirre and Traci Yoshikawa homered for HI
Rhea Taylor homered for MO
June 3, 2010Game 2UCLA16–3
FloridaAndrea Harrison homered twice and
Megan Langenfeld homered for UCLA
June 3, 2010Game 39–0
ArizonaKenzie Fowler called for eight illegal pitches;
Ivy Renfroe pitched a 3-hit shutout
June 3, 2010Game 46–3Kristyn Sandberg and Megan Wiggins homered for GA
June 4, 2010Game 5UCLA5–2Samantha Camuso, Julie Burney, and Andrea Harrison hit
home runs for UCLA; Alexandra Aguirre homered for HI
June 4, 2010Game 67–5Erinn Webb hit a grand slam for TN;
Ashley Razey homered for GA
June 5, 2010Game 7Florida5–0Brittany Schutte homered twice and
Kelsey Bruder homered for FL
June 5, 2010Game 8Arizona4–3Kenzie Fowler called for eight illegal pitches;
Danielle Lawrie's final collegiate performance
June 5, 2010Game 93–2FloridaAlisa Goler homered for GA;
Brittany Schutte homered for FL;
Kristyn Sandberg left with knee sprain
June 5, 2010Game 10Arizona5–1Kenzie Fowler called for five illegal pitches;
Traci Yoshikawa homered for HI
June 6, 2010Game 11UCLA5–2B. B. Bates and Samantha Camuso homered for UCLA
June 6, 2010Game 12Arizona8–0
Game ended by run-ahead rule
June 6, 2010Game 13Arizona5–2Stacie Chambers and K'Lee Arredondo homered for AZ
June 7, 2010Finals game 1UCLA6–5
ArizonaSeventh World Series between UCLA and Arizona
Megan Langenfeld homered twice for UCLA;
K'Lee Arredondo and Stacie Chambers homered for AZ
June 8, 2010Finals game 2UCLA15–9ArizonaAndrea Harrison hit a grand slam and Megan Langenfeld,
Julie Burney and Samantha Camuso homered for UCLA;
Stacie Chambers homered twice and Lini Koria homered for AZ

Championship game

SchoolTop BatterStats.
UCLAJulie Burney 3-5 3RBIs HR K
ArizonaStacie Chambers 2-3 4RBIs 2HRs BB K

SchoolPitcherIPHRERBBSOABBF
UCLAAleah Macon 4.1666371823
UCLADonna Kerr2.2433241215
ArizonaKenzie Fowler 1.02333059
ArizonaSarah Akamine4.0151111332731
ArizonaAshley Ralston2.02111289

Final standings

PlaceSchoolWCWS record
1stUCLA5–0
2ndArizona4–3
3rdTennessee2–2
3rdGeorgia2–2
5thFlorida1–2
5thHawaii1–2
7thWashington0–2
7thMissouri0–2

WCWS records

  • Home runs, game , 2 - tied with Yvonne Gutierrez, Lindsey Collins, & Francesca Enea
  • Home runs, Series , 4 - new record, surpassing former record of 3
  • Multi-home run games, Series , 4 - new record, surpassing former record of one
  • Multi-home run games, Series , 2 by UCLA - new record, surpassing former record of one
  • Home runs, Series , 14 by UCLA - new record
  • Home runs, Series , 35 - new record, surpassing former record of 24
  • RBI, Series , 11 - new record, surpassing former record of 7
  • Runs, Series , 141 - new record, surpassing former record of 120

Championship game records

  • Home runs , 7 by UCLA and Arizona - new record, surpassing former record of 3
  • Grand slams , 1 - new record
  • Grand slams , 1 - new record
  • Runs , 15 by UCLA - new record, surpassing former record of 11
  • Runs , 24 by UCLA and Arizona - new record, surpassing former record of 19
  • Hits , 19 by UCLA - new record, surpassing former record of 17
  • RBI , 15 by UCLA - new record, surpassing former record of 11
''Note: The above records exclude those of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1981.''

Most Outstanding Player

Megan Langenfeld was unanimously voted the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. She batted.705, going 12-for-17 with four home runs and nine RBIs, as well as reaching base in 18 of 23 plate appearances for an OBP of.782 with four walks and two hit by pitch.