The University of Arizona softball team defended its national championship tonight defeating Tennessee in a best of three series. The Wildcats beat the Vols in the deciding game 5-0.
Taryne Mowatt, the Arizona pitcher — and in college softball a team usually has just one pitcher — threw 1,035 pitches in the tournament since Thursday (8 games, 60 innings). She was the Women’s College World Series MVP.
It’s Arizona’s eighth NCAA softball title.
I think I heard someone on the broadcast mention that this is the third time they have won back-to-back championships.
Go Wildcats!
What a great three game series. Such great players on both teams.
I watched the regional game in Tucson when Cal State Fullerton took a 5-0 lead in the first inning after Caitlin Lowe had collided with the fence. Here was a team of college kids that goes on to win 11-6 after their superstar, 4-time all-American was badly hurt. I thought to myself, what character… this team will win it all.
In 1995 UCLA won the title only, to have their championship vacated when it was determined the Bruins used an illegible player from Australia, Tanya Harding. UCLA recruited Harding from Queensland, Australia midway through the 1995 season, and after UCLA captured the NCAA National Championship, Harding returned to Australia without taking final exams or earning a single college credit. Whom did the Bruins beat for the tainted title that year? the Wildcats.
Hum, from 1988-1997 only Arizona and UCLA won the title.
Not to be confused with that other scofflaw Tonya Harding.
The Wildcats played five win-or-go-home games.
Yep! And two in one day.
We had a 5+ hour power-outage on Wednesday afternoon/evening. By the time it came back on, the game was over. It felt like such a rip-off after watching so many of the games leading up to it. But we’re just happy they won.