Rounding Third Softball

RTS will be at the Athens Regional starting tomorrow and through the weekend at Jack Turner Stadium on the campus of the University of Georgia. Action starts with two games on Friday as the No. 13 National Seed and ACC Champions No. 17 nationally ranked Duke, take on the champions from the Southern Conference UNC Greensboro at Noon EST. Host Georgia follows at 2:30 pm EST taking on Western Kentucky the Conference USA Champions. Follow RTS on Twitter @Rounding3rdSB for real-time in-game updates throughout the weekend.

Mercer head coach Stephanie DeFeo has stepped down from her position. DeFeo spent eight seasons with the Bears, the first three as an assistant coach and last five leading the program. The move comes as a bit of a surprise as Defeo is the winningest coach in program history with a 217-195 record.

Around and around we go… After NCAA confirmed to RTS that the lifting of capacity restrictions in Oklahoma City for the WCWS was based on local regulations and guidelines set forth by OKC, the city itself has now clarified that no such restrictions are in place. City representatives have clarified however that the ultimate decision on capacity at Hall of Fame Stadium is at the discretion of facility management, USA Softball. USA Softball in turn clarified to RTS that, “With the WCWS being a NCAA event, USA Softball does not have any further details or comments at this time.” It seems as there could still be a path to 100% capacity, who makes that call is the ultimate question. WCWS all-session ticket holders were issued electronic tickets this morning for the previously determined 50% seat/session limit based on each holder’s preselected option. So at this point backtracking ticketing two weeks away form the start of the WCWS could be a major issue at hand.

After NCAA announced restrictions would be lifted clearing the way for 100% capacity at the Women’s College World Series, it now seems Oklahoma City itself has other ideas. After communicating with NCAA, RTS has learned that per local regulations and guidelines the city itself will currently keep attendance capacity for the WCWS at 50%.

Ten teams have advanced through the Opening Regional Round and will now vie for the NAIA National Championship. The title will be decided May 27-June 2 in Columbus, Georgia.

NAIA World Series Participants by seed:

No. 1 Southern Oregon

No. 2 Oregon Tech

No. 3 Olivet Nazarene

No. 4 College of Idaho

No. 5 Ottawa-Kansas

No. 6 Madonna

No. 7 Mount Mercy

No. 8 Milligan

No. 9 Bethany

No. 10 Houston-Victoria

St. Cloud State Head Coach Paula U’Ren is calling it a career. The longtime coach is retiring after 26 years leading the Huskies program. The winningest coach in program history leaves with a 768-509-1 record in her run at SCSU.

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) has announced eight finalists for the 2021 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Freshman of the Year award. Each finalist represents one of NFCA’s eight DII regions. The award honors the outstanding athletic achievement among freshman softball student-athletes throughout NCAA Division II.

The eight finalist list includes:

Atlantic – Brianna Hughes, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

Central – Torri Chute, Augustana University

East – Alyssa Herrera, Georgian Court University

Midwest – Kenzee Smith, University of Indianapolis

South – Ali Shenefield, Rollins College

South Central – Shelby Robb, Metropolitan State University of Denver

Southeast – Caitlyn Canady, Columbus State University

West – Sidney Booth, Northwest Nazarene University

USA Softball announced today the three finalists for their collegiate player of the year. The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award recognizes the outstanding athletic achievement by Division I players across the country. The winner of the award will be announced on June 1 prior to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Finalists are:

Jocelyn Alo, Senior, Oklahoma

Rachel Garcia, Senior, UCLA

Gabbie Plain, Senior, Washington

As the Division III Regional Championships begin in just a few days, a new No. 1 has appeared atop the NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll. DePauw (34-2) has checked into the top spot in the last regular season poll collecting all eight first-place votes.

Rank	Team	2021 Record	Points	Previous
1	DePauw (8)	34-2	200	T2
T2	Texas Lutheran	28-4	192	1
	Virginia Wesleyan	37-5-1	192	T2
4	Eastern Connecticut State	30-2	176	6
5	Birmingham-Southern	29-5	168	5
6	Moravian	30-1	160	4
7	East Texas Baptist	30-5	152	7
8	Linfield	36-7	144	8
9	Salisbury	24-7	136	9
10	The College of New Jersey	23-3	128	14
11	Christopher Newport	28-12	115	11
12	Belhaven	30-10	109	13
13	Berry	25-10	98	10
14	Rochester	31-8	91	20
15	Emory & Henry	26-7	88	15
16	St. John Fisher	28-5	67	12
17	Alfred	31-9	44	NR
18	Mount Union	32-7	41	16
19	Randolph-Macon	14-7-1	34	17
T20	Millikin	31-11	33	RV
	St. Thomas (Minn.)	28-8	33	NR
22	Trine	30-8	32	22
23	Milwaukee School of Engineering	33-8	31	RV
24	St. Olaf	24-6	30	21
25	Coe	24-13	28	19

Others receiving votes: Mount St. Joseph 21, Concordia (Wis.) 18, Rowan 16, York (Pa.) 11, Saint Benedict 6, Benedictine 5, Stevens Institute of Technology 3, Southern Maine 3, Tufts 2, and Wisconsin-Oshkosh 1.

Dropped out: Misericordia, Transylvania and Wartburg.

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) has announced six finalists for the 2021 Schutt Sports/ NFCA NAIA National Freshman of the Year award. Each finalist represents one of NFCA’s six NAIA regions. The award will be announced on June 8 and honors the outstanding athletic achievement among freshman softball student-athletes throughout NAIA.

The six finalist list includes:

Region I – Bryce Peacock, College of Coastal Georgia

Region II – Emily Loveless, Reinhardt University

Region III – Emily Prai, Midland University

Region IV – Makenzee Stone, Valley City State University

Region V – Courtney Hardin, Aquinas College

Region VI – Chloe Tragesser, Indiana Wesleyan University