Last Four In: South Carolina, Arizona State, Texas State, Northwestern
First Four Out: Boston College, Illinois, Virginia Tech, Cal State Northridge
Auburn had a huge day on Friday in the SEC Conference Tournament down in Starkville. The Tigers knocked off Alabama and Florida in the same day to move to the SEC Tournament Championship game against LSU. It was a combination of steady pitching that slowed down the Crimson Tide, along with a great start offensively which allowed Auburn to get their shot at Florida in the SEC Conference Tournament Semifinals. In the matchup with the Gators Carlee Wallace’s two-run homerun off of Florida’s Kelly Barnhill was enough for Kaylee Carlson in the circle as Carlson was lights out against a very explosive Gator lineup.
James Madison should be a top eight national seed on Selection Sunday after winning the CAA Conference Tournament on Friday over Towson. The pitching duo of Jailyn Ford and Megan Good are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the NCAA Tournament no matter who they draw in their bracket. Arizona State also took some pressure off of themselves on Friday with a 4-3 win over Oregon State to get to 30 wins on the season. A series win against the Beavers would be a bigger statement for the Sun Devils as they have struggled all year long during conference play. However, with Kentucky getting into the field in 2015 with a 5-19 SEC mark, Arizona State should be okay as far as the bubble is concerned as they have an RPI in the top 40. The Sun Devils also have some quality wins over teams like Tennessee and Arizona to bring to the table for their NCAA Tournament resume.
See the Projected Softball NCAA Tournament Bracket
ACC: Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame, North Carolina
American: UCF, Tulsa, South Florida
Big East: St. John’s
Big 12: Baylor, Oklahoma*, Texas, Kansas
Big Ten: Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Northwestern
Pac-12: Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, UCLA, Utah, Washington, Oregon State, California
SEC: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M, South Carolina
A-10: Massachusetts
America East: Maine
A-Sun: USC Upstate
Big Sky: Weber State
Big South: Longwood
Big West: Cal State Fullerton*, Long Beach State
CAA: James Madison*
C-USA: Florida Atlantic
Horizon: Wright State
Ivy: Princeton*
MAAC: Marist
MAC: Miami (OH)
MEAC: Bethune Cookman
MVC: Wichita State
MWC: Fresno State*
NEC: LIU Brooklyn
OVC: Jacksonville State
Patriot: Boston U
Southern: Samford
Southland: McNeese State*
Summit: North Dakota State
Sun Belt: Louisiana, South Alabama, Texas State
SWAC: Alabama State
WAC: New Mexico State
WCC: BYU*
See the Projected Softball NCAA Tournament Bracket
