Last Four In: South Alabama, Kansas, Arizona State, Texas State
First Four Out: Northwestern, Illinois, Boston College, Virginia Tech
For the second year in a row the Auburn Tigers won the SEC Tournament with a 7-1 win over LSU. Auburn was clicking on all cylinders as they pitched well once again on Saturday. Makayla Martin and Rachael Walters limited LSU to just five hits. Offensively, Tiffany Howard hit her first career homerun in 676 at bats on Saturday to highlight a nine hit attack. Florida State continued its run of dominance in the ACC as they took care of Notre Dame 7-3 in the ACC Tournament Championship game. The Seminoles were lethal at the plate with three homeruns and they were aggressive on the base paths, stealing eight bases against the Fighting Irish.
It was also a great day for underdogs in some of the one-bid conferences. Valparaiso trailed 4-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning against Wright State in the Horizon League Championship game and they rallied to beat the Raiders 5-4 in eight innings. Cal State Bakersfield pulled another huge upset in the WAC Tournament as the Roadrunners knocked off New Mexico State 1-0. Catcher Jo Larios hit a solo homerun in the top of the seventh inning to knock off the Aggies. These two upsets are perfect examples as to why the conference tournament is going to stay around for a long time in college softball as anything is truly possible if a team can put everything together over the course of three to four days. Overall, the 2016 NCAA Softball Tournament has the potential to be highly entertaining with plenty of explosive offensive teams that can dominate on a given day.
See the Projected Softball NCAA Tournament Bracket
ACC: Florida State*, Louisville, Notre Dame, North Carolina
American: UCF, Tulsa*, South Florida
Big East: Butler*
Big 12: Baylor, Oklahoma*, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma State
Big Ten: Michigan, Minnesota*, Nebraska, Ohio State
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: Fordham*
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: Valparaiso*
Ivy: Princeton*
MAAC: Marist*
MAC: Miami (OH)*
MEAC: Florida A&M*
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: Cal State Bakersfield*
WCC: BYU*
See the Projected Softball NCAA Tournament Bracket
