Waco Region 2014 Softball World Series Breakdown
#13 Baylor, Tulsa, Houston, Northwestern State
No. 13 and host Baylor, Northwestern State, Tulsa and Houston comprise this regional field, one of 16 NCAA regionals scheduled May 26-28. And, yes, this is the only regional that could feature two pitchers with Team USA experience if Baylor and Tulsa win their opening games, matching Whitney Canion (26-9, 1.43 ERA, 244 strikeouts in 195.1 innings) against Tulsa's Aimee Creger (26-1, 1.29 ERA and 314 strikeouts in 185 innings).
Baylor will open Friday against Northwestern State (Natchithoches, La.) at 8:00 and Houston will play Tulsa at 6:30. The winner of the regional will advance to play in a Super Regional in a best-of-three series that will deteremine the final eight teams headed to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, May 28th.
Baylor finished the season at 42-13 and placed second in the Big 12, the second-highest finish in league history for the Lady Bears other than their 2007 Big 12 title. Baylor last served as a first-round site in 2009 with Whitney Canion the only active player remaining to witness it. The NFCA and USA Softball ranked Baylor No. 17 in the final regular-season poll Tuesday while the NCAA had the Lady Bears at No. 12 in the RPI. Baylor earned a No. 13 seed after going 13-9 against Top 40 teams in the NCAA RPI and 5-6 vs. nationally ranked teams.
Baylor’s all-time record in the NCAA postseason is 28-18 and all 46 games have been under head coach Glenn Moore. Baylor played host to a first-round site in 2004 and 2009 along with Super Regionals in 2005 and 2007. The Lady Bears are 8-5 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played in Waco. This marks the ninth appearance for Baylor overall in the NCAA Tournament and fourth consecutive selection. The Lady Bears have advanced to at least a Super Regional round four times and are 20-6 all-time in the first round.
“We’re excited to be home after a travel-heavy regular season,” said Baylor head coach Glenn Moore. “Our investments in the regular season schedule difficulty have paid off and we’re glad to give our home fans some exciting softball.”
Northwestern State comes to Waco with a 30-20 record and won the Southland Conference championship for the second-straight year. Baylor is 20-2 all-time vs. the Lady Demons and have never faced the team in the playoffs.
Houston comes to Waco with a 32-21 record and a fourth-place finish the American Athletic Conference. Baylor is 14-8 all-time vs. the Cougars and the teams split a doubleheader this season on April 8th. The Cougars earned an at-large bid out of the American Athletic Conference.
Tulsa travels to Texas with a 50-7, 19-4 record and a Conference USA title under its belt. Baylor is 6-1 all-time against the Golden Hurricane. The 19th-ranked Golden Hurricane earned an automatic bid to the tournament after winning the Conference USA Championship on Saturday. TU is making its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA regionals. All seven appearances have come since 2006.
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