D 3 softball

[justafan12]

Host team wins D1 and D3 softball.  Does NCAA care?

Yes I know it wasn't a home game for Oklahoma but.....it really was.

[phil]

D1 is booked in Oklahoma through 2035. It is what it is.

D3 was supposed to be at Salem, VA again, but it was moved to ETBU because their renovations weren't going to be completed on time.

While I was thrilled to not have to leave Texas to see the series, I wasn't thrilled that ETBU got to play three weeks of home games with all games being played on their Field turf. I wonder how many world series teams played more than five games all year on turf? That said, short of DIII being played in Oklahoma City again, ETBU has a fantastic facility.

The other fun part of being in the gulag that is Marshall, Texas... My daughter's team was eliminated at 12:30AM. After the goodbyes, everyone got back to their hotels at 2:30AM. Only to find that their only flight out meant leaving the hotel at 7:00AM the next morning for a 2.5 hour drive to Dallas - and a 15 hour travel day back to college. Marshall, TX is a lot of things - centrally located is not one of them.

[justafan12]

Marshall is a dump to say the least.  School looks nice but 1 block over it is very sketchy.  Did you daughter's team stay in Marshall or Longview which is about 30 minutes away?  I know visiting teams use to always stay in Longview due to the limited meal options in Marshall.

Oh and don't think OKC would be any better.  They held D3 there back in 2017 and 2018 and I heard it was one of the worst ever.  Each team got 1 game on main field and then it was off to the back fields until the championship round.  Banquet was limited to only 2 guests for each player.  No medical staff on site.  Parents I spoke with said they felt second class at OKC.

[phil]

We stayed in Marshall with a number of other parents, including a few in our hotel from Wisconsin, whose team started the first inning of their first game around 3:00 PM - and then had to wait through torrential rain, thunderstorms, and tornado warnings - until their game resumed at 10:30 PM that night.

My daughter's team stayed in Longview with two other teams from their bracket. You're right about Marshall lacking any dining options. That said, I walked into an empty Rüeggenbach brewery with around 14 parents and they were kind enough to open their kitchen for us. Limited menu, but good food and beer on a hot day between our games which wound up being 12 HOURS APART (talk about things you'll never see in Division 1)!!!

I remember playing on one of those back fields in OKC during travel ball. It was a 100° day and the main stadium blocked any air flow. It was brutal. I talked with the now retired Penn head coach when my daughter had a visit there and she told me she'd never go back to that particular national tournament.

They had a banquet with guests attending in OKC?! No guests were allowed for the BBQ the NCAA held for the teams in Marshall!

We had a couple girls from Texas on our team who made a point of telling their teammates that Marshall was more like being in "West Shreveport, LA" than being in Texas.

[justafan12]

"They had a banquet with guests attending in OKC?! No guests were allowed for the BBQ the NCAA held for the teams in Marshall!"

Sorry, the banquet I was referring to was the All American banquet; well that's what I call it.  All the teams come and their families.  Its also when they announce the D3 all americans.
Now that I think about it not sure any parents were allowed at the OKC banquet.  I remember one mom saying she didn't care to eat or even take a seat.  She just wanted to see her daughter receive her all american award.  She was not allowed in.

[WLCALUM83]

The final poll for the 2024 softball season is now up:

https://nfca.org/divnews/ncaa3/diii-top-25-coaches-poll-6-11-24

[deiscanton]

The UAA welcomes Chicago as baseball and softball members of the UAA effective immediately.

I have taken a look at the Brandeis softball schedule, and Brandeis has just added a 3 game conference series at the University of Chicago, to be played on the final weekend of the softball regular season on May 9 and 10. 

The new softball round robin will have all UAA softball teams play a single round robin 3 game series vs each other, with 1 game on Fridays and a doubleheader on Saturdays of the UAA conference season.

With the addition of Chicago this season, UAA softball now has 7 teams for its AQ, and the addition of Chicago in baseball gives the UAA a baseball AQ starting this year as well.

Rochester softball will remain in the Liberty League for purposes of its conference competition. 

[WLCALUM83]

Pre-season NFCA D3 Top 25 Poll is now up:

https://nfca.org/divnews/ncaa3/national-champ-east-texas-baptist-opens-no-1-in-nfa-gorout-division-iii-top-25-preseason-coaches-poll

[DagarmanSpartan]

WOW!!!

What a start by the CWRU Lady Spartans softball team!

Went 5-1 including wins over the #1 ranked team and four other ranked teams; only lost to the #2 team 2-1.

Could be a national title contender!

[phil]

I was there for all the fun! CWRU beat #1 ETBU, #2 Linfield, #5 Belhaven, and #6 Tufts ... only losing 2-1 to #10 Trine.

The Belhaven game was a wild one - down 10-0 and hitless after three innings, CWRU rallied for a 15-13 win.

CWRU is now ranked #2 in the latest NFCA rankings.

[E.115]

I was there for all the fun! CWRU beat #1 ETBU, #2 Linfield, #5 Belhaven, and #6 Tufts ... only losing 2-1 to #10 Trine.

The Belhaven game was a wild one - down 10-0 and hitless after three innings, CWRU rallied for a 15-13 win.

CWRU is now ranked #2 in the latest NFCA rankings.

Seriously ... not a bad start to the season defeating #1, #2, #5, and #6 for CWRU...! The roster is stacked this year with so much returning talent.

[E.115]

Side note: CWRU has a "Ninja Warrior" on its roster:  https://uaasports.info/news/2024/8/13/karen-potts-of-cwru-softball-advances-to-american-ninja-warrior-season-16-finals.aspx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lv7YJR26vc

[justafan12]

#1 ETBU goes down to Virginia Wesleyan 6-1.