Virginia, Head Coach Blake Miller Part Ways

Virginia and head coach Blake Miller have parted ways. 

Miller leaves after a three-year stint at UVA during which he amassed a 42-116 record and was never able to grab a firm hold of the success that was expected when he came over from Oregon after helping lead the Ducks to three consecutive Super Regional appearances.

The Cavaliers had gotten better in conference play as Miller's tenure went on, winning seven ACC games in 2016 after winning a total of five the two years prior.

A former Team USA men's fastpitch player, Miller's head coaching resume has included stops at Oregon; Texas A&M-Kingsville; and Darton College in Georgia. He has also served as an assistant at East Tennessee State; Missouri Western State; and Mesa State.

Portland State Releases Head Coach Barb Sherwood

Justin's World of Softball has learned that Portland State has decided not to renew their contract with head softball coach Barb Sherwood, a move that is expected to be announced within the day.

Sherwood just completed her third season at the PSU helm, amassing a 38-106 overall record and an 18-41 mark in Big Sky conference play.

After doubling the team's win total from eight in her first season to sixteen a year ago, the Vikings took a step back this season, amassing just fourteen wins. They did earn a berth in the conference tournament as the sixth of eight teams in the conference, but were quickly dispensed with an 0-2 record in the double-elimination tournament.

Sherwood presided over fifteen all-conference selections during her tenure at Portland State, including 2015 first-team selection Brittany Hendrickson, who picked up the team's triple crown that season.

Prior to her arrival as Vikings head coach, Sherwood spent seven seasons at Virginia Tech. Her resume also includes stops at Florida State; Wisconsin; and Troy, her alma mater.

Five Matchups to Watch in Regionals

5. Kristen Brown & Kendra Lynch vs. Jailyn Ford & Megan Good – Harrisonburg Regional

    Brown led North Carolina with a .397 batting average and eighteen home runs, as well as an .808 slugging percentage. Her teammate Lynch, for her part, hit .323 on the year with twelve home runs of her own and added a sub-4.00 ERA and the lion's share of the team's innings of work in the circle. She had some stellar clutch performances later in the regular season and will undoubtedly be relied upon with both her bat and her arm. JMU's Ford and Good, easily one of the top three pitching staffs in the nation, have a combined ERA below 1.70 and average more than a strikeout an inning, while opponents are hitting a dismal .164 against them. Both, similar to Lynch, can get it done with the bat, as well.

4. Erika Piancastelli vs. LSU's pitching – Baton Rouge Regional
     The sophomore Italian continued the hot streak from her inaugural season, hitting .420 this season with twenty-one home runs and a .993 slugging percentage for the Cowgirls of McNeese. For the Tigers, their pitching staff is undoubtedly their bread and butter, led by a quartet of players all with ERAs under 2.40 and averaging nearly a strikeout an innings. As a team, opponents are hitting just .217 when the Tigers are in the circle. During the teams' regular-season single-game matchup, the Cowgirl hitters only faced Hoover. Piancastelli was held hitless in that game, reaching base only on a walk. It will be interesting to see if she can learn from that performance and make an adjustment before facing Hoover and the rest of the Tigers staff this weekend.

     

3. Danielle O’Toole vs. Meghan Gregg – Knoxville Regional
     Two of the finest somewhat-surprising upstart players of the season are likely to match up at least once over the course of the weekend. While any of the Lady Vols' lineup facing Arizona's dominant O'Toole should be interesting, I chose Gregg for this spot because of team-leading statistics and the fact that the burden to fill the void left by Rainey Gaffin will likely fall heavily on her shoulders. Gregg, who hit .391 this year with ten home runs, will have to up the ante even a bit more to account for the injury-induced absence of Gaffin, a .380 hitter in her own right. O'Toole, the redshirt transfer, posted a 2.14 ERA for the Wildcats and came through under pressure in several situations down the stretch. A strikeout machine, she averaged almost exactly one per game and opponents hit sub-.230 against her.

     

2. Casey Stangel vs. Sara Groenewegen – Seattle Regional

     The two hitting pitchers have both proven real catalysts for their teams this season, and as the two are likely to face off at least once over the weekend, it will be interesting to see how they approach pitching to and hitting off one another, considering their vast similarities. Groenewegen posted a sub-2.00 ERA on the season for the Gophers and has thus far averaged more than 1.44 strikeouts/inning. She's given up just fifteen home runs and opponents haven't even hit .200 off of her. Washington's Stangel will likely be a part of any rally the Huskies get going in their inevitable matchup against Groenewegen and they will have to rally well if they expect the Canadian Gopher to wind up in the loss column.

1. Shelby Turnier vs. Kylee Hanson – Gainesville Regional

     It's the battle of the aces as the Gainesville regional is packed with power pitching, and it's not likely we'll see much offense coming out of the swamp during this week's series of games. For Turnier and Hanson, the job is a tough one as they are tasked with staving off the lineup of the twice-defending champion Gators at some point, but first must meet one another in a matchup where somebody unfortunately has to take the loss. For Turnier, while her 2016 hasn't been as stellar as her all-American junior campaign of 2015, she is still an effective, overpowering pitcher who can get batters out with ease and is a strikeout machine. For Hanson's part, there is a very good reason she is a top ten finalist for National Player of the Year; she holds a 0.73 ERA with 286 strikeouts in 210 innings and opponents have hit just .135 against her. Known for stifling even great offenses, either of these pitchers could find themselves in a showdown with the Gators and either could make trouble for the defending champs and make some noise in the upset department before all is said and done.

Stephen F. Austin Parts Ways with Head Coach Gay McNutt

UPDATE 5/17/16 14:30: The move has been confirmed via a press release on the school's website today. They termed McNutt's departure a "resignation".

Stephen F. Austin has parted ways with head softball coach Gay McNutt, sources have said.

McNutt wrapped up her ninth year at the helm of the Ladyjacks with the 2016 season's close, during which time she led the club to a 213-259 overall record. In her first season in Nacogdoches, McNutt led the Ladyjacks to a 36-25 record and their first-ever NCAA tournament berth at the Division I level.

Since 2010, however, SFA failed to put together a winning record and reached the 20-win mark just twice. Since the turn of the decade, McNutt led her club to a 119-189 record, including barely sub-.500 mark in the 2016 season.

Formerly the head coach at Northwestern State and Southern Miss, McNutt also spent time on the staffs of Louisiana-Lafayette and Alvin Community College, as well as a support-staff role at Houston for four years. 

A four-year Texas A&M Aggie, McNutt was an all-American player in her senior season of 1985.

Her successor will inherit a roster that includes 2016 team batting champ Brittany Lewis (.368/11/53) and workhorse pitching tandem Callee Guffey and Makayla Sikes, who combined to hold opposing hitters to a .244 batting average and collected more than 240 innings of work this season.

Justin's World of Softball Annual Bracket Challenge - ENTER HERE

For the upteenth year in a row, Justin's World of Softball is glad to announce our Postseason Bracket Challenge with a prize chest chock full of goodies for the winner and a couple of door prizes to be disbursed among those who participate.

The rules are simple:
- You must pick your bracket "all the way", from the regional round to your pick for the championship winner and runner-up. A properly-completed bracket will contain picks for sixteen regional winners; eight Super regional winners; a WCWS winner; and a WCWS runner-up.

- No changes may be made to a bracket after it has been submitted. This includes the changing of picks prior to the tournament's start.

- All brackets must be turned in by the start of game one of the tournament on Thursday, May 19 @ 5:30 ET.

- Incomplete brackets will not be accepted and are subject to disregarding without notice to the competitor.

- Justin's World of Softball reserves the right to disqualify or eliminate any competitor in the Bracket Challenge at any time, for any reason at our discretion.

- 2 points will be awarded for every correctly-picked Regional winner. 5 points will be awarded for every correctly-picked Super Regional winner. 10 points will be awarded for a correctly-picked WCWS first runner-up. 15 points will be awarded for a correctly-picked WCWS winner. The individual with the most points at the end of the Women's College World Series will be crowned the Bracket Challenge champion.

Questions? Ask 'em here, on the Justin's World Facebook page, or find me on Twitter @justfactsmaam.

The full bracket can be found here; completed submissions for the Bracket Challenge will be accepted via the Justin's World Facebook page or via Twitter.

Best of luck to all!

2016 NCAA Tournament Bracket/Seedings Announced

The NCAA tournament selection committee announced the field of sixty-four teams that will ultimately whittled down to one National Champion.

The Top 8 seeds will host a Regional and, if they emerge victorious, a Super Regional. The top eight seeds are:
#1 Florida
#2 Michigan
#3 Oklahoma
#4 Auburn
#5 Oregon
#6 Alabama
#7 James Madison
#8 Florida State

Teams seeded 9-16 will host a Regional, but will have to travel to their bracketed opponent's home park should they make it to Supers. The remaining Regional-hosting teams are:
#9 Kentucky
#10 LSU
#11 Washington
#12 UCLA
#13 Tennessee
#14 Louisiana-Lafayette
#15 Missouri
#16 Georgia

The SEC picked up three of the top eight seeds and eight of the top sixteen.

You can find the bracket in full here.

The defending champion Gators welcome SWAC champion Alabama State, UCF, and Conference USA champion Florida Atlantic into Gainesville. This is a surprisingly-tough regional for the back-to-back national champs. FAU (RPI #23) and UCF (#31) both have put together impressive campaigns this season. UCF continues to be led by the stellar arm of Shelby Turnier, while FAU relies on junior hurler Kylee Hanson (28-3, 0.73) and are riding a twenty-one game winning streak that dates back to the first weekend of April.

Michigan picked up a bit of a more manageable grouping, though they do bring the ACC's 41-11 Notre Dame to town. ND earned the #16 overall seed last season and were upset in South Bend. The Wester sisters lead the Fighting Irish at the plate and on the basepaths and could make some work for the Blue pitching staff. Valpo holds the tournament's worst record with just eighteen wins, but earned a berth by virtue of a Horizon League tournament championship. Miami, Ohio could make some games interesting out of the MAC.

Norman, Oklahoma is the site of the regional hosted by the #3-overall squad. The Sooners bring Ole Miss, Tulsa, and Wichita State in. The berth is the first-ever for Mike Smith's rejuvenated Ole Miss squad, while Tulsa and Wichita State, both conference champions, stay relatively close to home or in familiar territory. Though the Sooners should ultimately escape to the Super Regional round, there could be some serious noise in the process of that in Norman.

Fresh off an SEC championship, their second in a row, the Auburn Tigers bring in a PAC-12 team of their own in Oregon State, as well as Atlantic Sun champs and perennial mid-major power USC-Upstate and Ohio Valley champions Jacksonville State. For the Upstate Spartans, this is their fourth consecutive Regional berth in the state of Alabama but the first outside of Tuscaloosa.

Oregon earned the PAC-12's highest seed at #5... the conference champions will certainly be tested as Baylor, Fordham, and Long Beach State come to town. LBSU earns an at-large bid on the Big West's behalf while the Bears get a surprisingly-tough draw after they were thought to be a bubble candidate for a high-seed hosting gig. Geography may be the determining factor in this one, as the Ducks use wet, West-Coast Eugene to their advantage.

Former National champs Alabama get the #6 seed and are the third SEC team in the top six. They bring in-state rival Samford into TTown, accompanied by the Golden Bears of California. Annie Aldrete, formerly the star catcher for Tennessee, makes her return to SEC country, while former Crimson Tide great Kelly Kretschman returns on the other side of the diamond, as an assistant coach for Texas State.

James Madison, one of the best stories of 2016, not only pulls a National seed but were one of the few teams not to get a high-seeded opponent brought to town - Power Five squad North Carolina are the #2 seed in the regional, followed by Big South champion Longwood and Princeton. Longwood finally gets a regional placement that isn't in Knoxville vs. the Lady Vols, while UNC can't rely too much on their Power Five credentials against an exceptional JMU Dukes pitching staff and a solid offense.

Florida State earned the 8th and final National seed and bring in two in-state squads in South Florida and Florida A&M, as well as the SEC's South Carolina. The Noles will have to be cautious and on the ball against USF and are on high upset alert against Ken Eriksen's jumpstart club. Despite a dismal in-conference record, South Carolina put together a resume that equaled a high RPI ranking and earned their way into the tournament.

Kelsey Nunley's Kentucky fell just short of a National seeding, but still played their way into the top ten and will have as close to an easy ride as a team might have in the regional round - Big East champs Butler, the PAC-12's Utah, and Illinois, a surprise out of the B1G, will flock to John Cropp Stadium. Riding the arm of Nunley, and finally with a formidable staff behind her, the Wildcats should have a fairly simple road to Supers.

Riding a somewhat-surprising surge that took them to the conference championship game, LSU earned the first double-digit seed at #10 and bring in-state rival tough-to-beat McNeese State to the Red Stick. LIU-Brooklyn and Arizona State will join them there. Buoyed by sophomore stud Erika Piancastelli, the Cowgirls of McNeese will be no easy pickings. The Tigers will have to maintain consistency in all facets of the game, including offensively, defensively, and in the circle and they'll need Sandra Simmons to keep up her hot streak into the tournament. Arizona State's selection may be the biggest surprise of the night after a dismal record in conference play and finishing just five games over .500 overall and shouldn't repeat the fits they gave LSU in this same scenario last year.

Washington brings regional play back to Seattle and along with them come Minnesota, the walk-off Big Ten champions; red-hot Summit League champs North Dakota State; and Big Sky twice-defending champs Weber State. NDSU has been to the Supers before, so they're no cakewalk, and Minnesota has gotten used to hosting duties in recent years and won't like having to travel every round of the tournament. Expect them to be hungry. Heather Tarr's Huskies squad will have some work to do, but Casey Stangel will help lead the pack, possibly en route to Supers.

UCLA jumps in at #12, the third and final PAC-12 team to earn a top-sixteen seeding. They'll host an all in-state trio, including the continually-hot Fresno State; Cal State Fullerton; and Cal State Bakersfield. Jill Compton and Fresno State have no winning streak to uphold now, having lost on Senior Day this weekend for the first time since March 22. They will surely give the Bruins a lot to handle and are more than worth an Upset Alert acknowledgement.

At #13, the Tennessee Lady Vols pull in. They host MAAC champs Marist; Mike Candrea's Arizona Wildcats; and Ohio State out of the B1G. Led by the Oberdorf sisters, Marist will not be the traditional #4 seed and any team in the regional could find themselves ousted first or headed to Supers in short order. The Lady Vols will surely be handicapped by Rainey Gaffin's injured left arm, which is scheduled to be evaluated again today.

Louisiana-Lafayette earns the #14 seed and has what might be the toughest regional of them all, as Texas A&M, Texas, and Boston U come to town. The Aggies and Longhorns are well used to still playing come Supers weekend and the Cajuns are sure to have trouble with either and both. The famous environment that is Lamson Park will surely play a key factor in the Cajuns' quest to hold their seed and advance past the reigonal round. Alex Stewart will have to be just as on as she was in the Sun Belt conference tournament and the Cajuns offense needs to click on all cylinders if they don't want to bow out at the hands of one of their Power Five opponents.

In the midst of many off-the-field storylines and after an early extra-innings exit at the SEC Tournament, the Missouri Tigers earned the #15 seed. BYU enters CoMo as the #4 seed, meaning this regional will start on Thursday to accomodate BYU's policy of not playing on Sundays. ACC foe Louisville and the Big 10's Nebraska. Missouri undoubtedly has the talent in place to make quick work of their opponents, but will have to work hard to keep the off-field issues just there. If that happens, Ehren Earleywine's squad should pave the road to the Super Regionals.

Pulling out the 16th and final seed were the surprising Georgia Bulldogs. Rarely entering the pre-selection show conversation for the spot, the Bulldogs became the 8th SEC team to host a Regional and got a gift from the committee, to boot. America East champions Maine will face the Bulldogs first, while Northwestern and Oklahoma State will also join the party in Athens. Outside of Arizona State, Northwestern is easily the most questionable inclusion in the field of 64, while Kenny Gajewski continues his impressive first season at the helm of OK State, leading the squad to their first postseason berth since the program's Women's College World Series appearance in 2011.

UPSET ALERT:
4. UCLA - (don't let their mid-major status fool you - Fresno State is the real deal and can get the job done against just about anybody.)

The Cajuns will be held to the fire
this weekend.

3. Florida State - (will have their hands full with the streaking South Florida and should be glad that Gainesville got the equally-hot Florida Atlantic.)

2. Tennessee - (Arizona and Danielle O'Toole can never be counted an easy out, and without difference-maker Gaffin, could pull a less-than-surprising upset in Knoxville.)

1. Louisiana-Lafayette - (the committee did the Cajuns no favors; Lamson Park will play a factor, to be sure, but with both Texas and Texas A&M coming to town, they will have to play their best to withstand the test.)




WHAT WERE THEY THINKING: 
Ask any college football fan who chairs the Playoff seeding/selection committee, and they're likely to quickly respond with the name of Jeff Long, who chaired the committee through the last two playoff seasons (though he has since been replaced as chairman, per committee rules). After the release of every set of rankings, Long went on ESPN and answered questions live on-air and defended the committee's selections and seedings. College football fans were able to put a face, an individual, and some reasoning, whether they agreed with it or not, behind the selections and Long provided transparency and candor on the way the committee worked.

Softball fans are still longing for this kind of transparency and explanation. More than a couple of lingering questions hold over from yesterday evening, including some noticeable snubs and nearly-illogical inclusions. Cases in point:

- The inclusion of Arizona State and Northwestern. Both were noted above, but let's delve into them each a bit more. Arizona State finished at #39 in the RPI with a 30-24 overall record and a 6-17 mark in conference play. They recorded a 9-4 mark against non-conference Power Five opponents, but won just two conference season series' all year, bookending a losing streak that spanned nearly the entire month of April and into May. The Sun Devils were 2-9 in away games did not have a pitcher that recorded below a 3.00 ERA. For the Wildcats of Northwestern's part, they finished the year at #45 in RPI with an even-keeled .500 record, while going 4-9 against non-conference Power Five opponents and won just one season series against a B1G tournament-bound team, a doubleheader victory over Illinois. ASU's inclusion is glaringly awful, but neither pass the eye test.

- The exclusion of Virginia Tech and South Alabama. Thanks to automatic bids and the inclusion of such teams as mentioned above, higher-ranked teams with better records, but of perceived-lower stature were left on the outside looking in. The Hokies and Jags, as the highest-ranked exclusions were the most penalized as both clubs (ranked #42 and #43, respectively) now find themselves done for the year. Despite a 33-18 record and a 17-6 mark in conference play, Becky Clark's USA squad will find themselves at home on Regionals weekend for the first time since 2011. Scot Thomas' Hokies finished the year one game above .500 and with a winning record in conference, yet were excluded in lieu of the lower-ranked, worse-record Wildcats. 

Kyla Holas Resigns as Houston Head Coach

Houston head coach Kyla Holas has resigned after sixteen years at the program's helm.

Holas, the only person to hold the Cougars' head coaching position since the program's inception in 1999, led her squad to a 27-29 record in 2016, including a 9-9 (.500) record in conference play in what would be her final season.

Under Holas' leadership, the Cougars earned seven appearances in the NCAA tournament, twice reaching the Super Regional round. The Cougars haven't reached the NCAA postseason since 2014 and have not reached a Super Regional since 2011.

A two-time Conference USA Coach of the Year, Holas boasts a 563-376-1 career record. Over the last two seasons, her team has recorded a 55-56 overall mark, including a 19-16 record in conference play.

The school's press release termed the reasoning for Holas' departure as "to pursue other opportunities". Holas, a member of the Yvette Girouard coaching tree, was a three-time all-American as a player at Louisiana-Lafayette and was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.