2015 NCAA Division I softball tournament

2015 NCAA Division I
softball tournament
Teams	64
Finals site	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium; Oklahoma City;
Champions	Florida (2nd title)
Runner-up	Michigan (12th WCWS Appearance)
Winning coach	Tim Walton (2nd title)
MOP	Lauren Haeger (Florida)
	← 2014 ; NCAA Division I softball tournament; 2016 →;

The 2015 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 14 through June 3, 2015 as the final part of the 2015 NCAA Division I softball season. The 64 NCAA Division I college softball teams were selected out of an eligible 293 teams on May 10, 2015. Thirty-two teams were awarded an automatic bid as champions of their conference, and thirty-two teams were selected at-large by the NCAA Division I softball selection committee. The tournament culminated with eight teams playing in the 2015 Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

Automatic bids

The Big 12, Big West, Mountain West, Pac-12, and West Coast Conference bids were awarded to the regular season champion. All other conferences have the automatic bid go to the conference tournament winner.

Conference	School
America East	Binghamton^[1]
American	UCF^[2]
ACC	Florida State^[3]
Atlantic 10	Fordham
Atlantic Sun	USC Upstate^[4]
Big 12	Oklahoma^[5]
Big East	St. John's
Big Sky	Weber State
Big South	Longwood
Big Ten	Michigan
Big West	Cal State Northridge^[6]
Colonial	Hofstra^[7]
Conference USA	Western Kentucky
Horizon	Oakland
Ivy	Dartmouth^[8]
Mid-American	Ball State
Metro Atlantic	Fairfield
Mid-Eastern	Florida A&M
Missouri Valley	Indiana State
Mountain West	Fresno State^[9]
Northeast	Central Connecticut State
Ohio Valley	Tennessee Tech
Pac–12	Oregon
Patriot	Lehigh
SEC	Auburn^[10]
Southern	Chattanooga
Southland	Central Arkansas^[11]
SWAC	Texas Southern
Summit	North Dakota State
Sun Belt	South Alabama
WAC	New Mexico State^[12]
WCC	BYU^[13]

National seeds

Teams in italics advanced to super regionals. Teams in bold advanced to Women's College World Series.

1. Florida (50–6)
2. Oregon (46–6)
3. Michigan (51–6)
4. Auburn (49–9)
5. LSU (44–11)
6. Alabama (42–12)
7. UCLA (45–10)
8. Tennessee (42–14)

9. Florida State (45–12)
10. Missouri (39–14)
11. Oklahoma (45–7)
12. Arizona (38–17)
13. Louisiana–Lafayette (39–9)
14. Georgia (40–14)
15. James Madison (47–8)
16. Notre Dame (40–13)

Regionals and super regionals

The Regionals took place May 14–17. The Eugene Region was held from May 14 through 16. All other regionals were held from May 15 through 17. The super regionals took place from May 21 through 24.

Gainesville Super Regional

Round 1			Round 2			Regional finals				Super regionals

1	Florida	6

	Florida A&M	0
			1	Florida	7

				Hofstra	0
	Florida Atlantic	0

	Hofstra	1
						1	Florida	1⁽⁸⁾	—
Gainesville Regional
							Florida Atlantic	0	—
	Florida A&M	2

	Florida Atlantic	7
				Hofstra	2

				Florida Atlantic	3⁽⁹⁾



										1	Florida	7	1	—

											Kentucky	0	0	—
16	Notre Dame	3

	Ball State	6
				Ball State	0

				Kentucky	5
	Kentucky	5

	Northwestern	4
							Kentucky	4	—
South Bend Regional
						16	Notre Dame	3	—
16	Notre Dame	14⁽⁵⁾

	Northwestern	5
				Ball State	4

			16	Notre Dame	15⁽⁵⁾

Knoxville Super Regional

Round 1			Round 2			Regional finals				Super regionals

9	Florida State	5

	Dartmouth	1
			9	Florida State	2

				UCF	1
	South Carolina	1

	UCF	5
						9	Florida State	5	—
Tallahassee Regional
							UCF	0	—
	Dartmouth	1

	South Carolina	3
				UCF	5

				South Carolina	2



										9	Florida State	2	6	1

										8	Tennessee	3	1	2
8	Tennessee	2

	Longwood	0
			8	Tennessee	9⁽⁵⁾

				Utah	1
	Utah	6

	Virginia Tech	1
						8	Tennessee	3	—
Knoxville Regional
							Utah	1	—
	Longwood	6⁽⁸⁾

	Virginia Tech	4
				Utah	2

				Longwood	0

Baton Rouge Super Regional

Round 1			Round 2			Regional finals				Super regionals

5	LSU	15⁽⁵⁾

	Texas Southern	0
			5	LSU	0

				Arizona State	1
	Nebraska	2

	Arizona State	5
							Arizona State	0	3
Baton Rouge Regional
						5	LSU	5	4⁽⁹⁾
	Texas Southern	0

	Nebraska	5
			5	LSU	3⁽¹⁰⁾

				Nebraska	2



										5	LSU	8⁽⁵⁾	10	—

										12	Arizona	0	5	—
12	Arizona	4

	St. John's	2
			12	Arizona	5

				Minnesota	1
	Minnesota	10⁽⁶⁾

	New Mexico State	2
						12	Arizona	2	7⁽⁸⁾
Tucson Regional
							Minnesota	5	6
	St. John's	6

	New Mexico State	9
				Minnesota	2

				New Mexico State	0

Auburn Super Regional

Round 1			Round 2			Regional finals				Super regionals

13	Louisiana–Lafayette	11⁽⁵⁾

	Weber State	0
			13	Louisiana–Lafayette	3

				Baylor	1
	Mississippi State	4

	Baylor	8
						13	Louisiana–Lafayette	2	9⁽⁶⁾
Lafayette Regional
							Baylor	6	1
	Weber State	0

	Mississippi State	2
				Baylor	2

				Mississippi State	0



										13	Louisiana–Lafayette	11	3	—

										4	Auburn	12⁽⁸⁾	6	—
4	Auburn	4

	Tennessee Tech	1
			4	Auburn	1

				South Alabama	0
	South Alabama	11⁽⁵⁾

	Chattanooga	1
						4	Auburn	7	—
Auburn Regional
							South Alabama	4	—
	Tennessee Tech	8

	Chattanooga	2
				South Alabama	9

				Tennessee Tech	3

Ann Arbor Super Regional

Round 1			Round 2			Regional finals				Super regionals

3	Michigan	9⁽⁶⁾

	Oakland	1
			3	Michigan	9

				California	1
	Pittsburgh	3

	California	11⁽⁵⁾
						3	Michigan	10	—
Ann Arbor Regional
							Pittsburgh	3	—
	Oakland	3

	Pittsburgh	6
				Pittsburgh	6

				California	3



										3	Michigan	10	7	—

										14	Georgia	3	6	—
14	Georgia	6

	Central Connecticut	1
			14	Georgia	1

				WKU	2⁽¹⁴⁾
	North Carolina	1

	WKU	2
							WKU	3	0
Athens Regional
						14	Georgia	12⁽⁵⁾	17⁽⁵⁾
	Central Connecticut	0

	North Carolina	8⁽⁵⁾
				North Carolina	5

			14	Georgia	6

Tuscaloosa Super Regional

Round 1			Round 2			Regional finals				Super regionals

11	Oklahoma	8⁽⁵⁾

	Central Arkansas	0
			11	Oklahoma	7

				Texas A&M	5
	Lehigh	1

	Texas A&M	2
						11	Oklahoma	2	—
Norman Regional
							Texas A&M	0	—
	Central Arkansas	0

	Lehigh	3
				Texas A&M	5

				Lehigh	0



										11	Oklahoma	5	0	3

										6	Alabama	2	2	5
6	Alabama	8⁽⁶⁾

	Fairfield	0
			6	Alabama	9⁽⁵⁾

				Washington	0
	Washington	4

	USC Upstate	1
						6	Alabama	11	—
Tuscaloosa Regional
							Washington	1	—
	Fairfield	0

	USC Upstate	9⁽⁶⁾
				Washington	9⁽⁵⁾

				USC Upstate	1

Los Angeles Super Regional

Round 1			Round 2			Regional finals				Super regionals

7	UCLA	9⁽⁵⁾

	Cal State Northridge	1
			7	UCLA	4

				Texas	1
	San Diego State	3

	Texas	8
						7	UCLA	8⁽⁶⁾	—
Los Angeles Regional
							San Diego State	0	—
	Cal State Northridge	4

	San Diego State	5
				Texas	3

				San Diego State	4⁽⁹⁾



										7	UCLA	7	10	—

										10	Missouri	4	6	—
10	Missouri	7

	Indiana State	0
			10	Missouri	5

				Kansas	3
	Kansas	1

	Louisville	0
						10	Missouri	7	—
Columbia Regional
							Kansas	6	—
	Indiana State	2⁽⁸⁾

	Louisville	1
				Kansas	2

				Indiana State	0

Eugene Super Regional

Round 1			Round 2			Regional finals				Super regionals

15	James Madison	10⁽⁵⁾

	Binghamton	1
			15	James Madison	0

				NC State	2
	Fordham	5

	NC State	12
							NC State	2	—
Harrisonburg Regional
							Fordham	1	—
	Binghamton	0

	Fordham	8⁽⁵⁾
				Fordham	2

			15	James Madison	1



											NC State	1	3	—

										2	Oregon	6	9	—
2	Oregon	8⁽⁶⁾

	BYU	0
			2	Oregon	4

				North Dakota State	3
	North Dakota State	4

	Fresno State	0
						2	Oregon	6	—
Eugene Regional
							North Dakota State	1	—
	BYU	8

	Fresno State	7
				BYU	0

				North Dakota State	7

Women's College World Series

The Women's College World Series was held May 28 through June 3, 2015, in Oklahoma City.

Participants

School	Conference	Record (conference)	Head coach	WCWS appearances† (including 2015 WCWS)	WCWS best finish†*	WCWS W–L record† (excluding 2015 WCWS)
Alabama	SEC	47–13 (17–7)	Patrick Murphy	10 (last: 2014)	1st (2012)	16–17
Auburn	SEC	54–9 (18–6)	Clint Myers	1	—	0–0
Florida	SEC	55–6 (18–5)	Tim Walton	7 (last: 2014)	1st (2014)	17–11
LSU	SEC	50–12 (15–9)	Beth Torina	4 (last: 2012)	3rd (2004)	5–6
Michigan	Big Ten	56–6 (21–2)	Carol Hutchins	11 (last: 2013)	1st (2005)	9–20
Oregon	Pac-12	51–6 (21–3)	Mike White	4 (last: 2014)	3rd (2014)	5–6
Tennessee	SEC	47–15 (15–9)	Ralph and Karen Weekly	7 (last: 2013)	2nd (2007, 2013)	15–12
UCLA	Pac-12	50–10 (19–5)	Kelly Inouye-Perez	26 (last: 2010)	1st (1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990 1992, 1995*, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2010)	94–29

Bracket

First round			Second round			Semifinals				Finals

1	Florida	7

8	Tennessee	2
			1	Florida	4

			5	LSU	0
5	LSU	6

4	Auburn	1
						1	Florida	3⁽⁹⁾	—

						4	Auburn	2	—
8	Tennessee	2

4	Auburn	4
			7	UCLA	10

			4	Auburn	11⁽¹⁰⁾



										1	Florida	3	0	4

										3	Michigan	2	1	1
3	Michigan	5

6	Alabama	0
			3	Michigan	10

			7	UCLA	4
7	UCLA	7

2	Oregon	1
						3	Michigan	6	—

						5	LSU	3	—
6	Alabama	2

2	Oregon	1
			5	LSU	5

			6	Alabama	3

Championship game

^[14]

School	Top Batter	Stats.
Florida	Taylor Schwarz (1B)	1–4 2RBI 2Ks
Michigan	Sierra Romero (2B)	1–3 RBIs BB

School	Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	AB	BF
Florida	Lauren Haeger (W)	7.0	5	1	1	1	5	26	30
Michigan	Haylie Wagner (L)	2.0	4	4	4	0	0	8	12
Michigan	Megan Betsa	4.0	1	0	0	3	8	13	21

Record by conference

Conference	# of Bids	Record	Win %	RF	SR	WS	NS	CS	NC
Southeastern	11	50–25	.667	9	8	5	3	1	1
Big Ten	4	13–8	.619	2	1	1	1	1	–
Pac-12	7	21–15	.583	6	3	2	–	–	–
Atlantic Coast	7	12–14	.462	4	2	–	–	–	–
Big 12	4	10–8	.556	3	1	–	–	–	–
Sun Belt	2	5–5	.500	2	1	–	–	–	–
Colonial	2	2–4	.333	–	–	–	–	–	–
Conference USA	2	4–4	.500	2	–	–	–	–	–
Mountain West	2	2–4	.333	1	–	–	–	–	–
Other	23	14–46	.233	3	–	–	–	–	–

The columns RF, SR, WS, NS, CS, and NC respectively stand for the regional finals, super regionals, College World Series teams, national semifinals, championship series, and national champion.

Media coverage

Radio

Westwood One provided nationwide radio coverage of the championship series. It was streamed online at westwoodsports.com and through TuneIn. Kevin Kugler and Leah Amico provided the call for Westwood One.^[15]

Television

ESPN held exclusive rights to the tournament, with games airing across ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU. Regional and super-regional games were broadcast additionally using SEC Network, ESPN3, and SEC Network Plus. Longhorn Network simulcast coverage of games involving the Texas Longhorns.

Coverage of the tournament was highly viewed; the LSU/Michigan and UCLA/Auburn games drew the largest viewership of the bracket round games, coverage of game 3 of the championship series was seen by 2.27 million viewers, and all three games in the championship series had an average viewership of 1.85 million. Viewership of the Women's College World Series was 31% higher than that of the 2015 NCAA Division I baseball tournament held later in the month.^[16]

Broadcast assignments

Regionals

Ann Arbor: Adam Amin & Amanda Scarborough
Athens: Kaleb Frady & Maya Branch
Auburn: Jennie Ritter & Melissa Lee
Baton Rouge: Beth Mowins, Jessica Mendoza, & Michele Smith
Columbia: Ben Arnet & Ashley Moore
Gainesville: Jonathan Yardley & Jenny Dalton-Hill
Knoxville: Sam Gore & Amanda Freed
Lafayette: Pam Ward & Cheri Kempf
Los Angeles: Holly Rowe & Danielle Lawrie
Norman: Thad Anderson & Carol Bruggeman
Tallahassee: Jonathan Schillace, Karleigh Rafter or Robin Ahrberg
Tuscaloosa: Cara Capuano & Leah Amico

Super regionals

Ann Arbor: Adam Amin & Amanda Scarborough
Knoxville: Sam Gore & Amanda Freed
Auburn: Cara Capuano & Leah Amico
Eugene: Melissa Lee & Jennie Ritter
Tuscaloosa: Beth Mowins, Jessica Mendoza, & Michele Smith
Baton Rouge: Pam Ward & Cheri Kempf
Gainesville: Mark Neely & Jenny Dalton-Hill
Los Angeles: Holly Rowe & Danielle Lawrie

Women's College World Series

Adam Amin, Amanda Scarborough, & Laura Rutledge (afternoons)
Beth Mowins, Jessica Mendoza, Michele Smith, & Holly Rowe (evenings & championship series)
Curt Schilling (championship series)

References

^ "Binghamton Softball wins first-ever 2015 America East Tournament". WICZ-TV. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
^ "Tulsa Softball Falls 1–0 To UCF In AAC Championship". News on 6. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
^ "Florida State takes ACC Softball Championship title". Collegiate Times. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
^ "USC Upstate Stuns Lipscomb, 9–1 to Win A-Sun softball tournament Title". WSPA-TV. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
^ "Sooners Clinch Fourth Straight Big 12 Championship With Win". WSPA-TV. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
^ "Senior Day ends with 40th win and share of Big West Title". The Sundial. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
^ "Hostra tops JMU softball, 2-1, for CAA Tournament title". Augusta Free Press. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
^ "Twice as Nice: Dartmouth Repeats as Ivy Softball Champ". Valley News. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
^ "'Dogs win Mountain West, earn NCAA berth (video)". The Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
^ "Auburn wins SEC softball tournament title in walk-off fashion". AL.com. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
^ "Central Arkansas tops NSU for Southland title". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
^ "NMSU beats Bakersfield twice to win WAC Tournament title". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
^ "Dominant pitching by Bull and Thompson fuel BYU's sweep, clinch WCC title outright". Deseret News. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
^ "Back-To-Back: Florida Defeats Michigan To Earn Second Straight National Championship". Floridagators.com. June 4, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
^ "Upcoming Programming: NCAA Softball Championship on Westwood One". Westwood One. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
^ "Women's College World Series beats Men's counterpart in ratings". Awful Announcing. Retrieved June 28, 2015.

External links

[1] "Binghamton Softball wins first-ever 2015 America East Tournament". WICZ-TV. Retrieved May 9, 2015.

[2] "Tulsa Softball Falls 1–0 To UCF In AAC Championship". News on 6. Retrieved May 9, 2015.

[3] "Florida State takes ACC Softball Championship title". Collegiate Times. Retrieved May 10, 2015.

[4] "USC Upstate Stuns Lipscomb, 9–1 to Win A-Sun softball tournament Title". WSPA-TV. Retrieved May 9, 2015.

[5] "Sooners Clinch Fourth Straight Big 12 Championship With Win". WSPA-TV. Retrieved April 28, 2015.

[6] "Senior Day ends with 40th win and share of Big West Title". The Sundial. Retrieved May 4, 2015.

[7] "Hostra tops JMU softball, 2-1, for CAA Tournament title". Augusta Free Press. Retrieved May 9, 2015.

[8] "Twice as Nice: Dartmouth Repeats as Ivy Softball Champ". Valley News. Retrieved May 3, 2015.

[9] "'Dogs win Mountain West, earn NCAA berth (video)". The Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.

[10] "Auburn wins SEC softball tournament title in walk-off fashion". AL.com. Retrieved May 9, 2015.

[11] "Central Arkansas tops NSU for Southland title". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved May 8, 2015.

[12] "NMSU beats Bakersfield twice to win WAC Tournament title". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved May 9, 2015.

[13] "Dominant pitching by Bull and Thompson fuel BYU's sweep, clinch WCC title outright". Deseret News. Retrieved May 1, 2015.

[14] "Back-To-Back: Florida Defeats Michigan To Earn Second Straight National Championship". Floridagators.com. June 4, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2018.

[15] "Upcoming Programming: NCAA Softball Championship on Westwood One". Westwood One. Retrieved May 2, 2015.

[aa-espnratings-16] "Women's College World Series beats Men's counterpart in ratings". Awful Announcing. Retrieved June 28, 2015.

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Teams	64
Finals site	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City
Champions	Florida (2nd title)
Runner-up	Michigan (12th WCWS Appearance)
Winning coach	Tim Walton (2nd title)
MOP	Lauren Haeger (Florida)
← 2014 NCAA Division I softball tournament 2016 →