2010 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament


The 2010 NCAA Division 1 Softball Tournament was held from May 20 through June 8, 2010 and is part of the 2010 NCAA Division 1 softball season. The 64 NCAA Division 1 college softball teams were selected out of an eligible 284 teams on May 16, 2010. 30 teams were awarded an automatic bid as champions of their conference, and 34 teams were selected at-large by the NCAA Division 1 Softball Selection Committee. The tournament culminated with eight teams playing in the 2010 Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. UCLA won their record 11th championship, defeating in the final.

Automatic Bids

National Seeds

Teams in "italics" advanced to Super Regionals.
Teams in "bold" advanced to Women's College World Series.
  1. Alabama
  2. '
  4. Florida
  5. UCLA
9.
10.
11. '
12.
13. '
14. '
15.
16.

Regionals and Super Regionals

Tuscaloosa Super Regional

Columbia Super Regional

Los Angeles Super Regional

Gainesville Super Regional

Seattle Super Regional

Athens Super Regional

Tucson Super Regional

Ann Arbor Super Regional

Women's College World Series

Rule changes

Field dimensions

Whereas in previous years, the outfield fence was set at 190 feet from home plate and standing four feet in height, the fence was moved back to 200 feet and raised to a height of six feet for this year's tournament. Despite the change, the 2010 Series saw a record-breaking number of home runs resulting from "some of the power brought into the game by composite-barreled bats."

Illegal pitching

The 2010 WCWS was marked by a proliferation of illegal pitch calls, following a memo by NCAA Softball Secretary Rules Editor Dee Abrahamson outlining an increased emphasis on legal pitching. Arizona Wildcats pitcher Kenzie Fowler, in particular, was cited for eight illegal pitches in Arizona's first-round 9-0 loss to Tennessee, and a further eight illegal pitches in Arizona's second-round 4-3 win over Washington; Fowler was cited for 16 of the 22 illegal pitches called in the first eight games of the tournament. Wildcats coach Mike Candrea reacted by saying that "the officials were way too involved in game," and that the citation of illegal pitches was "sporadic."

Participants

† Excludes results of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1981.

Results

Bracket

Game Results

Championship Game

Final standings

PlaceSchoolWCWS Record
1stUCLA5–0
2ndArizona4–3
3rdTennessee2–2
3rdGeorgia2–2
5thFlorida1–2
5thHawaii1–2
7thWashington0–2
7thMissouri0–2

WCWS Records

Note: The above records exclude those of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1981.

Most Outstanding Player

Megan Langenfeld was unanimously voted the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. She batted.705, going 12-for-17 with four home runs and nine RBIs, as well as reaching base in 18 of 23 plate appearances for an OBP of.782 with four walks and two hit by pitch.