2007 Women's College World Series
| Softball Tournament | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 8 | ||
| WCWS Site | ASA Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | ||
| Champions | Arizona (8th title) | ||
| Runner-Up | Tennessee (3rd WCWS Appearance) | ||
| Winning coach | Mike Candrea (8th title) | ||
| MOP | Taryne Mowatt (Arizona) | ||
NCAA Softball Tournaments
| |||
The 2007 Women's College World Series was held May 31st through June 6th, 2007 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Eight NCAA Division I college softball teams met after having advanced through a 64-team bracket to play at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. The official host for the event was the University of Oklahoma.
After successfully advancing through the regional and super regional rounds of the 2007 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, eight teams advanced to Oklahoma City. Arizona, Baylor, Tennessee, Texas A&M, DePaul, Washington, Arizona State, and Northwestern all won their super-regionals and made the trip to the 2007 Women's College World Series. Oklahoma was the lone seed of the predetermined top eight not to advance, as they fell to DePaul in super regional action.
The first pitch of the 2007 Women's College World Series was Thursday, June 16, at 12:00 PM CDT. The 2007 tournament was only the second time in its NCAA era in which 16 WCWS games were played (the other being the 2005 Women's College World Series).
The best-of-three championship series featured Arizona and Tennessee. After facing elimination three times, the Arizona Wildcats advanced to the championship series by beating DePaul in an elimination game and winning the next two against Washington. Tennessee advanced to the championship series by beating Texas A&M, Arizona, and finally Northwestern. Monica Abbott of Tennessee had a no-hitter on the first night of the WCWS and also did not allow a run before entering the championship series.
Tennessee won the first game of the series, 3-0. Arizona won the second game, 1-0, in ten innings; it was the first run allowed by Tennessee throughout WCWS action. Arizona won the deciding game, 5-0, winning the school's eighth national title in softball and its second consecutive. All games were televised on ESPN and ESPN2.
Arizona pitcher Taryne Mowatt was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
See also: Women's College World Series for series history and past champions.
Participants
| School | Conference | Record (Conference) | Head Coach | WCWS Appearances† (including 2007 WCWS) | WCWS Best Finish† | WCWS W-L Record† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern | Big Ten | 50-11 (15-3) | Kate Drohan | 5 (last: 2006) | 2nd (2006) | 12-9 |
| Washington | Pac-10 | 40-17 (12-9) | Heather Tarr | 8 (last: 2004) | 2nd (1996, 1999) | 13-12 |
| Tennessee | SEC | 59-6 (23-4) | Ralph Weekly Karen Weekly | 3 (last: 2006) | 3rd (2005, 2006) | 6-4 |
| Baylor | Big 12 | 50-14 (14-3) | Glenn Moore | 1 | — | 0-0 |
| Texas A&M | Big 12 | 46-12 (12-6) | Jo Evans | 6 (last: 1988) | 1st (1983, 1987) | 18-8 |
| Arizona St. | Pac-10 | 54-15 (13-8) | Clint Myers | 6 (last: 2006) | 5-10 | |
| DePaul | Big East | 46-11 (20-0) | Eugene Lenti | 4 (last: 2005) | 2-6 | |
| Arizona | Pac-10 | 44-12-1 (15-9) | Mike Candrea | 19 (last: 2006) | 1st (1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006) | 51-23 |
† Excludes results of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1981.
Tournament Notes
- Washington's Danielle Lawrie and Tennessee's Monica Abbott each pitched no-hitters on the first day of the tournament, although Lawrie allowed a run. This is the first time a no-hitter has been accomplished since the 2003 Women's College World Series and only the third time in the NCAA era of the WCWS that two pitchers had no-hitters on the same day.
- This was the first time that UCLA did not advance to the WCWS in its NCAA era.
- Only one game in the entire tournament ended with the losing team scoring more than one run, an NCAA record for offensive futility.
Bracket
2007 Women's College World Series bracket
| First round | Second round | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Baylor | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Tennessee | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Texas A&M | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Tennessee | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Tennessee | 3 | - | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Northwestern | 0 | - | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Baylor | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Texas A&M | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Baylor | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Northwestern | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Tennessee | 3 | 0* | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 0 | 1* | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | DePaul | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Washington | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Washington | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Northwestern | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Northwestern | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Arizona State | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Washington | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 2 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Arizona State | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | DePaul | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | DePaul | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Results
| Date | Game | Winner | Score | Loser | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/31/2007 | Game 1 | Washington | 3 - 1 | DePaul | |
| Game 2 | Northwestern | 2 - 0 | Arizona State | ||
| Game 3 | Tennessee | 2 - 0 | Texas A&M | ||
| Game 4 | Arizona | 2 - 1 | Baylor | 9 inn. | |
| 6/1/2007 | Game 5 | Washington | 9 - 0 | Northwestern | 5 inn. |
| Game 6 | Tennessee | 1 - 0 | Arizona | ||
| 6/2/2007 | Game 7 | DePaul | 3 - 1 | Arizona State | Arizona State eliminated |
| Game 8 | Baylor | 7 - 4 | Texas A&M | Texas A&M eliminated | |
| Game 9 | Arizona | 3 - 0 | DePaul | DePaul eliminated | |
| Game 10 | Northwestern | 7 - 0 | Baylor | Baylor eliminated | |
| 6/3/2007 | Game 11 | Arizona | 2 - 0 | Washington | |
| Game 12 | Tennessee | 3 - 0 | Northwestern | Northwestern eliminated | |
| Game 13 | Arizona | 8 - 1 | Washington | Washington eliminated | |
| 6/4/2007 | Finals Game 1 | Tennessee | 3 - 0 | Arizona | |
| 6/5/2007 | Finals Game 2 | Arizona | 1 - 0 | Tennessee | 10 inn. |
| 6/6/2007 | Finals Game 3 | Arizona | 5 - 0 | Tennessee | Arizona wins WCWS |
Championship Game
| School | Top Batter | Stats. |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona Wildcats | Chelsie Mesa (2B) | 2-3 3RBIs HR |
| Tennessee Lady Vols | Kenora Posey (2B) | 2-2 SB |
| School | Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | AB | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Wildcats | Taryne Mowatt | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 28 | 33 |
| Tennessee Lady Vols | Monica Abbott | 6.0 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 26 | 31 |
Final standings
| Place | School | WCWS Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Arizona | 6-2 |
| 2nd | Tennessee | 4-2 |
| 3rd | Washington | 2-2 |
| Northwestern | 2-2 | |
| 5th | Baylor | 1-2 |
| DePaul | 1-2 | |
| 7th | Texas A&M | 0-2 |
| Arizona State | 0-2 |
All Tournament Team
The following players were members of the All-Tournament Team.
| Position | Player | Class | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | Monica Abbott | Senior | Tennessee |
| Danielle Lawrie | Sophomore | Washington | |
| 1st Base | Dena Tyson | Senior | Washington |
| Ashley Monceaux | Senior | Baylor | |
| 3rd Base | Jenae Leles | Sophomore | Arizona |
| Shortstop | Ashley Charters | Junior | Washington |
| Kristie Fox | Senior | Arizona | |
| Tammy Williams | Sophomore | Northwestern | |
| Outfield | India Chiles | Senior | Tennessee |
| Caitlin Lowe | Senior | Arizona | |
| Lindsay Schutzler | Senior | Tennessee | |
| Most Outstanding Player | Taryne Mowatt | Junior | Arizona |
WCWS records tied or broken
- The 2007 tournament was ruled by pitchers, as 11 shutouts were thrown over the week, an NCAA record. Tennessee alone didn't allow a run in the entire tournament until the 10th inning of the second game of the finals.
- After fanning 11 Lady Vols in the final game, Arizona’s Taryne Mowatt passed Tennessee’s Monica Abbott for the WCWS single-season NCAA strikeout record. Mowatt struck out 76 batters in 2007, while Abbott finished with 75 strikeouts. (Both passed the previous record held by the previous Arizona pitcher, Alicia Hollowell, who held the record with 65).
- Mowatt’s 60 innings pitched in the 2007 College World Series broke the previous NCAA record of 53 held by Michigan’s Jennie Ritter (2005). Mowatt delivered every Arizona pitch in this year’s event.
- Arizona’s Kristie Fox recorded her 11th hit of the 2007 WCWS, tying the NCAA record of UCLA’s Natasha Watley set in 2003.
- The Lady Vols’ Kenora Posey tied the WCWS single-season NCAA steals record with four. She shares the top spot with Lowe, who had four steals in 2006, and two others.
- The 2007 event marked the best-attended Women’s College World Series in history. A total of 62,463 fans passed through the gates of ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, including 5,533 for the third game. The 2007 attendance total broke the previous WCWS record (set in 2006) by 16,341.
See also
2007 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament