8 Things From The Most Unpredictable Super Regionals
8 Things From The Most Unpredictable Super Regionals
8 Things From The Most Unpredictable Division I softball Super Regionals
This NCAA college softball season has been completely unpredictable. And, the Super Regionals were just an extension of a wild regular season.
In the Regionals last weekend, every host team won, including Oklahoma battling back from losing their first game of the tournament. Then in the Super Regionals this weekend, the defending champion Sooners punched their ticket to the 2017 Women's College World Series.
Also joining Oklahoma are Florida, Baylor, Oregon, LSU, UCLA, Washington, and Texas A&M. That breaks down as three teams from the Pac-12, three from the SEC, and two from the Big 12. How these eight teams got to the WCWS is unbelievable.
Florida rallied from a shocking first game loss against Alabama to win the next two games at home to advance. Here's how it unfolded.
Game 1: Florida ace Kelly Barnhill literally threw the game away. Alabama won 3-0 thanks to two throwing errors from Barnhill allowing Bama to score all three runs.
Meanwhile, the Gator bats went silent, capturing one of the question marks about the overall No. 1 seed heading into the WCWS. But, Florida responded.
Game 2: Delanie Gourley picked up Barnhill by outdueling Alabama's Sydney Littlejohn. And, the Gator offense came alive with two runs off the bat of Amanda Lorenz, who delivered a clutch two-run home run.
That was all the offense that Gourley needed to shut down Alabama 2-0. It set up a decisive third game on Saturday.
Game 3: With a trip to the WCWS on the line, Kelly Barnhill rebounded from her Game 1 performance by looking like Kelly Barnhill again. Florida jumped out to a 2-0 lead, then Alabama scored in the top of the second to make it 2-1.
From there, Barnhill was absolutely dominant. She completed the game, registered 12 strikeouts, and sent Florida back to the WCWS.
Florida only scored four runs in the three-game series, but the combination of Gourley and the good version of Barnhill was too much for Alabama to overcome.
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Baylor was one of those teams that we really weren't sure how good they were. Sure, they beat Washington and UCLA in the Judi Garman Classic, but they were shut out by Arizona. Sure, the Bears finished second in the Big 12, but they lost their biggest series of the year against Oklahoma.
Well, the No. 15 seed Bears shocked the college softball world by beating No. 2 seed Arizona in Tucson. It took a clutch home run to get it done.
Game 1: Arizona topped Baylor 3-2 in the first game, seemingly on their way to Oklahoma City. But, Arizona was part of a big theme in the Super Regionals of the Game 1 winner struggling to finish the series.
During Game 1, Katiyana Mauga hit yet another home run - her 26th of the season. So, Baylor wanted nothing to do with her in a 2-2 game in the seventh inning. After an intentional walk to Mauga, Wildcats first baseman Jessie Harper singled in the walk-off winning run.
Game 2: Baylor responded with a clutch 6-4 win on Saturday. This included a late inning rally to set the stage for Sunday.
Down 4-2 in the sixth inning, Baylor put together a four-run rally to take the lead. The rally included a double, single, single, double, and another double. And, all four runs scored with two outs. That was enough for the Bears to advance to a third game.
Game 3: Baylor pulled off an improbable, shocking 6-5 win over Arizona in the decisive game of the series.
After a back-and-forth game with multiple lead changes, the Bears were down 5-3 entering the seventh inning. Arizona then changed pitchers to Taylor McQuillin. After a double and intentional walk, Baylor's Shelby McGlaun launched a three-run home run to give the Bears the lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, Arizona collected three walks, but they also had a caught stealing. And, they could not push across a tying run, sending Baylor to the WCWS in stunning fashion.
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And now for some normalcy from the Oregon Ducks, who took care of Kentucky in two games. But, it was not easy.
Game 1: Ducks pitcher Megan Kleist got the start and she did not disappoint. Kleist threw a three-hit shutout as Oregon won the first game 4-0.
Included was a wild rally in the sixth inning. Oregon entered the sixth up 1-0 and they scored three runs without a hit in the inning. The order of events: walk, hit by pitch, walk, groundout RBI, groundout RBI, and error for another run.
Game 2: Things were crazy in the second game. Oregon won 6-5 to sweep the Super Regionals thanks to a big seventh inning rally.
Kentucky entered the seventh up 5-2 looking to advance to a third game in the series. But, they just could not get Ducks out. The order of events: single, walk, error, two-run single, sac bunt, and two-run single. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Kentucky went down in order for the Ducks to win by a single run.
Oregon is dangerous heading to the WCWS. They have pitching, hitting, and clutch hitting. Will the former No. 1 team make a run at the title?
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It's all over for Florida State. The Seminoles joined Arizona in the "what just happened?" category of winning the first game at home, then losing the next two in the series.
Game 1: Florida State looked like Florida State with a 3-1 win over LSU. Ace pitcher Jessica Burroughs outdueled LSU's Carley Hoover, only allowing one run in a complete game.
Meanwhile, the FSU offense came alive in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie with a solid rally for the final two-run margin. It looked like everything was going just right for the Seminoles.
Game 2: LSU shut out FSU 1-0, ending Florida State's unbeaten streak at home this season. In this pitcher's duel, the Tigers' Allie Walljasper outdueled FSU's Meghan King. Even more frustrating for FSU is they allowed the only run of the game after an error.
Also, the FSU bats went completely silent, like in the final regular season series against Oregon. The Seminoles were one batter away from being no-hit. But, Sydney Broderick singled with two outs in the seventh inning. It was not enough to get a rally started, though.
Game 3: After absorbing the shock of losing their first home game of the season, the Seminoles turned to Jessica Burroughs one more time. Unfortunately, Jessica did not have it on Sunday. She allowed four runs in three and two-thirds innings to put FSU in a hole.
But, FSU was able to score against Walljasper, who gave up three runs in three and two-thirds innings. The difference in the game, though, was LSU tacked on runs against Seminoles reliever Meghan King. That was enough cushion for the Tigers to win 6-4 over Florida State to advance to the WCWS.
It was not how Jessica Burroughs envisioned her college career ending in Tallahassee. And now FSU has to figure out how to reload in 2018 seeking that elusive first college softball title.
Meanwhile, LSU is heading to the WCWS after a surprising road series win over the Seminoles. Their reward is one of the hottest teams in the country, UCLA.
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This series only went two games, but it felt like UCLA and Ole Miss played five games. This was a wild, wacky rollercoaster of a series that UCLA won by virtue of two one-run games.
Game 1: Ole Miss pitcher Kaitlin Lee was coming off an absolutely brilliant run through the SEC Tournament and the Regionals. But, UCLA stunned the Rebels with one run in the second and three runs in the fourth to take an early 4-0 lead.
Then, Ole Miss stunned UCLA and star pitcher Rachel Garcia with five runs in the sixth inning. This is where things got wild. UCLA was down 5-4 in the seventh inning when the Bruins scored the tying run on a wild pitch with two outs.
No matter, as Ole Miss scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning to take a 7-5 lead. But, UCLA put together a two-run rally again with two outs in the inning. Kaitlin was one out away from taking Game 1, but UCLA went single, single, and double to tie the game at 7.
Then in the 11th inning, UCLA got another two-out hit, this time from Madeline Jelenicki to win 8-7 in extras. Both starters went the distance in this game. Included were pitch count totals of 191 for Kaitlin and 232 for Rachel Garcia. Unbelievable effort from both starters.
Game 2: Madeline Jelenicki picked up where she left off with a first-inning RBI against new Ole Miss pitcher Brittany Finney to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. That held up the entire game.
Ole Miss had their chances, though. The Rebels had a runner on base in every inning except for the seventh inning. They just could not get a clutch hit with a Runner in Scoring Position. And, UCLA advanced to the WCWS.
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Do you like a lot offense in your Super Regional? Washington and Utah delivered in a big way, setting a record for most combined runs in a Super Regional.
The result was Washington taking the series in three games thanks to some amazing hitting from Morganne Flores.
In Game 1, Morganne hit two home runs and recorded 7 RBI. In Game 2, Morganne hit another home run and recorded 2 more RBI. Then in Game 3, Morganne showed that she is human by going 0-4. Overall, though, Morganne hit three home runs and drove in nine runs to complete an amazing series.
Game 1: Washington blasted the ball all over Seattle to win 10-4 over Utah.
Washington scored four runs in the first inning, then survived a fourth inning rally from the Utes before tacking on four more runs. The Huskies' bats were sizzling.
Game 2: Utah responded with a big 9-8 victory over Washington. But, the game sure looked familiar. Utah put up a seven spot in the third inning to take a 9-4 lead. If you recall, Washington came back from a 12-1 deficit against Utah in the final regular season game of the season.
The Huskies tried to mount a similar comeback, drawing within one run in the seventh inning, but Utah's Miranda Viramontes closed the door.
Game 3: Suddenly, there was pitching in the series. Huskies starter Taran Alvelo went the distance in a 2-1 win over Utah to clinch the series and sends Washington to the WCWS.
Washington only recorded three hits in the game, but they came early in the game to give Alvelo all the run support she needed to seal the win.
The result is Oregon, UCLA, and Washington representing the Pac-12 conference at the WCWS. We thought Arizona would join them, but one of these three Pac-12 teams could catch fire in OKC to bring back the women's softball title to the West Coast.
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The Oklahoma Sooners will have something to say about who wins the WCWS in Oklahoma City this season.
The defending champs went to Auburn and swept their 2016 championship counterpart in a rematch from last year's finals. And, it wasn't very close.
Game 1: Oklahoma won 4-0 behind a four-hit shutout from Paige Parker. The game was scoreless through five innings before the Sooners rallied for two runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Game 2: Oklahoma jumped out to an early lead on their way to a 5-2 win over the Tigers. In the second inning, Nicole Pendley started the scoring with a big three-run home run.
Auburn climbed within 3-2 in the fifth inning, but Pendley had another clutch hit as part of a two-run rally to put the game out of reach.
That also meant the end of a wild, controversial season for the Auburn Tigers. They made it through Regionals, but the Tigers ran into a team that is on a mission right now.
The result is Oklahoma and Baylor representing the Big 12 at the WCWS. And, the conference rivals will face each other again in OKC based on their positioning in the tournament bracket.
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Tennessee was another home team that won the first game in the series and lost the next two. This was made even more painful against a conference foe, Texas A&M.
Game 1: Tennessee looked unstoppable with an 8-1 win to begin Super Regionals play. The Volunteers took advantage of two A&M errors and led 8-0 after three innings.
Meanwhile, Vols pitcher Matty Moss only allowed one run in a complete game victory that seemed to set up Tennessee nicely for a series win.
Game 2: Tennessee and Texas A&M battled back and forth on Saturday evening. Tennessee led 3-1 and then 4-1, seemingly cruising like in Game 1.
But, A&M responded with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. After Tennessee tied the game at 5, A&M responded with a decisive run in the sixth to win 6-5. It seemed like the Aggies had the momentum heading into the final game.
Game 3: Tennessee cut off Texas A&M's momentum by scoring the first three runs of the game. But, the Vols started to falter defensively.
In the third inning, A&M started a rally thanks to a throwing error. Included was Riley Sartain hitting a three-run home run as part of a four-run inning to give A&M a 4-3 lead. The Aggies added another run in the fifth to win 5-3.
All of the offense came against Matty Moss, who shut down A&M in the first game. But, Tennessee committed three errors in the decisive game. And, only one of the five runs that Moss allowed was earned.
Tennessee will have to recover for next year after giving up leads in the final two games of this series. Meanwhile, A&M is staring down a showdown with top seed Florida in the WCWS.
Overall, the SEC will be represented by Florida, LSU, and Texas A&M in the WCWS. We will soon find out if one of these teams makes it to the championship this year to continue the SEC's streak of at least one time in the finals every year since 2011.
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In the Regionals last weekend, every host team won, including Oklahoma battling back from losing their first game of the tournament. Then in the Super Regionals this weekend, the defending champion Sooners punched their ticket to the 2017 Women's College World Series.
Also joining Oklahoma are Florida, Baylor, Oregon, LSU, UCLA, Washington, and Texas A&M. That breaks down as three teams from the Pac-12, three from the SEC, and two from the Big 12. How these eight teams got to the WCWS is unbelievable.
1. Florida (1 Seed) Survives Alabama
Florida rallied from a shocking first game loss against Alabama to win the next two games at home to advance. Here's how it unfolded.
Game 1: Florida ace Kelly Barnhill literally threw the game away. Alabama won 3-0 thanks to two throwing errors from Barnhill allowing Bama to score all three runs.
Meanwhile, the Gator bats went silent, capturing one of the question marks about the overall No. 1 seed heading into the WCWS. But, Florida responded.
Game 2: Delanie Gourley picked up Barnhill by outdueling Alabama's Sydney Littlejohn. And, the Gator offense came alive with two runs off the bat of Amanda Lorenz, who delivered a clutch two-run home run.
That was all the offense that Gourley needed to shut down Alabama 2-0. It set up a decisive third game on Saturday.
Game 3: With a trip to the WCWS on the line, Kelly Barnhill rebounded from her Game 1 performance by looking like Kelly Barnhill again. Florida jumped out to a 2-0 lead, then Alabama scored in the top of the second to make it 2-1.
From there, Barnhill was absolutely dominant. She completed the game, registered 12 strikeouts, and sent Florida back to the WCWS.
Florida only scored four runs in the three-game series, but the combination of Gourley and the good version of Barnhill was too much for Alabama to overcome.
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2. Baylor Shocks 2 Seed Arizona
Baylor was one of those teams that we really weren't sure how good they were. Sure, they beat Washington and UCLA in the Judi Garman Classic, but they were shut out by Arizona. Sure, the Bears finished second in the Big 12, but they lost their biggest series of the year against Oklahoma.
Well, the No. 15 seed Bears shocked the college softball world by beating No. 2 seed Arizona in Tucson. It took a clutch home run to get it done.
Game 1: Arizona topped Baylor 3-2 in the first game, seemingly on their way to Oklahoma City. But, Arizona was part of a big theme in the Super Regionals of the Game 1 winner struggling to finish the series.
During Game 1, Katiyana Mauga hit yet another home run - her 26th of the season. So, Baylor wanted nothing to do with her in a 2-2 game in the seventh inning. After an intentional walk to Mauga, Wildcats first baseman Jessie Harper singled in the walk-off winning run.
Game 2: Baylor responded with a clutch 6-4 win on Saturday. This included a late inning rally to set the stage for Sunday.
Down 4-2 in the sixth inning, Baylor put together a four-run rally to take the lead. The rally included a double, single, single, double, and another double. And, all four runs scored with two outs. That was enough for the Bears to advance to a third game.
Game 3: Baylor pulled off an improbable, shocking 6-5 win over Arizona in the decisive game of the series.
After a back-and-forth game with multiple lead changes, the Bears were down 5-3 entering the seventh inning. Arizona then changed pitchers to Taylor McQuillin. After a double and intentional walk, Baylor's Shelby McGlaun launched a three-run home run to give the Bears the lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, Arizona collected three walks, but they also had a caught stealing. And, they could not push across a tying run, sending Baylor to the WCWS in stunning fashion.
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3. Oregon (3 Seed) Sweeps Kentucky
And now for some normalcy from the Oregon Ducks, who took care of Kentucky in two games. But, it was not easy.
Game 1: Ducks pitcher Megan Kleist got the start and she did not disappoint. Kleist threw a three-hit shutout as Oregon won the first game 4-0.
Included was a wild rally in the sixth inning. Oregon entered the sixth up 1-0 and they scored three runs without a hit in the inning. The order of events: walk, hit by pitch, walk, groundout RBI, groundout RBI, and error for another run.
Game 2: Things were crazy in the second game. Oregon won 6-5 to sweep the Super Regionals thanks to a big seventh inning rally.
Kentucky entered the seventh up 5-2 looking to advance to a third game in the series. But, they just could not get Ducks out. The order of events: single, walk, error, two-run single, sac bunt, and two-run single. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Kentucky went down in order for the Ducks to win by a single run.
Oregon is dangerous heading to the WCWS. They have pitching, hitting, and clutch hitting. Will the former No. 1 team make a run at the title?
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4. LSU Ends Everything for 4 Seed Florida State
It's all over for Florida State. The Seminoles joined Arizona in the "what just happened?" category of winning the first game at home, then losing the next two in the series.
Game 1: Florida State looked like Florida State with a 3-1 win over LSU. Ace pitcher Jessica Burroughs outdueled LSU's Carley Hoover, only allowing one run in a complete game.
Meanwhile, the FSU offense came alive in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie with a solid rally for the final two-run margin. It looked like everything was going just right for the Seminoles.
Game 2: LSU shut out FSU 1-0, ending Florida State's unbeaten streak at home this season. In this pitcher's duel, the Tigers' Allie Walljasper outdueled FSU's Meghan King. Even more frustrating for FSU is they allowed the only run of the game after an error.
Also, the FSU bats went completely silent, like in the final regular season series against Oregon. The Seminoles were one batter away from being no-hit. But, Sydney Broderick singled with two outs in the seventh inning. It was not enough to get a rally started, though.
Game 3: After absorbing the shock of losing their first home game of the season, the Seminoles turned to Jessica Burroughs one more time. Unfortunately, Jessica did not have it on Sunday. She allowed four runs in three and two-thirds innings to put FSU in a hole.
But, FSU was able to score against Walljasper, who gave up three runs in three and two-thirds innings. The difference in the game, though, was LSU tacked on runs against Seminoles reliever Meghan King. That was enough cushion for the Tigers to win 6-4 over Florida State to advance to the WCWS.
It was not how Jessica Burroughs envisioned her college career ending in Tallahassee. And now FSU has to figure out how to reload in 2018 seeking that elusive first college softball title.
Meanwhile, LSU is heading to the WCWS after a surprising road series win over the Seminoles. Their reward is one of the hottest teams in the country, UCLA.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/LSUsoftball/status/869023505714753536" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
5. UCLA (5 Seed) Survives Wacky Regional vs. Ole Miss
This series only went two games, but it felt like UCLA and Ole Miss played five games. This was a wild, wacky rollercoaster of a series that UCLA won by virtue of two one-run games.
Game 1: Ole Miss pitcher Kaitlin Lee was coming off an absolutely brilliant run through the SEC Tournament and the Regionals. But, UCLA stunned the Rebels with one run in the second and three runs in the fourth to take an early 4-0 lead.
Then, Ole Miss stunned UCLA and star pitcher Rachel Garcia with five runs in the sixth inning. This is where things got wild. UCLA was down 5-4 in the seventh inning when the Bruins scored the tying run on a wild pitch with two outs.
No matter, as Ole Miss scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning to take a 7-5 lead. But, UCLA put together a two-run rally again with two outs in the inning. Kaitlin was one out away from taking Game 1, but UCLA went single, single, and double to tie the game at 7.
Then in the 11th inning, UCLA got another two-out hit, this time from Madeline Jelenicki to win 8-7 in extras. Both starters went the distance in this game. Included were pitch count totals of 191 for Kaitlin and 232 for Rachel Garcia. Unbelievable effort from both starters.
Game 2: Madeline Jelenicki picked up where she left off with a first-inning RBI against new Ole Miss pitcher Brittany Finney to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. That held up the entire game.
Ole Miss had their chances, though. The Rebels had a runner on base in every inning except for the seventh inning. They just could not get a clutch hit with a Runner in Scoring Position. And, UCLA advanced to the WCWS.
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6. Washington (6 Seed) and Utah Set Records in Seattle
Do you like a lot offense in your Super Regional? Washington and Utah delivered in a big way, setting a record for most combined runs in a Super Regional.
The result was Washington taking the series in three games thanks to some amazing hitting from Morganne Flores.
In Game 1, Morganne hit two home runs and recorded 7 RBI. In Game 2, Morganne hit another home run and recorded 2 more RBI. Then in Game 3, Morganne showed that she is human by going 0-4. Overall, though, Morganne hit three home runs and drove in nine runs to complete an amazing series.
Game 1: Washington blasted the ball all over Seattle to win 10-4 over Utah.
Washington scored four runs in the first inning, then survived a fourth inning rally from the Utes before tacking on four more runs. The Huskies' bats were sizzling.
Game 2: Utah responded with a big 9-8 victory over Washington. But, the game sure looked familiar. Utah put up a seven spot in the third inning to take a 9-4 lead. If you recall, Washington came back from a 12-1 deficit against Utah in the final regular season game of the season.
The Huskies tried to mount a similar comeback, drawing within one run in the seventh inning, but Utah's Miranda Viramontes closed the door.
Game 3: Suddenly, there was pitching in the series. Huskies starter Taran Alvelo went the distance in a 2-1 win over Utah to clinch the series and sends Washington to the WCWS.
Washington only recorded three hits in the game, but they came early in the game to give Alvelo all the run support she needed to seal the win.
The result is Oregon, UCLA, and Washington representing the Pac-12 conference at the WCWS. We thought Arizona would join them, but one of these three Pac-12 teams could catch fire in OKC to bring back the women's softball title to the West Coast.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/UWSoftball/status/869062450573750272" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
7. Oklahoma Downs 7 Seed Auburn in 2016 WCWS Rematch
The Oklahoma Sooners will have something to say about who wins the WCWS in Oklahoma City this season.
The defending champs went to Auburn and swept their 2016 championship counterpart in a rematch from last year's finals. And, it wasn't very close.
Game 1: Oklahoma won 4-0 behind a four-hit shutout from Paige Parker. The game was scoreless through five innings before the Sooners rallied for two runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Game 2: Oklahoma jumped out to an early lead on their way to a 5-2 win over the Tigers. In the second inning, Nicole Pendley started the scoring with a big three-run home run.
Auburn climbed within 3-2 in the fifth inning, but Pendley had another clutch hit as part of a two-run rally to put the game out of reach.
That also meant the end of a wild, controversial season for the Auburn Tigers. They made it through Regionals, but the Tigers ran into a team that is on a mission right now.
The result is Oklahoma and Baylor representing the Big 12 at the WCWS. And, the conference rivals will face each other again in OKC based on their positioning in the tournament bracket.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/OU_Softball/status/868837366294872065" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
8. Texas A&M Knocks off 8 Seed Tennessee
Tennessee was another home team that won the first game in the series and lost the next two. This was made even more painful against a conference foe, Texas A&M.
Game 1: Tennessee looked unstoppable with an 8-1 win to begin Super Regionals play. The Volunteers took advantage of two A&M errors and led 8-0 after three innings.
Meanwhile, Vols pitcher Matty Moss only allowed one run in a complete game victory that seemed to set up Tennessee nicely for a series win.
Game 2: Tennessee and Texas A&M battled back and forth on Saturday evening. Tennessee led 3-1 and then 4-1, seemingly cruising like in Game 1.
But, A&M responded with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. After Tennessee tied the game at 5, A&M responded with a decisive run in the sixth to win 6-5. It seemed like the Aggies had the momentum heading into the final game.
Game 3: Tennessee cut off Texas A&M's momentum by scoring the first three runs of the game. But, the Vols started to falter defensively.
In the third inning, A&M started a rally thanks to a throwing error. Included was Riley Sartain hitting a three-run home run as part of a four-run inning to give A&M a 4-3 lead. The Aggies added another run in the fifth to win 5-3.
All of the offense came against Matty Moss, who shut down A&M in the first game. But, Tennessee committed three errors in the decisive game. And, only one of the five runs that Moss allowed was earned.
Tennessee will have to recover for next year after giving up leads in the final two games of this series. Meanwhile, A&M is staring down a showdown with top seed Florida in the WCWS.
Overall, the SEC will be represented by Florida, LSU, and Texas A&M in the WCWS. We will soon find out if one of these teams makes it to the championship this year to continue the SEC's streak of at least one time in the finals every year since 2011.
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