OKLAHOMA CITY “”mdash; When top-ranked Arizona lost in its
regional game, the immediate Women’s College World Series
storyline was about how open the tournament would be.
For the past three years, only Pac-10 teams have made the
championship game. But with the conference champions sitting at
home watching, people thought this would be the year a team would
threaten the Pac-10 stranglehold.
Apparently the Pac-10 schools didn’t get the message, as
UCLA and Cal made it to the championship game for the
second-straight year.
“We’re extremely proud that it was an all Pac-10
final,” UCLA coach Sue Enquist said. “All of us in the
Pac-10 take great pride in the competitive level that we
play.”
The nation’s strongest conference went 6-3 against
nonconference opponents in the WCWS, once again showing the
Pac-10’s strength.
LSU, which finished tied for third with Stanford, was the only
non-Pac-10 team in the top four.
“It seems like we’re always fighting for
respect,” LSU coach Yvette Girouard said.
“There’s no question in my mind the Pac-10 is the
premier conference, but I think the day is coming when we can play
(with them).”
Her team was able to defeat Cal once Sunday to take the Golden
Bears to an elimination game before losing.
One reason other conferences are lagging behind the Pac-10 is
they have not been playing fast-pitch collegiate softball for long.
LSU has only played for eight seasons.
“You know, you guys have such a head start on us,”
Girouard said, referring to the Pac-10. “Our conference is
only eight years old, so give us a little time. We’re coming.
We’ll be like basketball and football and everything
that’s good about the SEC.”
While other areas of the country are doing a better job of
recruiting and developing players, Girouard said the “cream
of the crop” is still in California.
Schools in the state, stocked largely with in-state talent, were
the top three teams in the WCWS.
Along with the talent pool, Pac-10 teams also have the advantage
of playing against each other in a brutal conference schedule.
“This is the (Women’s) College World Series, but
that’s Pac-10 softball right there,” Stanford coach
John Rittman said after being eliminated by UCLA Sunday. “I
don’t care if you’re playing UCLA, Oregon, Oregon State
““ any team in our conference ““ they prepare you for
this.”