Florida Atlantic Earns Top Overall Seed In The 2024 American Softball Championship
The field has officially been set for the 2024 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship, scheduled to take place on May 8-11 at Wilkins Stadium in Wichita, Kansas. All ten teams that compete in The American in softball were seeded in the tournament field based on regular-season winning percentage in conference games during the 2024 season.
No. 1 Florida Atlantic (41-13, 21-6 American) secured the No. 1 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship and the regular season championship in its inaugural season in the league following a sweep of Tulsa to end the season. Florida Atlantic won every conference series this season. The Owls earn a double bye to the semifinals on May 10.
Softball (team photo above via Rick Henderson) becomes the first Florida Atlantic sport to win a championship in the American Athletic Conference. This marks the first regular season conference title for FAU since 2018.
The Owls have won the conference title in their first year as a member of the AAC. This is not a new accomplishment for the program; with each of their four conference changes, FAU is the first among the new members to win the regular season title. Florida Atlantic has earned their 11th 40-win season in program history and their first since 2016.
3 Owls starred in the Owls' batting unit: Jesiana Mora, Trinity Schlotterbeck, and Kamryn Jackson. The trio had over 40 RBI each, consistently producing as some of the best hitters on the team.
From the bullpen, the big three of Schlotterbeck, Ainsley Lambert, and Gabby Sacco proved to be more than effective. Schlotterbeck and Sacco combined for 14 complete games and six shutouts, while Lambert recorded the most saves with eight.
No. 2 Charlotte (36-16, 21-6 American) will be the No. 2 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship in its first season in the league. Charlotte ended the season with a sweep of third-place North Texas to earn a share of the regular season title. The 49ers earned a double bye to the semifinals, which will be played on May 10.
No. 3 North Texas (31-23, 10-7 American) locked down the third seed in the championship during the final week of the regular season. Competing in their inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship, the Mean Green will take on No. 10 Memphis in the opening round.
No. 4 Wichita State (25-21, 16-11 American) will be the fourth seed in the conference tournament after sweeping Memphis to end the 2023 regular season. The Shockers previously captured the American Softball Championship trophy in 2021. Wichita State will meet the Roadrunners in the opening round of the tournament on May 8.
No. 5 Tulsa (29-22, 14-13 American) settled into the tournament’s fifth seed after being swept by first place Florida Atlantic in the final series of the 2024 regular season. The Golden Hurricane previously captured the 2016, 2017 and 2018 American Softball Championship titles, defeating Houston 1-0 in the 2017 championship game in Greenville. Tulsa will take on No. 8 seed South Florida to open the conference tournament.
No. 6 UAB (23-28, 14-13 American) defeated East Carolina two games to one to end the season and earn the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament. The Blazers will look to keep their momentum alive against the Pirates as the Blazers will take on East Carolina for a fourth straight game in the first round of the conference tournament.
No. 7 East Carolina (37-18, 13-14 American) secured the seventh seed in the conference tournament. The Pirates are in search of a second all-time appearance in the semifinal round of the American tournament after advancing at the 2019 conference championship before the remainder of the weekend was cancelled due to inclement weather. East Carolina will play UAB for a fourth straight game, after falling to the Blazers two games to one to end the season.
No. 8 South Florida (34-21, 13-14 American) enters the tournament as the No. 8 seed in the field. The Bulls, the 2016 and 2019 regular-season champions and top tournament seed, are in search of their first American Softball Championship title. South Florida will collide with Tulsa in the opening game of the tournament, with the Golden Hurricane winning the series against the Bulls earlier this season, two games to one.
No. 9 UTSA (15-41, 5-22 American) will be the ninth seed in the upcoming American Softball Championship, finishing the season with a series win against South Florida in Tampa. The Roadrunners will take on No. 4 seed Wichita State in its opening game in The American Championship.
No. 10 Memphis (6-43, 1-26 American) rounds out the tournament field as the tenth seed following a series sweep at the hands of Wichita State in the final series of the year. The Tigers previously reached the tournament’s semifinal round in both 2017 and 2018, falling to eventual champion Tulsa (2017) and runner-up South Florida (2018) on each occasion. Memphis will take on North Texas game as the Mean Green are the tournament’s No. 3 seed in the tournament’s first round.
All games of the 2024 American Softball Championship are scheduled to air live on ESPN+ and the conference championship game set for May 11 at 12 p.m. (ET) nationally broadcast on ESPN2.
2024 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship (Eastern Standard Times)
May 8-11, 2024
Wilkins Stadium
Wichita, Kansas
Wednesday, May 8 - First Round
Game 1: No. 7 East Carolina 4 vs No. 6 UAB 0 - 11 a.m. (ESPN+)
Game 2: No. 10 Memphis 1 vs No. 3 North Texas 7 - 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 3: No. 8 South Florida vs No. 5 Tulsa 2 - 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 4: No. 9 UTSA 0 vs No. 4 Wichita State 13 - 8 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, May 9 - Second Round
Game 5: No. 7 East Carolina 1 vs No. 3 North Texas 9 - 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 6: No. 5 Tulsa 9 vs No. 4 Wichita State 11 - 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday, May 10 - Semifinals
Game 7: No. 3 North Texas 0 vs No. 2 Charlotte 3 - 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 8: No. 4 Wichita State 12 vs No. 1 Florida Atlantic 2 - 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, May 11 - Championship
Game 9: No. 2 Charlotte 10 vs No. 4 Wichita State 1 - 12 p.m. (ESPN2)
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ECU 4, UAB 0
Addy Bullis pitched a three-hit shutout and rightfielder Anna Sawyer went 2-for-3 with a key two-run single to lead East Carolina past UAB 4-0 in the opening game of the 2024 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship Wednesday morning at Wilkins Stadium.
The Pirates (38-18) advance to Thursday’s second round, where they will face the winner of the first-round game between No. 10-seeded Memphis and No. 3-seeded North Texas.
East Carolina, the No. 7 seed in this year’s championship, picked up its first win in the tournament since 2019 as the Pirates broke open what had been a scoreless game with four runs in the final two innings.
Centerfielder Kanisha Anderson also went 2-for-3 for East Carolina, including an inside-the-park home run in top of the seventh that gave the Pirates a 4-0 lead.
The Pirates had a 7-3 advantage in hits and had five hits over the final two innings. UAB’s best chance to score came in the bottom of the fifth, when Olivia Valbak laced a one-out double to right-center. But Bullis struck out the next batter and got a popup to third to bring the Pirates back to the dugout.
Kirby went the distance for the Blazers, allowing four runs and seven hits with three strikeouts, falling to 8-14. UAB saw its season end with a 23-29 record.
UNT 7, Memphis 1
McKenzie Wagoner worked seven shutout innings of relief and rightfielder Kat Ibarra went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBIs to lead No. 3-seeded North Texas past No. 10-seeded Memphis 7-1 in a first-round game of the 2024 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship Wednesday afternoon. at Wilkins Stadium.
The Mean Green (31-23), playing in its first tournament game as a member of The American, advance to a second-round matchup against East Carolina Thursday at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT.
North Texas broke open a 1-1 game with a four-run fourth inning, sparked by Ibarra’s two-run double over the centerfielder’s head. Lexi Cobb followed two batters later with a hard grounder down the third base line that went for a two-run double of her own to give the Mean Green a 5-1 advantage.
That proved to be more than enough of a cushion for Wagoner, who entered the game with no outs in the top of the first inning. After allowing an RBI single in the first official batter she faced, Wagoner didn’t surrender a hit until the sixth inning, by which time the Mean Green had built a 6-1 lead.
Ibarra was the only player with multiple hits for North Texas, which saw all six of its hits come from the bottom five players in the batting order. Wagoner struck out six and walked three, allowing three hits in seven innings to improve to 13-7 on the year.
Tulsa 2, USF 1
Anneca Anderson’s double to right-center in the bottom of the fifth inning broke a 1-1 tie and lifted Tulsa to a 2-1 win against South Florida in a first-round game of the 2024 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship Wednesday afternoon. at Wilkins Stadium.
The Golden Hurricane (30-22) advances to face either UTSA or Wichita State in a second-round matchup Thursday at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT.
Tulsa was limited to just three hits - all doubles, including two that accounted for the Golden Hurricane’s two runs.
Anderson’s two-bagger came with two outs in the sixth as she laced a 1-1 pitch to the wall to bring home Kailyn Bearpaw, who had led off the inning with a double down the leftfield line.
Tulsa pitcher Maura Moore worked six innings and scattered five hits while allowing one run with two walks and seven strikeouts. Moore improved to 12-7 with the win, while Kylee Nash worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning to register her fourth save.
Payton Dixon took the loss for South Florida, falling to 17-9 after allowing two runs and three hits in six innings with three strikeouts.
Tulsa improved to 14-4 all-time in The American Championship. The 14 wins are the most by any American Athletic Conference team in the tournament’s history.
Wichita State 13, UTSA 0 (5 innings)
Addison Barnard hit a tournament-record three home runs and moved into eighth place on the NCAA’s career chart as No. 4-seeded Wichita State overpowered No. 9-seeded UTSA 13-0 in a first-round game of the 2024 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship Wednesday evening at Wilkins Stadium.
The Shockers (26-21) advance to face Tulsa in a second-round game Thursday at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT.
Barnard hit two-run home runs in the first and second innings, smacked a solo shot in the fourth and added a double to tie her own American Athletic Conference single-game records with three home runs and 14 total bases. Barnard went 4-for-4 with four runs scored and five RBIs and slugged 3.500 for the game.
Barnard’s three round-trippers were the 88th, 89th and 90th in her career, moving her into eighth on the NCAA’s all-time list, tying her with Stacey Nuveman of UCLA (1997-2000). They gave Barnard 21 home runs in 2024 as she registered her third season with 20 or more home runs.
Barnard keyed a Shocker lineup that pounded 10 hits, including seven extra-base hits, in only five innings. The first three players in the batting order combined for 10 runs scored, four home runs and eight RBIs.
The Shockers’ offensive performance overshadowed a strong showing by two Wichita State pitchers, who limited the Roadrunners (15-41) to two hits in five shutout innings. Starter Lauren Howell went 1.2 innings with two strikeouts and one hit allowed, while Alison Cooper (6-8) was credited with the win in relief after she worked 3.1 innings of one-hit ball with three strikeouts.
UNT 9, East Carolina 1 (6 innings)
Kailey Gamble’s three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning sent North Texas to the semifinal round of the American Athletic Conference Championship with a 9-1 win against East Carolina Thursday afternoon at Wilkins Stadium.
The Mean Green (32-23) advance to face No. 2-seeded Charlotte in a semifinal game Friday at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT.
Gamble’s blast came with two outs in the sixth inning and gave the Mean Green the eight-run margin to end the game. She went 2-for-3 with four RBIs to lead a North Texas lineup that laced 12 hits against the Pirates.
Eight of the nine starters in the North Texas lineup had at least one hit, while the top four batters in the order were a combined 8-for-14 with a double, a triple and a home run.
East Carolina had gained an early lead when Taylor Woodring hit a two-out solo home run in the top of the first inning.
That turned out be one of only two hits allowed by Mean Green pitcher Skylar Savage, who struck out three and walked two in six innings to improve to 10-9 on the year.
Wichita State 11, Tulsa 9
Addison Barnard hit two home runs, including the go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning, to lead Wichita State to a wild 11-9 win against Tulsa Thursday afternoon in the second round of the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship at Wilkins Stadium.
The Shockers (27-21) advance to face No. 1-seeded Florida Atlantic in a semifinal game Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT.
Barnard continued her history-making performance at the American Championship on the heels of her 4-for-4, three-home run showing in Wednesday’s opening-round win against Memphis. Through two games of the tournament, Barnard is a combined 6-for-7 with five home runs, a double, six runs scored and 11 RBIs.
Barnard’s two home runs Thursday give her 92 in her career, moving her into a tie for fourth all-time among NCAA Division I players.
Barnard finished 2-for-3 with six RBIs, while Hood and Lainee Brown also had two hits each for the Shockers, who advanced to the semifinal round of The American Championship for the fourth consecutive season. Alex Aguilar was credited with the win in only 0.1 inning of work, improving to 7-4, while Barber, who started the game and worked 6.1 innings, earned the save after she re-entered to close out the sixth and seventh innings.
Tulsa (30-23) had 11 hits on the day as Edwards, Bearpaw and Cole had two hits each.
Friday’s semifinal round will see the tournament’s top two seeds take the field for the first time. No. 2-seeded Charlotte will take on North Texas at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT in the first semifinal before Wichita State faces No. 1-seeded Florida Atlantic at 3:30 ET/2:30 CT.
Charlotte 3, UNT 0
Two Charlotte pitchers combined to register a one-hit shutout as the 49ers took a 3-0 win against North Texas in the semifinal round of the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship Friday at Wilkins Stadium.
The No. 2-seeded 49ers (37-16), who extended their winning streak to a school-record 15 games, advance to the championship final, where they will face either No. 4-seeded Wichita State or No. 1-seeded Florida Atlantic Saturday at noon ET/11 a.m. CT. The championship final will be televised on ESPN2.
Charlotte starter Georgeanna Barefoot, the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, allowed only a two-out single in the top of the third and struck out three with three walks in four innings to improve to 13-2. Sam Gress came on to work three perfect innings in relief with two strikeouts for her third save.
The 49ers finished with seven hits, three for extra bases, as seven players had one hit each.
Charlotte will be playing for its first conference tournament title in Saturday’s American Championship final. The 49ers, who tied for The American’s regular-season crown, had previously won regular season championships in 2023 (in Conference USA) and 2006 (in the Atlantic-10).
Top 2nd: FAU 0, Wichita State 2
Three walks, a plunk, a 2 RBI homer, and an RBI single with just one out in the Top 2nd.
Left the bases juiced…
Yeah, very unfortunate :(
Tough outing for her as she steps off the mound for Ainsley Lambert to check in. Hopefully that sparks a run for the team.
On crack x 10,000
I guess not…7 runs for Wichita State, including a pair of 3-run homers to expand their lead…Pain…
Mid 3rd: FAU 1, Wichita State 11
Top 4th: FAU 2, Wichita State 11
FAU 2, Wichita State 12 (5 innings)
Wichita State’s power surge through the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship continued Friday as the Shockers hit three home runs in a 12-2 win in five innings against top-seeded Florida Atlantic in a semifinal game at Wilkins Stadium.
The No. 4-seeded Shockers (28-21) advanced to the championship final of the tournament against No. 2-seeded Charlotte as Wichita State looks for its second American Athletic Conference title. Saturday’s championship game will be at noon ET/11 a.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2.
Wichita State has outscored its three opponents in the 2024 championship 36-11. The Shockers have nine home runs and have hit .370 and slugged .822 in the tournament, defeating two of their three opponents via the eight-run rule.
Florida Atlantic (41-14) scored single runs in the second and third innings and managed five hits with three doubles, but the Owls were unable to keep the Shockers’ lineup at bay. Starting pitcher Trinity Schlotterbeck took the loss after allowing four runs in two innings, falling to 16-6.
Saturday’s championship game will be the fourth meeting between Wichita State and Charlotte in the 2024 season. The 49ers won two of the first three matchups March 28-30. The 49ers will be looking for their first conference tournament title in program history, while the Shocker seek their fourth after winning the Missouri Valley crown in 1989 and 2016 and the American Athletic Conference championship in 2023.
Charlotte 10, Wichita State 1 (5 innings)
Arianna Rodi hit two home runs, including a backbreaking grand slam in the second inning, as Charlotte won its first conference tournament title in program history with a 10-1 victory against Wichita State Saturday morning in the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship at Wilkins Stadium.
The win sends the 49ers (38-16) to the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive season and the second time in program history. Charlotte will take a 16-game winning streak into the NCAA tournament, trailing only Texas (18) for the longest active streak nationally.
Rodi took the second pitch she saw over the left field wall in the first inning to give Charlotte a 1-0 lead and she broke the game open with a no-doubt grand slam to left in the bottom of the second to stake the 49ers to a 6-0 advantage.
Rodi finished the day 2-for-3 with five RBIs, while Makalah Mitchell and Abigail Knight both went 3-for-3 for the 49ers.
Charlotte pitcher Sam Gress, meanwhile, kept a potent Wichita State lineup at bay through four innings to get the win. Gress allowed four hits and four walks, but had six strikeouts and more importantly, stranded seven runners on base. Wichita State had scored a combined 36 runs with nine home runs in its first three tournament games.
The Shockers put their first two runners on in the top of the first inning when CC Wong reached on a grounder through the left side and the 49ers walked Addison Barnard on four pitches. But Gress froze Taylor Sedlacek on a changeup for a key strikeout before Bailey Urban lined into an inning-ending double play to short to end the threat.
Gress again escaped trouble in the second inning when Sami Hood led off with a bunt single, was sacrificed to second and took third on a wild pitch. But Gress got the text two hitters looking to strand the runner at third. The Shockers again had two runners on with one out in the third, but Gress worked out of it with a strikeout and a weak grounder to first.
After Rodi cleared the bases with her grand slam, Ella Chancey legged out a triple on a ball down the rightfield line and came home on Cori Hoffler’s grounder to short to put the 49ers ahead 7-0. Mikalah Mitchell brought Hoffler home with a grounder up the middle to give Charlotte an 8-0 lead through two innings.
Wichita State’s best chance to extend the game came in the top of the fourth, when the Shockers worked the bases loaded for Wong. Wong laced an 0-1 pitch down the leftfield line, but it landed just foul to erase what could have been a two-run double. Gress got Wong to strike out after a seven-pitch at bat to leave the bases loaded.
Trailing 10-0 in the top of the fourth, Wichita State got on the board on Bailey Urban’s RBI single that brought home Barnard, who was intentionally walked to start the inning. But the 49ers turned to Georgeanna Barefoot, The American Pitcher of the Year, to retired the next three hitters in order to end the game.
Barnard was named as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after she went 7-for-9 with six home runs, 13 RBIs, nine runs scored and a 2.889 slugging percentage in four games. Barnard was walked all three times she came to the plate Saturday.
Charlotte had six players named to the all-tournament team, while Wichita State had four and North Texas had two.