Friday Features: Shorter long on postseason experience, makes WCWS Final Four
By Maurice Patton
Rain didn't ruin
Shorter's shot at a national softball championship, in the team's first appearance at the NCAA Division II Women's College World Series.
But veteran coach
Al Thomas admitted the weather didn't help his team's chances.
"I don't think it just affected us," Thomas said after a pair of losses to in-state rival North Georgia put the finishing touches on a 43-17 campaign for Shorter. "I think it affected everyone."
Eligible for the D-II postseason for the first time after spending the previous two years as a provisional member while transitioning from NAIA, the Lady Hawks' latest season was a continuation of their well-established winning ways.
Shorter advanced to the NAIA World Series seven straight years, placing fourth or better on four occasions and winning the 2012 national title. In each of the last two years, the team reached the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) finals, winning last year's tournament.
"We felt like we could compete," Thomas said regarding this year's run. "The expectation for our team and our followers was that we had an opportunity if we could capitalize on it."
Seeded fourth in the Gulf South Conference tournament, Shorter upset top-seeded host Valdosta State and avenged a loss to North Alabama with a pair of victories for the championship. In the NCAA South Regional at Valdosta, the Lady Hawks defeated GSC rivals Alabama-Huntsville and the Lady Blazers twice.
A sweep of visiting Florida Tech in a best-of-3 super regional matchup punched the team's ticket to Oklahoma City and ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
"We were excited," Thomas said. "When you join Division II, you want to go play in the Women's College World Series. Our first time in Oklahoma City, on the big stage, was such a thrill. ASA Stadium in Oklahoma City is like Cooperstown for baseball, and we got to experience that."
After wins in the opening two days of the tournament -- a 4-2 victory over St. Mary's (Texas) and a 5-0 triumph over the University of Indianapolis -- torrential rains Saturday forced postponements and a venue change to Oklahoma Christian University in nearby Edmond.
"We got five inches of rain in four hours," Thomas said. "It flooded the stadium field, the locker rooms, the training rooms. There was water standing on the fields next to the stadium."
On Sunday, at Oklahoma Christian, the Lady Hawks dropped an 8-2 decision to North Georgia for their first loss of the tourney. Hours later, a 7-5 loss to the eventual champion ended their title hopes.
The outcome didn't make Thomas any less appreciative of the WCWS or his team's performance.
"It's a first-class event," he said. "It's organized; we didn't want for anything. Everything was laid out for us. (Alabama-Huntsville coach) Les Stuedeman was one of the coordinators and she was assigned to us. Without her, it would have been difficult. She did a phenomenal job for us and our conference. Les went above and beyond the call of duty.
"Over the past six years, in five of those years a Gulf South Conference team (UAH or Valdosta State) has either won or played for a national championship, so to be included with those teams is fabulous. We took pride in being the Gulf South representative. We return all but three seniors (pitcher Maddie Bray, catcher Paige Rowland and leftfielder Maggie Meacham). We hope to be there again at the end.
"For our first year of eligibility, it's better than falling on our face. We were fourth in the conference (during the regular season), and we got hot at the end. It speaks highly for our kids and our community, and it's just a thrill across the board for everyone."
Follow Patton on Twitter at:
@mopatton_sports. E-mail comments to:
mopattonsports@gmail.com.
Join in on the conversation using #FridayFeatures on
Twitter and
Facebook.
Past Friday Features
11/07/2014 - NCAA Leader Chloe Richards Finds a Home at UNA.
11/14/2014 - Revival of a Rivalry.
11/21/2014 - VSU's Margaret Stauffer Finds Strength in Team, Family.
11/28/2014 - Union Off and Running.
12/05/2014 - UWA Coach Ray Stanfield Pushes Cross Country Teams to Top.
12/12/2014 - CBU Men's Basketball Making Noise.
12/19/2014 - Dickey Says UWG Football 'Right on Schedule'.
12/26/2014 - Youngsters Lead UWF Women.
1/02/2015 - UAH's Owens Rebounds From Car Crash With New Appreciation for Life, Basketball.
1/09/2015 - Freshmen Building Base for Lee Women's Success.
1/16/2015 - UWA's Chad Toocheck Overcame Addiction Lows to Reach Highs on Field.
1/23/2015 - Basketball Court at Delta State Named For a 'Legend'.
1/30/2015 - Shorter Basketball Coaches Celebrate Milestones Victories.
2/06/2015 - Union Outfielder Unfazed by Physical Challenges.
2/13/2015 - VSU's Courtney Albritton Rewriting Record Books.
2/20/2015 - Campbell Leaves 'Mark' as Union Women's Hoops Coach.
2/27/2015 - UNA's Spehr Leads From 'Down Under'.
3/06/2015 - Title Hopes For DSU Boosted By Triple Threat.
3/13/2015 - UAH Coach Les Stuedeman Lifts Chargers to Softball Greatness.
3/20/2015 - "Snow" Start Sidelines CBU Early.
3/27/2015 - Shorter's Ayana Walker Runs Her Way Into History.
4/03/2015 - Impairment Doesn't Slow West Florida Swimmer.
4/10/2015 - Early Lessons Boost UWG's Tyler Gunnin.
4/17/2015 - Delta State Football Hopes (Spring) Practice Makes Perfect.
4/24/2015 - 'High Energy' Fernando Gonzalez Helps Pitch UWA to the Top.
5/01/2015 - Union Trio Makes Runners' Pilgrimage to Boston.
5/08/2015 - UNA's Kyle Conkle Uses Social Media to Reach Huge Audience.
5/15/2015 - CBU AD Looks to Build on First Year From the Ground Up.
5/22/2015 - UAH Engineer Luke Mould Earns Top Honors On, Off Field.