•There are simply just too many good teams here at the West Regional.
•Four games have been decided by one run so far, including last night’s barnburner between Linfield and Texas-Tyler that went 10 dramatic innings.
•All three California entries have been eliminated. The four teams remaining – Linfield, East Texas Baptist, Louisiana College and Texas-Tyler – have taken turns being ranked No. 1 in Division III this season and any of the four will prove to be a solid West Region representative in the NCAA Finals.
•In a team meeting following the loss to Texas-Tyler, Coach Jackson Vaughan said Linfield is still very much in control and the regional championship will come down to which of the four remaining teams “plays the best the rest of the way.”
•During the meeting, each player was asked to express their personal reasons for wanting the season to continue. Most commented that the team had simply worked to hard and sacrificed too much to let an opportunity go to the Finals once more go down the drain.
•As most teams have used up the arms of their No. 1 pitchers (Linfield’s Brittany MIller has already thrown 12 innings in less than 24 hours), depth of each team’s pitching staff becomes a make-or-break factor. The Wildcats’ Kendra Strahm, Samanatha Van Noy and Claire Velaski all have earned playoff wins in their career and will need to be at their best when called upon.
