2017 American Athletic Conference softball tournament
The 2017 American Athletic Conference softball tournament was held at the East Carolina Softball Complex on the campus of the East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, from May 10 through May 13, 2017.[2] The event determined the champion for the American Athletic Conference for the 2017 NCAA Division I softball season. Top-seeded Tulsa won the Tournament for the second year in a row and earned the American Athletic Conference's automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I softball tournament.[3][4]
| Teams | 7 |
|---|---|
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Finals site |
|
| Champions | Tulsa (2nd title) |
| Winning coach | John Bargfeldt (2nd title) |
| MVP | Emily Watson (Tulsa) |
| Television | ESPN American Digital Network |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 22 Tulsa †‡y | 15 | – | 3 | .833 | 37 | – | 15 | .712 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Houston | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 28 | – | 24 | .538 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCF | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 29 | – | 22 | .569 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Florida | 9 | – | 8 | .529 | 32 | – | 23 | .582 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memphis | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 28 | – | 26 | .519 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Carolina | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 25 | – | 29 | .463 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UConn | 3 | – | 14 | .176 | 17 | – | 30 | .362 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 23, 2017[1] Rankings from Today/NFCA Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Entering the Tournament, Tulsa was defending champion, while UCF had won in 2015. Former member Louisville won the first Tournament in 2014.
Format and seeding
The American's seven teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage from the round-robin regular season. They then played a single-elimination tournament with the top seed receiving a single bye.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulsa | 15 | 3 | .833 | — | 1 |
| Houston | 12 | 6 | .667 | 3 | 2 |
| UCF | 11 | 7 | .611 | 4 | 3 |
| South Florida | 9 | 8 | .529 | 5.5 | 4 |
| Memphis | 7 | 11 | .389 | 8 | 5 |
| East Carolina | 5 | 13 | .278 | 10 | 6 |
| UConn | 3 | 14 | .176 | 11.5 | 7 |
Results
Tournament
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Tulsa | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Memphis | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | South Florida | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Memphis | 7 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Tulsa | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Houston | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | UCF | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | East Carolina | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | East Carolina | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Houston | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Houston | 7 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | UConn | 0 | ||||||||||||
Game results
| Date | Game | Winner | Score | Loser |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11 | Game 1 | (6) East Carolina | 4–2 | (3) UCF |
| Game 2 | (2) Houston | 7–0 | (7) UConn | |
| May 12 | Game 3 | (5) Memphis | 7–0 | (4) South Florida |
| Game 4 | (2) Houston | 6–0 | (6) East Carolina | |
| May 12 | Game 5 | (1) Tulsa | 6–0 | (5) Memphis |
| May 13 | Game 6 | (1) Tulsa | 1–0 | (2) Houston |
All-Tournament Team
The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team.[4]
| Name | School |
|---|---|
| Kacie Oshiro | East Carolina |
| Meredith Burroughs | East Carolina |
| Lindsey Stickrod | Memphis |
| Molly Smith | Memphis |
| Savannah Heebner | Houston |
| Sarah Barker | Houston |
| Maya Thomas | Houston |
| Kaylin Crumpton | Houston |
| Maggie Withee | Tulsa |
| Tori Stafford | Tulsa |
| Morgan Neal | Tulsa |
| Emily Watson | Tulsa |
Most Outstanding Player
Emily Watson was named Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Watson was a pitcher for Tulsa.[4]
References
- "Standings & Leaders". American Athletic Conference. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
- "2017 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship Bracket Announced". The American. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
- "2017 Softball Championship Central". American Athletic Conference. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- "Tulsa Defeats Houston, 1-0, Wins American 2017 Softball Championship". American Athletic Conference. May 13, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2021.