UW Softball
Women's College World Series preview

AP, 2003 Ashley Boek was dominant in the Huskies' regional.

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What: NCAA softball championship.

Who: Eight regional winners. Seeds, in order: 1. Oklahoma; 2. UCLA; 3. LSU; 4. Florida State; 5. California; 6. Michigan; 7. Stanford; 8. Washington.

Regional surprise: The top eight teams in the nation were given the top seeds in their regionals. Seven of the eight advanced; No. 1-ranked Arizona lost to the eventual winner of its regional, Oklahoma. The Sooners, ranked 21st, advanced to the World Series as the No. 1 seed. The Huskies won four straight games in Athens, Ga., last weekend to win the No. 8 regional.

Huskies in the World Series: Washington is making its second straight appearance and seventh overall. Last season, the Huskies defeated Oklahoma before losing one-run games to Arizona and UCLA to tie for fifth place. The Huskies finished second in 1996 and 1999.

Familiar faces: The Huskies are one of four Pac-10 teams in the World Series. Washington has faced six of the seven other World Series teams this season, going 4-10 in those games. Washington defeated Oklahoma 1-0 in eight innings and took three of four from UCLA. UW lost four games to California, three to Stanford and one game each to LSU and Florida State. The Huskies did not play Michigan.

Defending champion: UCLA won last year, beating Cal 1-0 in nine innings in the championship game.

Big guns: Pitching rules in the World Series. This year's best:

• Keira Goerl, UCLA: Won all four games in UCLA's regional.

• Jessica van der Linden, Florida State: In 23 innings of work against Oregon over two days in the regionals, van der Linden, who recently was featured in Sports Illustrated, surrendered only one run on six hits with 26 strikeouts.

• Kristina Thorson, California: Her region's most outstanding player, finishing with a 4-0 record, throwing 28 scoreless innings and allowing just six hits. Struck out 30 and walked just four.

• Dana Sorensen, Stanford: All-American pitched a two-hitter in the regional final; named its most valuable player.

• Ashley Boek, Washington: Was 4-0 with an 0.53 ERA in the regional, striking out 25.

— Seattle Times staff

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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