Softball faces host Louisville in Big East semis

Not an ideal semifinal matchup for USF softball this afternoon. After edging eighth-seeded Providence 8-6 on Thursday night, the Bulls are two wins away from a conference championship. From a mental standpoint, today's semifinal might be tougher than Saturday's title game. Why?

-- The Bulls are facing fourth-seeded Louisville on the Cardinals' home field.

-- Louisville was the only Big East team to sweep the Bulls this season, getting 11-0 and 3-2 wins in Tampa just two weeks ago.

-- Louisville eliminated the Bulls in last year's conference tournament, then went on to win the league title.

And if you're planning on following the game -- on TV on CBS College Sports -- it looks like the Bulls and Cardinals will meet around 4 p.m., an hour earlier than originally scheduled. The Bulls have a few things to overcome, but I could also be trotting out the obligatory "It's hard to beat a team three times in the same season" reasoning you get in any postseason meeting like this.

As far as starting pitching, will the Bulls go with senior Courtney Mosch, who brought home the go-ahead run with a double Thursday night? Or bring back freshman Capri Catalano, who gave up six earned runs but retired the final nine Providence batters in order?

Hey, want proof of how West Coast-dominated the sport of college softball is? The NCAA selection show is live on ESPNU on Sunday night ... at 10 p.m. ET ... Thanks, NCAA.

-- The AJC's Tony Barnhart titles his blog Mr. College Football, so there's a certain reverence mandated for his preseason top 30 -- so many would stop at 25, but not Mr. College Football. Anyway, USF doesn't make the cut, though Bulls fans have the tiny consolation of being among  "ten who almost made it." Barnhart has Georgia No. 1, with four Big East schools ranked: West Virginia is No. 9, Pitt and coach "Dan Wannstedt" No. 18, Connecticut No. 26 and Cincinnati No. 30. Alabama and Florida State, both 7-6 last season, impressively crack the top 30. Seeing USF fifth or sixth (Rutgers also "almost made it") has me curious where the Bulls might show up in the preseason league poll in July -- my guess right now is fourth, unless Cincy's Ben Mauk gets the Supreme Court to let him play another year.

Comments

[Tad]

I don't get why Rutgers, UCONN, and Pitt are getting all the love? Rutgers plays seven homes games these year. That's 7! this is down from last year's 8. Same with UCONN, although UCONN will have to play 4 away conference games this year. Maybe USF should start scheduling all it's nonconference games at home, just to guarentee wins like UCONN and Rutgers did last year. Play more teams like Tennessee-Martin and Hofstra. Cincy doesn't even have a QB behind Mauk, and can anyone name their RBs? I don't get it.

Hope USF is taking note.

[Mike Lakeland]

Okay, forgive me for being stupid (and asking a stupid question), but I thought that softball already won the Big East championship. Does softball have to win the tournament to be the "official" Big East champs?

"Me lost. That unpossible!"

[G.A.]

Softball won the regular-season title. As in basketball, there's that, and then there's a postseason conference tournament, the champion of which gets an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. USF should be going to NCAAs either way, but it'd be a big step if USF can win the tournament. ...

[Mike Lakeland]

Ahhh, now I understand. Just one more question though:

If USF loses in the Big East tournament and someone else wins it, do they become "runner up" or something of that nature?

Go Bulls Softball!!!

[G.A.]

USF can always count itself as regular-season champ. As a general rule, people seem to recognize the tournament champs more often than regular-season champs.

[Griggsy]

"unless Cincy's Ben Mauk gets the Supreme Court to let him play another year."

Nice! LOL

[nybullsfan]

They beat UL 2-1 and will play Depaul tomorrow at 5PM on CBS College Sports. Go Bulls!
http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=1468261

[xr4ti_007]

The national writers love WVU, Pitt, Cincy, & UConn, but why? WVU deserves all the praise they receive. They have been the class of the conference with multiple BCS titles, but the flop against Pitt is unforgivable. I think RR had his foot halfway out the door because they seemed very tight and unemotional. The other three are a mystery. Pitt has done nothing with all the talent they have under Wanny. The guy is a stiff and if he wasn’t a Pitt alum, he’d be in the broadcast booth. Cincy was been solid the last few seasons, but Kelly did not impress me as a coach. They were +6 in TO’s against the Bulls and needed a no-call PI on the last play to win. Who fakes a 45-yard FG with less than a minute to play after having a shorter FG blocked the drive before? Cincy also had poor clock management late, and the Bulls should have never had chance except for Kelly’s poor decisions. They may start the season with the quarterback who quit Notre Dame after being benched in the first half of the first game. He may talent, but lacks any heart. UConn has had one good season where every thing went right early, and then the real Huskies played the last four games. 1-3 and outscored 117-34 in loses and a 30-7 win over hapless Syracuse sandwiched in. I know the Bulls ended the season with a huge thud, but being picked behind anybody but WVU is ridiculous. Leavitt will use these slights to form an “us against the world” attitude again this year. I believe the disappointment of last season has taught JL, the coaches, and the players a valuable lesson. Join the Stampede! Go Bulls!