Arizona (UofA) is set to compete in its 38th NCAA postseason out of the last 39 held. The Wildcats will begin their journey on the road in the Durham Regional, with hopes of reaching their 26th Women’s College World Series.
The Arizona Wildcats have a strong regional record, having only lost four times in 37 attempts. Their regional record stands at 107-14. If Arizona wins in Durham, they would advance to Super Regionals for the 18th time in 20 attempts. They would then play Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Durham Regional Opponents
Arizona’s path involves overcoming the 12th-seeded Duke Blue Devils, the Marshall Thundering Herd, and the Howard Bison.
Duke is the No. 12 overall seed and will host through the regionals. Duke was assigned a team from the 21-24 “bucket.” In the quadrant system, Duke is a No. 3 seed, and Arizona is a No. 6 seed. Duke is the No. 1 seed in the regional.
- Duke ended with the No. 12 RPI.
- It is No. 14 in both KPI and DSR.
Duke’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Duke has a staff ERA of 4.52 and a WHIP of 1.64. KK Mathis has an ERA of 4.32, but doesn’t have enough innings to qualify. Cassidy Curd has a 4.37 ERA. Curd’s 1.54 WHIP is also the best of a pitcher who has met the IP mark of the NCAA.
The Blue Devils have hit 96 home runs this year. Tyrina Jones leads the way with 20. They have three more in double figures. They have three players hitting .424 or better, with Jessica Oakland in front at .465. Oakland is one of two.
Regional Seeding System Explained
The NCAA Selection Committee broke down the top 32 seeds. The top 16 would be hosts through the regionals and super regionals. Seeds No. 17-32 would be in “buckets” and assigned based on competitiveness and geography.
The bucket of 17-20 seeds would be distributed to seeds 13-16 with an eye to geography and competitive balance. Next comes seeds 21-24, which were distributed to teams in the 9-12 range. Seeds ranked 25-28 went to face the 5-8 seeds. The top four seeds were assigned teams from the 29-32 “bucket.”
Each regional also has seeding. The host is the No. 1 seed in the regional. The team from the 17-32 seeds that was assigned to that site is the No. 2 seed. The No. 4 seed in the regional faces the No. 1 while the No. 3 seed goes up against the No. 2.
The Wildcats will need to overcome these challenges if they hope to advance to the Super Regionals.