1983 National Collegiate Slow-pitch Softball Championship

The 1983 National Collegiate Women's Slow-pitch Softball Championship was held in Graham, North Carolina, near Raleigh, on May 5–7. This was the first year after the demise of the AIAW, which had conducted the previous two national title tournaments in 1981 and 1982. The Amateur Softball Association stepped in to fill the void by organizing the 1983 tournament and another in 1984. Those four years were the only time that major college slow-pitch teams competed for national collegiate titles, although small NAIA schools and junior colleges also conducted their own slow-pitch championships into the 1990s. The AIAW had lost its struggle with the NCAA, which vanquished the women's collegiate athletic organization after a year of dual crowning of champions in women's sports. Although the NCAA began sponsoring fast-pitch softball in 1982, it opted not to organize slow-pitch.[1]

Teams

The double-elimination tournament included 13 teams, with the top five seeded in the order shown:

  1. Florida
  2. Florida State
  3. East Carolina
  4. South Florida
  5. Northern Kentucky

Fourth-seeded South Florida fought through the losers' bracket after losing its third game. South Florida won five in a row after that, including two wins in the final against two-time defending champion Florida State. The final if-necessary game went an extra inning to end in a 4-3 South Florida win, giving the team a 7-1 record in the tournament. Ellen Peterson of South Florida was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. This was to be the last slow-pitch game ever played by the Florida State Lady Seminoles, who switched to fast-pitch the following year. South Florida successfully defended its championship in 1984.[2][3]

Bracket
1st Round[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]   2nd Round   3rd Round   4th Round   Semifinals   Finals
Florida (bye)  
    Florida 4  
Georgia Southern 0   Western Carolina 3  
Western Carolina 4       Florida W  
South Florida W       South Florida L  
North Carolina A&T L     South Florida 8
Capital University 0   North Carolina–Charlotte 1  
North Carolina–Charlotte 12       Florida 3  
East Carolina (bye)     Florida State 8    
    East Carolina W  
West Florida 5   West Florida L  
Cleveland State 4       East Carolina 2
Florida State (bye)       Florida State 3  
    Florida State 13
Mississippi University for Women L   Northern Kentucky 4  
Northern Kentucky W  
  Florida State 2 3  
  South Florida 11 4[lower-alpha 1]  
n/a   Western Carolina 10  
  Mississippi University for Women 0  
    Western Carolina 2   Western Carolina 3  
    North Carolina–Charlotte 0   East Carolina 4  
n/a   North Carolina–Charlotte 4
  Cleveland State 1  
    East Carolina 1   South Florida 5  
    South Florida 8   Florida 3  
North Carolina A&T ?   West Florida or Northern Kentucky ?  
Capital University ?   winner of North Carolina A&T vs Capital University ?  
    (?) ?   (?) L
    (?) ?   South Florida W  
n/a   Northern Kentucky or West Florida ?
  Georgia Southern ?  
  1. 8 innings

Ranking
Place School WCWS Record
1st South Florida 7-1
2nd Florida State 3-2
3rd Florida 2-2
4th East Carolina 2-2
5th Western Carolina 3-2
(?) 2-2 or 3-2
7th North Carolina–Charlotte 2-2
(?) 2-2 or 1-2
9th (?) 1-2
(?) 1-2 or 0-2
11th loser of (North Carolina A&T/Capital) 0-2
Cleveland State 0-2
Mississippi University for Women 0-2

The placings of Capital University, Georgia Southern, North Carolina A&T, Northern Kentucky and West Florida depend on the game results that have not been retrieved.

See also
See also: AIAW Champions § Slowpitch Softball, 1981 AIAW Slow-pitch Softball Tournament, and 1982 AIAW Slow-pitch Softball Tournament

References
  1. "Fast-pitch softball replacing slow-pitch in Southeast". THE NCAA NEWS. Mission, Kansas: National Collegiate Athletic Association. March 7, 1984. p. 10. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  2. Greenberg, Mark I. (2006). University of South Florida: The First Fifty Years, 1956-2006. Western Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications, Western Libraries and the Learning Commons. University of South Florida. p. 95. Retrieved 2017-03-14. After many winning seasons, women’s slow-pitch softball won USF its first national title in 1983 when it bested Florida State University in the American (sic) Softball Association Tournament. They won again the next year before joining the NCAA’s fast-pitch league in 1985.
  3. "'Remember When' at USF". Retrieved 2017-03-14. 1985 ... USF Women’s Softball Team after winning two National Slow Pitch Softball Championships switches to fast pitch softball.
  4. "Four Florida Teams In Last Tournament". Ocala Star-Banner. Ocala, Florida. May 5, 1983. p. 7B. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  5. "Lady Brahmans Win Title". Ocala Star-Banner. Ocala, Florida. May 10, 1983. p. 6C. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  6. 2013 Cleveland State Softball. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland State University. 2013. p. 36. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  7. "FSU plays for NIT softball title". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. May 7, 1983. p. 3C. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  8. "Softball". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, North Carolina. May 6, 1983. p. 27. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  9. "FSU places 2nd in softball". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. May 8, 1983. p. 6F. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  10. "Softball". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, North Carolina. May 7, 1983. p. 13. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  11. "CSU women's softball falls". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cleveleand, Ohio. May 7, 1983. p. 3-E. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
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