WCWS Predictions

Think you know whose going to win this week at the WCWS? 8 Teams arrive in OKC but only one leaves crowned the National Champion. Find out what it takes to be THAT team!

Way back in January, 290 Division I softball teams started out the season with one goal – to make it to Oklahoma City and win the Women’s College World Series! For 282 of those teams their season is over but that dream is still alive for the remaining 8.

These 8 teams will arrive in OKC after having played a very long season and after battling through Regionals and Super Regionals. Some of those 8 have been on the road for almost 3 weeks and all of them are tired and banged up. But this is what they’ve all worked for and now the chance of a lifetime is before them.

So what will it take to come out victorious? As 2009 National Player of the Year, Danielle Lawrie said in her quote – it’s going to take a lot of fighting, pushing, scratching, clawing, sweating, kicking and screaming – and that’s from someone who most people consider the best pitcher in college softball! Imagine what all the others think it will take? What Danielle’s quote tells me is that she and all of her Huskie teammates are not assuming they will win. In fact, the only thing they are assuming is that they will outfight and outlast anyone they play. It’s kind of like Survivor on the ballfield; outwit, outlast, outplay.

So, want to know who I think will win the 2010 Women’s College World Series? I’m no Miss Cleo so I can’t predict the future and tell you exactly which team will win this year’s WCWS, but I can tell you what that team is going to do in order to win it.

Check out my list of things it will take to win this year’s 2010 Women’s College World Series:

1. Adjust Better – I list this number 1 because I firmly believe that a person’s ability to adjust is the #1 thing they can do not only to survive but to thrive in any situation! This year’s WCWS winner will be no different. They will have to out-adjust their opponent in every situation in order to end up the winner. They will have to adjust better to things like:
   • Umpire calls
   • Illegal Pitches
   • The Strike Zone
   • Weather
   • Mistakes
   • The Draw
   • Extenuating Circumstances

   Winners don’t whine and complain, they simply and quickly adjust!

2. Small Things Better – While we’ll notice and remember all the awesome homeruns and diving catches, it will be the bunts, throws and simple plays that will spell the difference between winning and losing. The team that wins will do all the small things better:
   • Bunt Better
   • Throw Better
   • Field Better
   • Throw Strikes Better
   • Swing at Strikes Better
   • Take Extra Bases Better
   • Make Decisions Better
   • Block Balls Better

   We saw many teams’ in Super Regionals who couldn’t make the simple defensive plays. Errors let your opponents set baserunners, extend innings, and put more pressure on your own team.

3. Capitalize Better – The winner won’t be the team that gets the most runners into scoring position, it will be the team that scores the most runs! Capitalizing on your own opportunities and on your opponents mistakes is what champions do. You don’t need the most opportunities you simply need to capitalize on more than your opponent!
4. Devour Better – I love the word “devour” as it is so much more descriptive than beat, or win. Devour means that there is nothing left when you are finished, and while that can have a rather graphic connotation it’s what champions do to their opponents. They go after the win and don’t want their opponents to have anything left when it’s over. This week’s winner will devour their opponents, and while that might not mean they win by huge margins, it means that they devour their opponent’s spirit to win!
5. Bounce Back Better – It’s rare that a team wins the WCWS undefeated so whoever does win will ultimately have to bounce back from a defeat, and bounce back better than anyone else. Often times that means you’ve got 30 minutes to bounce back as a loss at the wrong time can mean your team plays back-to-back games. While I don’t know which team will win I do know they will bounce back better than the other 7 teams.
6. Luck Out Better – Lady luck matters as sometimes the ball that hits the top of the outfield fence bounces over that fence and sometimes it stays in the park. What determines this, who knows but Luck sure plays a part in the outcome. But, as the saying goes, the harder I work the luckier I get and you can bet that all 8 of these teams have worked hard for their luck this season!
7. Star Power Better – All 8 of these teams have stars but not all the stars will shine this week. The team that wins will no doubt get the best performances from their best players. Real stars shine when the lights sre brightest on them!
8. Step Up Better – Every year somebody is called upon to come in and make a play at a critical point in the game. That player might be a freshman who is new to the WCWS environment or a Sr. who gets little playing time, but you can bet that the winning team will get a clutch performance from someone who has spent most of the season watching the game instead of playing it!
9. Finish Better – And finally, the winning team will finish better than the other 7 teams participating. Once you have a team on the ropes a Champion knows how to finish them off. The winner of this year’s Women’s College World Series will finish all of the following better:
   • Batters
   • Plays
   • Innings
   • Games
   • The WCWS

Do you think you know who will win this year’s NCAA National Championship? Follow along either by watching on ESPN or the internet as history is ready to be made and the one thing we know for sure – someone will be crowned National Champion!

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