1986 NCAA Division I softball season

1986 NCAA Division I softball season
1986 NCAA Division I softball season
Defending Champions	UCLA
Tournament
Women's College World Series
Champions	Cal State Fullerton (1st title)
Runners-up	Texas A&M (3rd WCWS Appearance)
Winning Coach	Judi Garman (1st title)
Seasons
	← 1985 1987 →

The 1986 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 1986. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 1986 NCAA Division I softball tournament and 1986 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held in Omaha, Nebraska at Seymour Smith Park, ended on May 25, 1986.

Conference standings

1986 Big Ten Conference softball standings
v t e	Conf						Overall
Team	W		L		T	PCT	W		L		T	PCT
Indiana ‍†‍‍^y	15	–	9	–	0	.625	45	–	18	–	0	.714
Northwestern ‍†‍‍^y	15	–	9	–	0	.625	33	–	17	–	0	.660
Minnesota ‍†‍‍	15	–	9	–	0	.625	28	–	23	–	0	.549
Michigan State ‍‍‍	14	–	10	–	0	.583	29	–	20	–	0	.592
Michigan ‍‍‍	12	–	12	–	0	.500	32	–	17	–	0	.653
Iowa ‍‍‍	10	–	14	–	0	.417	26	–	19	–	0	.578
Ohio State ‍‍‍	3	–	21	–	0	.125	12	–	33	–	1	.272

† – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament ^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8] Rankings from Coaches' Poll

1986 Pacific Coast Athletic Association softball standings
v t e	Conf						Overall
Team	W		L		T	PCT	W		L		T	PCT
Cal State Fullerton ‍†‍‍^y	22	–	5	–	1	.804	57	–	9	–	1	.858
Long Beach State ‍‍‍^y	18	–	9	–	0	.667	39	–	18	–	0	.684
Cal Poly Pomona ‍‍‍^y	18	–	9	–	1	.661	36	–	19	–	1	.652
Pacific ‍‍‍^y	17	–	10	–	0	.630	34	–	18	–	1	.651
UC Santa Barbara ‍‍‍	11	–	17	–	0	.393	20	–	30	–	0	.400
UNLV ‍‍‍	10	–	17	–	0	.370	18	–	32	–	0	.360
San Diego State ‍‍‍	6	–	21	–	0	.222	22	–	36	–	0	.379
Hawaii ‍‍‍	7	–	21	–	0	.250	9	–	27	–	0	.250

† – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament

1986 Southland Conference softball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Southwestern Louisiana ‍†‍‍	10	–	2	.833	30	–	19	.612
Texas–Arlington ‍‍‍	10	–	2	.833	25	–	25	.500
Lamar ‍‍‍	8	–	4	.667	16	–	19	.457
McNeese State ‍‍‍	6	–	6	.500	19	–	24	.442
North Texas ‍‍‍	5	–	7	.417	9	–	25	.265
Northeast Louisiana ‍‍‡‍	3	–	9	.250	17	–	32	.347
Arkansas State ‍‍‍	0	–	12	.000	3	–	28	.097

† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 20, 1986^[10] Rankings from Coaches' Poll

Women's College World Series

The 1986 NCAA Women's College World Series took place May 21–25, 1986 in Omaha, Nebraska.^[11]

Upper round 1

Upper round 2

Upper final

Semifinals

Final

Northwestern

0

California

2

California

0

Cal State Fullerton

3

Cal State Fullerton

1⁹

Long Beach State

0

Cal State Fullerton

3

Texas A&M

0

Texas A&M

1¹⁰

Cal State Fullerton

3⁸

Creighton

0

Texas A&M

6

Indiana

1

Indiana

0

Indiana

1¹⁰

Louisiana Tech

0

Cal State Fullerton

3

Lower round 1

Lower round 2

Texas A&M

0

Indiana

2¹⁰

Northwestern

0

Long Beach State

0

Texas A&M

1¹⁰

Long Beach State

1¹⁰

California

0

California

1⁸

Creighton

4¹³

Creighton

0

Louisiana Tech

3

Season leaders

Batting

Batting average: .453 – Jackie Nietopski, Niagara Purple Eagles
RBIs: 41 – Debbi Oraczewski, Towson Tigers, Jeanne Weinsheim, San Diego Toreros & Melanie Marshall, Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
Home runs: 10 – Debbi Oraczewski, Towson Tigers

Pitching

Wins: 35-9 – Stacey Johnson, Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters
ERA: 0.18 (4 ER/153.1 IP) – Connie Clark, Cal State Fullerton Titans
Strikeouts: 370 – Amy Unterbrink, Indiana Hoosiers

Records

NCAA Division I season WHIP: 0.36 (58 H+13 BB/195.0 IP) – Virginia Augusta, North Carolina Tar Heels^[12]

NCAA Division I single game triples: 3 – Lynna Hallick, Northwestern Wildcats; April 18, 1986

Junior class perfect games: 3 – Virginia Augusta, North Carolina Tar Heels

Team single game triples: 7 – UMass Minutewomen; March 17, 1986

Awards

Honda Sports Award Softball:

Susan LeFebvre, Cal State Fullerton Titans^[13]^[14]

YEAR	W	L	GP	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
1986	31	6	39	36	34	25	0	284.2	106	18	11	59	208	0.27	0.58

All America Teams

The following players were members of the first All-American Teams.^[15]

First Team

Position	Player	Class	School
P	Stacey Johnson	SR.	Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters
	Amy Unterbrink	SR.	Indiana Hoosiers
	Susan LeFebvre	SR.	Cal State Fullerton Titans
C	Alicia Seegert	JR.	Michigan Wolverines
1B	Kathy Dyer	SR.	New Mexico Lobos
2B	Alison Stowell	SO.	Cal Poly Pomona Broncos
3B	Cindy Cooper	SR.	Texas A&M Aggies
SS	Leslie Kanter	SR.	USF Bulls
OF	Kathy Escarcega	JR.	Arizona State Sun Devils
	Chenita Rogers	JR.	Cal State Fullerton Titans
	Karleen Moore	SR.	Indiana Hoosiers
UT	Tracy Bunge	SR.	Kansas Jayhawks

Second Team

Position	Player	Class	School
P	Lori Sippel	SO.	Nebraska Cornhuskers
	Melanie Parrent	SO.	Fresno State Bulldogs
	Rhonda Wheatley	JR.	Cal Poly Pomona Broncos
C	Kelly Downs	JR.	Kansas Jayhawks
1B	Gena Strang	SO.	Fresno State Bulldogs
2B	Lori Richins	JR.	Nebraska Cornhuskers
3B	Mary Hammen	SO.	Oklahoma State Cowgirls
SS	Kelly Smith	JR.	Utah State Aggies
OF	Sheila Connelly	JR.	Kansas Jayhawks
	Kris Schmidt	SO.	Missouri Tigers
	Sally Mahar	SR.	UMass Minutewomen
UT	Barb Drake	JR.	Minnesota Golden Gophers

References

^ "Big Ten Softball Standings" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
^ 1986 Indiana Season
^ 1986 Iowa Season
^ 1986 Michigan Season
^ 1986 Michigan State Season
^ 1986 Minnesota Season
^ 1986 Northwestern Season
^ 1986 Ohio State Season
^ 2020 Softball Record Book (PDF). Big West Conference. p. 2. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
^ "Southland Softball" (PDF). Southland Conference. p. 13. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
^ "1986 Women's College World Series". Ncaa.org. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
^ "Division I Softball Records" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
^ "PAST HONDA SPORTS AWARD WINNERS FOR SOFTBALL". Collegiatewomensportsawards.com. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
^ "FINAL 1986 Women's Softball Statistics Report" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
^ "1986 NSCA Division I All-America Teams". Nfca.org. Retrieved August 1, 2020.

[1] "Big Ten Softball Standings" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Retrieved July 5, 2020.

[2] 1986 Indiana Season

[3] 1986 Iowa Season

[4] 1986 Michigan Season

[5] 1986 Michigan State Season

[6] 1986 Minnesota Season

[7] 1986 Northwestern Season

[8] 1986 Ohio State Season

[9] 2020 Softball Record Book (PDF). Big West Conference. p. 2. Retrieved October 14, 2021.

[10] "Southland Softball" (PDF). Southland Conference. p. 13. Retrieved February 16, 2024.

[11] "1986 Women's College World Series". Ncaa.org. Retrieved July 31, 2020.

[12] "Division I Softball Records" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved August 1, 2020.

[13] "PAST HONDA SPORTS AWARD WINNERS FOR SOFTBALL". Collegiatewomensportsawards.com. Retrieved August 1, 2020.

[14] "FINAL 1986 Women's Softball Statistics Report" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved August 1, 2020.

[15] "1986 NSCA Division I All-America Teams". Nfca.org. Retrieved August 1, 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

v t e NCAA Division I softball seasons
AIAW era	1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982
NCAA era	1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024