1986 NCAA Division I softball season

American college 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

[edit]

1986 Big Ten Conference softball standings |

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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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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 |

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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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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 |

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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

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* 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

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1986 | 31  | 6  | 39  | 36  | 34  | 25  | 0  | 284.2  | 106  | 18  | 11  | 59  | 208  | 0.27  | 0.58

## All America Teams

[edit]

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

First Team

Position | Player | Class | School

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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

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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

[edit]

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.

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NCAA Division I softball seasons

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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[PCT]: Winning percentage