Postseason: Survival Of The Fittest By Hallie Wilson

Postseason: Survival Of The Fittest By Hallie Wilson

Hallie Wilson pens the ultimate rally cry for teams entering the NCAA softball postseason tournament.

May 15, 2018 by Chez Sievers
Postseason: Survival Of The Fittest By Hallie Wilson

By Hallie Wilson @halwil5


On college softball’s day of reckoning, teams are judged and ranked on based on their perceived complete body of work. Selection Sunday is the first day of the NCAA postseason—it is the first cut. Survive the first cut and advance to the postseason. 

Teams that train, compete, and earn a spot in the tournament all have the same opportunity to win a national championship. Nevermind where you end up, who hosts, or how far you travel: The only things that matter are survival and advancement.

Every team grinds all year. Every team balances full academic schedules while traveling every other weekend. All colleges have early workouts and hours of practice and put in extra work. But what separates the best from the rest is the way they perform during these three weeks. 

Once the regular season is over, conference championships and regular-season stats are wiped away. These three weeks will define how teams are remembered, how champions are made, and how legends are born. 

True competitors live for the chance to separate themselves from the pack. To lead the charge, show up, and perform. The postseason highlights big-game players and big-game teams. These are the ones who practice like the play, who are consistent no matter the situation, and who will put the team, the school, and the city on their back and clutch up. 

This year promises to be as eventful as any with early inter-conference matchups, longtime rivalries, and guaranteed David vs. Goliath showdowns. This month is a time when anything can happen, like season-ending walk-off home runs in the seventh inning with two outs and two strikes against the reigning national champions or a 10th-seeded team grinding all the way back to a repeat victory. 

The postseason always identifies a hero, whether it is a dominant performance like Lauren Haeger in 2015 or an underdog coming up clutch for a pinch-hit grand slam like Jazlyn Lunceford in 2009. Anyone can step up and anyone can fall. The work is done, now we play like it’s your last or I promise it will be. 

Softball is on its largest stage during the next three weeks. During which we get to watch as the best of college softball either rise up and conquer or surrender to the pressure. So, grab your popcorn, because it’s finally arrived. The road to the Women’s College World Series begins here.