The race for the 2008 Big West softball crown will come down to the final weekend as #19 Long Beach State sits in the pole position of a race that has four teams within three games of the 49ers.
Being in the top spot has given LBSU the easiest path to the conference crown and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that accompanies it. All the 49ers have to do is win one game in its series at home against Pacific to clinch at worst a share of the league title. Two wins gives the championship to Long Beach State outright, a crown they have not won since the 2005 season.
A sweep by the Tigers opens the door for UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Fullerton or Cal Poly to claim the Big West crown.
The Gauchos have a shot if they sweep their series against the Titans and have the 49ers swept by Pacific. In this scenario, UCSB would finish a game ahead of Long Beach State in the standings, handing it the first Big West softball crown in school history. The Gauchos cannot win the title if they finish tied atop the standings with the 49ers.
Cal State Fullerton is pinning its title hopes on a sweep at home against UCSB, a sweep by Pacific over Long Beach State and Cal Poly not winning more than two games against UC Riverside. In this scenario, the Titans and 49ers would finish in a tie for first at 13-8 but CSF would claim the automatic bid to the NCAAs by virtue of its series win over LBSU last weekend.
Cal Poly's hope at claiming back-to-back championships needs a lot of outside support over the weekend. The Mustangs can return to the NCAAs if they sweep UC Riverside, Pacific sweeps Long Beach State and if Cal State Fullerton sweeps UC Santa Barbara. In this scenario, the Mustangs, Titans and 49ers would finish in a three-way deadlock for first at 13-8. Using the three-way tiebreaker system in the conference softball rules, the automatic bid is given to the club that has the best combined record against the other two schools. In this case, Cal Poly's 4-2 record beats out LBSU's 3-3 mark and Cal State Fullerton's 2-4 showing places the Mustangs back in the NCAA’s field of 64 for the second consecutive season.
At 10-8 in conference play, Cal State Northridge can finish tied in the standings with LBSU, Cal Poly and CSF with a sweep over UC Davis, but can not claim the automatic bid because the Matadors would fall in tiebreaker scenarios to the other three clubs.
The NCAA Selection Committee will convene its meeting Sunday, May 11 with its selection of the 64-team NCAA Tournament field to be announced that evening at 7:00 p.m. (PDT) live on ESPNU and ESPNews.