Lost perhaps to some softball observers amidst the excitement of the Women's College World Series was the news that University of Texas coach Connie Clark would not be returning to the Longhorns' dugout next season. Although the situation was portrayed as Clark choosing to resign, it was reported that the university had already decided not to renew her contract . Clark is the only head coach Longhorn softball has ever known. A former WCWS-champion pitcher at Cal State Fullerton and assistant coach at Florida State, Clark was hired to lead the newly created UT softball program that debuted on the field in 1997. Clark enjoyed great early success in Austin, as her Longhorn teams made the WCWS four times in the program's first 10 years (including in 1998, the team's second year of existence). Three of those appearances, in 2003, 2005, and 2006, occurred with pitching phenom Cat Osterman wearing the burnt orange. Clark's overall record at UT would be judged...

Washington scored three in the top of the first, but it's been all Florida State since then. The Seminoles lead 8-3 after four innings. FSU scored two in the bottom of the first and three each in the bottom of the second and fourth innings. Anna Shelnutt ( video ), Elizabeth Mason ( video ), and Jessie Warren ( video ) have all homered so far for Florida State... No further scoring, as Florida State wins 8-3 to capture the WCWS, the first team from the ACC to do so! The Seminoles' power-hitting is well-documented. Meghan King's performance in the circle must also be noted. According to this article from the FSU athletics website, she allowed "only one earned run in an astonishing 34 1/3 innings" during the WCWS. The NCAA gametracker for Game 2 is available here .

In what had been a perfectly chalky postseason -- all 16 national seeds winning their regionals and all top-eight seeds winning their super-regionals -- our WCWS championship round features the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds, Washington and Florida State, respectively. Go figure! Huskies batting in the bottom of the third, looking to score the game's first run(s) with the bases loaded and one out... K for second out... and K to end the threat... Still 0-0 heading into top of fourth... One-out walk and stolen-base give FSU a runner in scoring position... Another walk gives Seminoles runners on first and second... Fly-out for second out... Walk loads the bases... Grounder to SS who tags out runner in transit from second to third ends the half-inning. Still scoreless... Bottom 4: One-out walk gives Huskies a runner... Foul-out to left for second out... K ends inning... Top 5: FSU's Jessie Warren barely gets her bat on pitch at her shoestrings, but drives ball on one hop to the wall for ...

Washington becomes the first team to advance to the WCWS championship round, with a 3-0 victory over Oklahoma. The loss eliminates the Sooners and ends their streak of two straight national championships. Both of Oklahoma's losses in this year's World Series were shutouts at the hands of the Huskies. In the first Husky-Sooner match-up on Thursday, Gabbie Plain pitched 5 2/3 innings for Washington and Taran Alvelo 1 1/3. Today, Alvelo went the distance. UCLA (needing one win to advance) and Florida State (needing two) are now underway. The Bruins are the visitors in this first game... UCLA takes a 1-0 lead in the top of the third... Bruins batting in top of fifth... Unusual play, as liner off FSU pitcher's foot deflects up into the air and caught by third-baseperson for first out. Not totally clear if ball hit the ground before pitcher's foot, but there is no replay review... Sharp single to right gives Seminoles runner on first with none out, bottom of fifth... K f...

It's called Survival Saturday, because every team playing today enters with one loss and hence, you either win to survive our head home. In the first game, Oklahoma leads Arizona State 2-0, as the Sun Devils bat in the bottom of the seventh... ASU gets the leadoff runner on base, as the Sooners' catcher, after picking up a short blooper in front of home plate, has the ball slip out of her hand as she tries to throw to first... A strikeout and a bunt result in a runner on second with two out... Another K ends the game and the Sun Devils' season... Oklahoma wins , ASU eliminated . In the second game, Florida State has just broken things open a bit vs. Georgia. A one-out single in the bottom of the fifth drives home runners from second and third, making it 6-2 Seminoles... 7-2 FSU is your final. Georgia eliminated. The next game, at 6:00 pm Central, will be a rematch of last year's championship series, Oklahoma vs. Florida! One of these teams is going home a lot ear...

Tonight's play features two games, each matching winners from yesterday. In tonight's opener -- just underway -- No. 1 seed Oregon is facing conference-mate and No. 5 seed Washington. Oregon is the visiting team in this game, despite the higher seed. The Ducks swept three games from the Huskies in Seattle (April 27-29), so it would be a major upset if Oregon lost tonight. However, one never knows in a one-game context. Oregon strands a runner at second in the top of the first... Pretty uneventful game until bottom of the fifth. At that point, U-Dub gets leadoff single, followed by botched force-play at second on infield grounder, putting Huskies at the corners with none out... Bunt-attempt popped-up and caught for first out... Walk to load bases... Attempted force at home-plate on grounder to short botched, giving Washington a 1-0 lead. Not sure if Oregon could have gotten runner out at home even with well-executed throw and catch... Single to right drives home two (the seco...