Here's my annual list of top teams' senior losses from this year's squad and top returnees for next year... WORLD SERIES TEAMS ARIZONA STATE Seniors: Katie Burkhart (P), Mindy Cowles (IF), Rhiannon Baca (SS), Jackie Vasquez (OF) Key returnees: Kaitlin Cochran (OF, Jr.), Krista Donnenwirth (SS-3B, Fr.) (year of school shown is from past season) TEXAS A&M Seniors: Megan Gibson (P), Amanda Scarborough (P), Jami Lobpries (IF-OF), Jamie Hinshaw (3B) Key returnees: Erin Glasco (C, Jr.), Kelsey Spittler (OF, Fr.), Natalie Villarreal (IF, Fr.), Alex Reynolds (DP-1B, So.), Holly Ridley (RF, Jr.) FLORIDA Seniors: Mary Ratliff (OF) Key returnees: Kim Waleszonia (UT, Jr.), Stacey Nelson (P, Jr.), Francesca Enea (C, So.), Ali Gardiner (1B, Jr.), Aja Paculba (2B, Fr.) ALABAMA Seniors: Jordan Praytor (UT), Chrissy Owens (P), Dani Woods (IF) Key returnees: Kelsi Dunne (P, Fr.), Brittany Rogers (OF, Jr.), Kelley Montalvo (UT, Jr.), Lauren Parker (IF, Jr.), Charlotte Morgan

... CONGRATS TO ARIZONA STATE ... ... 2008 NCAA WOMEN'S SOFTBALL CHAMPIONS ... Sun Devil pitcher Katie Burkhart tossed her second straight shutout of the championship series against Texas A&M, to clinch the national title for ASU. Even if the Aggies had managed to get on the board, however, Burkhart's teammates had things under control offensively, the result being an 11-0 victory for ASU in Game 2. The Devils' Kaitlin Cochran, who had repeatedly been walked intentionally in the World Series, finally put the metal to one, belting a three-run homer tonight. With all the great pitchers gathered in Oklahoma City -- Virginia Tech's Angela Tincher, Arizona's Taryne Mowatt, and Florida's Stacey Nelson, among others -- Burkhart was perhaps overshadowed. Back-to-back shutouts in the championship round speak for themselves, however. A&M's Megan Gibson also had a great year in the circle, but she evidently ran out of gas tonight. Article links:

Arizona State has pushed across a run in the bottom of the first against Texas A&M, to lead 1-0 in the opening game of the two-out-of-three final championship series... Krista Donnenwirth, whose hit drove in the Sun Devils' first run, adds a solo homer in the third, making it 2-0 ASU... Donnenwirth adds yet another RBI in the fifth inning -- 3-0 Sun Devils... ... GAME OVER ... ... 3-0 ASU ... ... SUN DEVILS LEAD SERIES 1-0 ...

Game 3 With a spot in the final championship series against Arizona State on the line (see the Game 2 summary below), Texas A&M and Florida are scoreless after eight innings (the regulation seven, plus one extra inning). UPDATE: Texas A&M has defeated Florida, 1-0 in nine innings. The Aggies got a key triple in the top of the ninth when Kelsey Spittler pulled a hard grounder pulled down the right-field line, to drive in the game's first -- and ultimately only -- run. A&M second-baseperson Natalie Villarreal, who dropped a crucial pop-up in the first game of the day with Florida, engineered a nice double play in the bottom of the ninth to help short-circuit a Florida rally. The final two-out-of-three championship series, beginning Monday night, will thus pit Texas A&M against Arizona State. Not to toot my own horn too heavily, but I did write the following exactly one week ago, before the World Series even started. Actually, over many years of being a s