OKLAHOMA CITY — The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) Hall of Fame Complex will bring a bit of ASA/USA Softball’s storied history back to life as they host the Women’s Major, Class A and Class B Fast Pitch National Championships July 18-20. This marks the first time since 2008 that the Women’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship has been held, while the Class A and Class B were last held in 2011.
“We are excited that the ASA Hall of Fame Complex is going to be a part of reviving the Women’s Fast Pitch National Championships,” said ASA/USA Softball Director of Championships Chris Sebren. “There is such a rich history with our women’s program from the teams and players who have participated in the past. We are excited that just as the tournament finishes we begin our 18-Under Junior Olympic (JO) GOLD National Championship, which shows the athletes that they still can play after their JO and college days are over.”
ASA/USA Softball has a long and prominent history in women’s fast pitch dating back to 1933 when the first Women’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship was held in Chicago, Ill. Referred to as the “World Championship” in its early days, the ASA/USA Women’s Major Fast Pitch division has seen its share of well-known teams throughout the years, including the Raybestos Brakettes and the Orange Lionettes. The Raybestos Brakettes claimed a remarkable 23 Women’s Major Fast Pitch titles, including a record eight-in-a-row from 1971-78 and featured some of the top names in fast pitch softball. Legendary pitchers Bertha Tickey Ragan, Joan Joyce, Kathy Arendsen and Lisa Fernandez once donned the Brakettes uniform and there are a total of 22 former Brakettes in the National Softball Hall of Fame.
“The ASA/USA Women’s Major Nationals is the premier event for the best of the best in women’s amateur softball,” said National Softball Hall of Fame member and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Michele Smith. “The history of our sport was founded playing ASA Women’s Major softball and the greatest athletes to ever play softball all played in this prestigious tournament. The first two Olympic teams were picked primarily of athletes that competed with and against each other at this elite level, so it only seems natural that the championship will come home to play at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.”
All three divisions will have a four-game guarantee pool play to determine the double-elimination bracket play. More information on the Championships can be found at TournamentASA.com.
About ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.5 million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.
About USA Softball
USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine World Championship titles as well as claimed six World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.
