Aug. 12, 2013
In the nine weeks leading up to the kickoff of the 2013-14 WKU Athletics calendar, WKUSports.com will highlight some of the most memorable WKU moments from the 2012-13 academic year that saw the program ring in five conference championships, advance eight teams to the NCAA postseason and produce 10 All-Americans. "A Year To Remember" will recapture WKU's 2012-13 success in chronological order and will be released every Monday between June 24 and Aug. 19.
Behind the arm of ace pitcher Emily Rousseau and a hot-hitting lineup, unprecedented levels of success were experienced by the 2013 WKU Softball team.
On the mound, Rousseau was relentless in leading WKU to its first NCAA Regional appearance. She recorded 25 wins and 220 strikeouts in 2013, marks that rank second in school history for a single season. Three Lady Toppers hit over .300 for the season while four more tallied 30 or more RBI, highlighted by junior shortstop Amanda Thomas' 51 RBI.
Statistically, WKU was fantastic but there was one number that held significance over all others - 43. The Lady Toppers strung together their first 40-win season and set a program record with 43 wins. Those 43 wins propelled WKU to the program's first Sun Belt Conference regular-season title and more importantly its first NCAA Regional.
The Lady Toppers regular-season was headlined by victories over five nationally-ranked teams, all of which came on the road. WKU took two of three from NCAA Regional qualifiers and nationally-ranked South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette while also defeating No.11 Missouri. WKU would notch one more nationally-ranked victory by defeating Louisiana-Lafayette in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
After falling to South Alabama in the Sun Belt Conference Championship, WKU was selected to its first ever NCAA Regional.
Placed in the Tuscaloosa Regional, the Lady Toppers went to work right away as sophomore led off the game with a home run against USC Upstate. Cruce would later pelt a two-run shot to give WKU a 3-0 win and its first NCAA Regional win. The Lady Toppers nearly knocked off host Alabama in the next round but ultimately dropped a heartbreaker 7-6.
With elimination and a berth in the NCAA Regional Championship game on the line, WKU upended USC Upstate 3-0 again to earn a rematch versus Alabama. The Tide's bats were too much, however, as Alabama plated 13 runs to end WKU's historic season.
Former WKU head coach Tyra Perry was named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, Rousseau was named Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year while Amanda Tomas, Preslie Cruce and Olivia Watkins earned all-league honors.
