College Softball's Best, Too!

A four-game National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) softball series between the USSSA Pride and Akron Racers, presented by Ryan-Sanders Entertainment, is set for Thursday-Friday-Saturday June 14-15-16 at Whataburger Field.

Game times for the Hurricane Alley Waterpark Coastal Classic are 7 p.m., 7 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., respectively. Saturday's action features a twi-night doubleheader.

Top U.S. pros and international stars like Cat Osterman, Jessica Mendoza and Natasha Watley will be there, plus local legend Sarah Pauly and former UT catcher Megan Willis.

So will current college stars and NPF top draft picks whose amateur careers are winding down, like Brittany Mack, Hillary Bach, Valerie Arioto and Jamia Reid!

LSU's Brittany Mack was taken No. 1 by the USSSA Pride. The Bayou Bengals are among eight elite teams at the prestigious WCWS, which begins play Thursday in Oklahoma City. LSU received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after posting a 34-21 regular-season record. The Tigers were seeded second in the College Station Regional, where they went undefeated, handing top seed Texas A&M a stunning upset. LSU then went on to pull off yet another upset in a best-of-three series, the victim No. 9 overall seed Missouri.

The Tigers are skippered by USSSA Pride Head Coach Beth Torina.

Hillary Bach, the seventh overall pick by the Akron Racers, returns to Oklahoma City with her Arizona State Sun Devils to defend their 2011 title. Bach, 19-1 in the regular season, helped her third-seeded ASU squad sweep through the Tempe Regional. The Sun Devils then turned back the University of Louisiana Lafayette in a Super Regional.

The top-seeded Cal Bears have two members of the NPF's 2012 draft class on the roster. ASA/USA Softball Player of the Year candidate Valerie Arioto was the No. 8 selection by the USSSA Florida Pride. Arioto, 2012 Pac 12 Player of the Year, has been instrumental in keeping Cal on top of the national rankings nearly all season long. As a pitcher and first baseman for the Bears, Arioto hit .385 with 23 home runs. On the mound, she was 20-3 with a 1.32 ERA.

Also on the Cal roster is Jamia Reid, the 19th overall selection by Akron. She tops all Bears hitters with a .385 batting average and 47 stolen bases. Cal hosted the Regional and Super Regional rounds at Berkeley. The Bears lost one game in the Regional to Arkansas, requiring a backs-to-the-wall breakout before eliminating Washington in two games at Super Regionals.

The WCWS kicks off on Thursday in Oklahoma City. Click here to see the complete bracket

Additional sponsors for the Hurricane Alley Waterpark Coastal Classic are The Batter's Box, Brewster Street Ice House and the Corpus Christi Convention & Visitors Bureau. Media partners are the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, K-99, NewsRadio 1360 KKTX and KRIS Communications.