Game 1: Arizona Wildcats 3, Washington Huskies 1
The 2018 national runners-up fell in game 1 to the 6th-seeded Arizona Wildcats, who advanced to the WCWS for the first time since 2010. Washington left a total of 9 runners on base and Arizona left 5, as each team went against All-American pitchers in the circle; Taylor McQuillin and Taran Alvelo combined for 18 strikeouts.
The Arizona Wildcats and the Washington Huskies matched up in the opening contest of the 2019 Women’s College World Series. Taran Alvelo would start game 1 with a 4-pitch walk; her response was striking out four consecutive Wildcats. That trend would continue for both Taylor McQuillin (AZ) and Alvelo (WAS) until the top of the 6th inning. The first offensive strike was Arizona’s Jessie Harper’s solo blast over the right-centerfield wall, putting the Wildcats up 1-0.
Huskies responded quickly in the bottom of the 6th with a 1st-pitch, lead off home run from freshman Sami Reynolds. The Huskies then left two runners on base as they threatened in the bottom of the 6th and 7th innings, but were unable to score.
Deja’s Mulipola (1-4, 2 RBI), Arizona’s All-American catcher, came up with a 2-run blast in the top of the 8th inning to put Arizona up 3-1 with Malia Martinez (2-4) already on via base hit. Taylor McQuillin returned to the circle and retired the final 3 outs for the first win over Washington this season; McQuillin would finish with 7 strikeouts, allowing 6 hits and 1 run on 141 pitches on the mid-day matchup. Taran Alvelo finished with 11 strikeouts, allowing 6 hits and 3 runs on 123 total pitches.
Game 2: UCLA Bruins 7, Minnesota Golden Gophers 2
UCLA collected a win over Minnesota in the opening round of the WCWS, their fifth straight appearance on the national stage. The Gophers made their first-ever appearance in Oklahoma City, but could not overcome the Bruins’ capitalization of timely hitting.
All-American Bubba Nickles kicked off the Bruins’ scoring in the first, as she tagged a 2-1 pitch over the wall in left. The junior’s 2019 campaign has been an integral one, as she’s having her best offensive year to date. Nickles is top five in the nation in RBIs and is a true catalyst for her team.
To start the 2nd, Taylor Pack and Colleen Sullivan tallied singles, then Amber Fiser walked back-to-back hitters to give UCLA their second run. Fiser regrouped and stranded the Bruins with the bases juiced.
Again in the 4th, a free pass would come back to haunt the Gophers. Aaliyah Jordan led off the inning with a walk. On a Rachel Garcia single through the left side, Jordan advanced all the way to 3rd as Minnesota left the bag uncovered. Pack followed with a sacrifice fly, tallying another run for UCLA.
Minnesota rallied in the 6th with a single from Maddie Houlihan. Freshman standout Natalie DenHartog scored Houlihan on a double to left. DehHartog leads the nation in RBIS amongst freshmen. Allie Arneson singled home DenHartog, giving the senior her fifth RBI of the postseason.
UCLA would answer in the bottom frame with singles from Kinsley Washington and Kelli Godin. Nickles then reached on a fielding error, allowing Washington to score. Fiser answered with a strikeout, then with two outs and two on, Jordan laced a ball over the right field wall for her 11th homer of the season. All four runs in the inning were unearned.
With the win, Rachel Garcia surpassed Lisa Fernandez, her pitching coach, in career strikeouts. The redshirt junior collected seven strikeouts and scattered 4 hits. Minnesota was able to make adjustments late in the game versus Garcia, but UCLA scored as well as they have all year. Should the Bruins’ offense continue to make noise off of mistakes, their opponents will have to play a perfect game to knock them off. UCLA will face Arizona on Friday.
The Gophers’ two runs scored off of the USA Player of the Year should give them a bit of confidence headed into their next matchup versus Washington. Though their offense came alive, Minnesota will have to be play a much cleaner game to last at the WCWS. Fiser gave up three earned runs on eight hits, six walks, and recorded six strikeouts. According to Minnesota head coach Jamie Trachsel, the junior didn’t “have her best stuff” in the opener but will look to earn the Gophers their first victory in Oklahoma City on Saturday.
Game 3: Oklahoma State 2, Florida 1
The OSU Cowgirls weren’t supposed to be in OKC. The majority of the softball world had defending national champions, Florida State Seminoles, returning to OKC to defend their title. Oklahoma State proved us all wrong. A Big 12-SEC matchup with some relational roots at the core of the contest, head coaches Tim Walton and Kenny Gajewski coached together from 2012-2015 when Gajewski was an assistant coach at the University of Florida. The two embraced at the plate prior to exchanging lineups.
The 1st-inning bat flip was minimal but Sam Show made some noise early with a solo home run on an 0-2 count over the right-centerfield fence. The Cowgirls went up early 1-0 in the top of the 1st inning and would keep the lead until the bottom of the 2nd inning with Jordan Roberts’ solo shot over the center field fence.
This game was limited in action from the 2nd through the 5th innings with minimal hits – only 3 for Florida and the 2 for Samantha Show, with the rest of her lineup hitless. The senior pitcher smashed a solo shot to dead center field prior to tomahawking her bat down the 1st baseline. Show had the only two hits of the Cowgirls’ offense against Kelly Barnhill on Thursday night. The two hits from Show resulted in two runs on separate solo shots for the senior transfer from Texas A&M. Show advanced to the WCWS in 2017 with the Aggies and is also familiar with OGE Energy Field in Hall Of Fame Stadium because of the Big 12 tournament. Her performance against the Gator offense was electric, and it was obvious that Show was amped up. Over the course of the season, eleven of Show’s twenty home runs have been to tie the game or take the lead.
Florida would threaten in the bottom of the 7th inning with two on, nobody out. OSU defense retired two Gators via infield ground out. With runners on the corners and two outs, Show induced a ground ball for the final out of the game.
Offensively, the Gators were led by Amanda Lorenz (2-3) and Jordan Roberts (2-3, HR). Barnhill struck out 9, gave up 2 hits, 2 runs, and 1 walk. Show struck out 2 batters, scattered 6 hits over 7.0 innings pitched, and allowed 1 run.
Game 4: Oklahoma 3, Alabama 2
Oklahoma’s illustrious senior class is seeking a third national championship in four years. In a back-and-forth matchup with Alabama, Sydney Romero went 2 for 3 and scored two runs to propel the Sooners over the Tide in the nightcap. The pitching matchup of freshman Montana Fouts versus “G” Juarez was a thriller.
Oklahoma struck in the first after back-to-back singles from Romero and Fale Aviu. Senior Caleigh Clifton collected her 50th RBI and scored Romero with a sacrifice fly.
Alabama got on the board in the 3rd. Claire Jenkins and Elissa Brown recorded singles before Bailey Hemphill fisted a flare just out of reach of a diving Clifton in shallow right. Hemphill is now tied for 2nd in Alabama history for single-season RBIs with 79.
The tied ballgame would not last long. In the bottom of the frame, Romero led off the inning, this time with a triple, and later scored on Jocelyn Alo’s single up the middle. Romero’s offensive prowess is, as usual, continuing on the biggest stage in the sport.
Jenkins came through once more for the Tide in the 6th, blasting an 0-2 curveball over the left-center wall. The junior hadn’t logged a hit in 19 at-bats prior to Thursday.
Oklahoma responded in the bottom of the frame after a walk to Alo, and a Nicole Mendes triple. With two outs and pinch runner Reagan Rogers at first, Mendes belted a ball off the wall in left-center, just out of reach of a jumping Brown. Rogers’ run would be all that Oklahoma needed to shut down Alabama in the 7th.
Alabama entered the matchup as the No. 8 seed, and made a strong showing in the opener. Their best producers were held quiet, and the Tide still managed to keep up with Oklahoma’s powerful offense. Freshman Montana Fouts made her first appearance at the Women’s College World Series and looked like a veteran in the circle. When Oklahoma threatened, Fouts was poised, and held the Sooners to single runs in scoring frames. Alabama will face Florida on Saturday in an elimination game, an SEC reprise of a regular-season series that saw Alabama take all three games in April.
Oklahoma’s Giselle Juarez got the win in her second consecutive appearance in Oklahoma City, though this year looks quite different. In 2018, Juarez donned an Arizona State uniform and was eliminated from the postseason by none other than her current squad. Juarez gave up four hits, two to Jenkins, and recorded nine strikeouts. The offense totaled six hits, only one extra base hit, and left five on base. A Bedlam matchup is on the docket, as Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will face off in the winner’s bracket on Friday. The Sooners swept the Cowgirls in Big 12 Conference play.
