2015 NCAA Softball Tournament: Regionals Day 1 Wrap Up
Day one of the regional action in the 2015 NCAA Softball Tournament only had specific region and that was the Eugene Regional. Below is a recap of what happened in the two games between North Dakota State versus Fresno State and BYU versus Oregon.
Eugene Regional
The Eugene Regional kicked off with North Dakota State defeating Fresno State 4-0. A complete game shutout by the Bison’s Krista Menke led the way. She struck out 10 Bulldogs while only giving up two hits and walking four batters.
North Dakota State took the lead early in the game during the bottom half of the second inning. Back to back walks to open the inning allowed Jackie Stifter to sacrifice the runners to second and third. Two more walks ended up giving the Bison a 1-0 lead, but Fresno State’s Jill Compton settled down to strike out the next two batters and control the damage.
The third inning for the Bison ended up giving them more than enough cushion for the victory. With two on and one out, Amanda Grable‘s single to the right side made it 2-0. A throwing error on the play allowed the runners to move up to second and third. Stifter came up again and brought both of the those ladies home to make it 4-0. Compton again settled down to get out of the inning, but this time the damage was already done.
Menke finally gave up her first hit in the top half of the fourth inning and also walked the next batter to put runners on first and second. She got out of the jam by getting a pop out and a strike out. She continued to dominate in the final innings, particularly when she allowed a base runner.
North Dakota plays the winner of BYU and Oregon on Friday afternoon (recap below).
BYU versus Oregon Recap
Cheridan Hawkins pitched a gem of a game to help Oregon win their opening game in the Regional on Thursday evening. Hawkins pitched six innings with 12 strikeouts while only giving up one hit and one walk. The lone hit came in the top of the fifth inning off of Sydney Broderick‘s bat.
Oregon started the game off in the bottom half of the first inning by getting on the board right away. After Nikki Udria was hit by a pitch on a full count, she was thrown out on a fielder’s choice at second. Back to back walks loaded the bases, but Geri Ann Glasco struck out looking. However, another Oregon batter was hit by a pitch (Janelle Lindvall) and that brought the first run home. Koral Costa ended the first with strike out.
Oregon extended the lead in the third inning when Janie Takeda had a lead-off single and then stole second base. Two batters later, Hailey Decker singled, but Takeda was thrown out at home while Decker moved up to second. Glasco brought Decker home before Lindvall struck out to end the inning.
The Ducks threatened again in the bottom of the fourth. A walk by Costa and single by Danica Mercado put runners on first and second. On the following play Udria singled to right field, but Lacey Hofstedt threw out Costa at home to prevent another run from being tacked on. Mercado was then picked off at second to end the fourth.
The fifth inning basically put the game out of reach with the Ducks scoring five runs. Takeda once again was strong on the base paths by stealing second and then scoring three batters later when Glasco singled up the middle. Koral Costa doubled down the left field line with the bases loaded to make it 5-0. Nikki Udria later doubled to left field and brought home two more runners to make it 7-0 after five innings.
The eighth inning allowed the Ducks to cut the game short with the run rule. Costa’s infield single scored Decker and Oregon won 8-0.
The Eugene Regional will see three games played on Friday. The opening game will feature the North Dakota State Bison against the Oregon Ducks at 2 PM Eastern Time. The first team going home from the 2015 NCAA Softball Tournament will be determined at 5 PM Eastern Time when Fresno State and BYU square off.
The final game of the day will be between the loser of North Dakota State versus Oregon game and winner of the Fresno State versus BYU contest. The loser of the third game will also be eliminated on Friday.