2015 NCAA Softball Tournament: Super Regionals Day 4 Wrap Up
The fourth and final day of the 2015 NCAA Softball Tournament Super Regionals saw the three final tams book their trip to the 2015 Women’s College World Series. Each game recap can be found below.
Recaps for Saturday’s action can be found here. Friday’s Super Regional action was recapped here and Thursday’s can be found here.
Note: Games will be added to their respective super regional as they are completed.
#1 Florida Versus Kentucky – Gainesville Super Regional Game 2
The Florida Gators will be back in Oklahoma City to defend their National Title after a 1-0 win over Kentucky on Sunday.
Florida was able to put runners on first and second with two outs thanks to a walk and hit by pitch, but a pop out to first ended their first inning chance to score. The Wildcats were able to get on base due to an error at short and a subsequent sacrifice bunt to move her to second. Back-to-back pop outs ended their rally as well to leave the game scoreless after one inning.
Florida had a lead off walk to start the top of the second, but could not advance the runner past second and were still without a run. The Wildcats led off the bottom of the second with a bunt single and another bunt was improperly fielded to put runners on first and second with one out. Lauren Haeger got out of the jam by forcing a line out an strike out to end the second inning with the score still tied at zero.
The Gators threatened in the top of the third as well with a lead off walk from Kelsey Stewart who then stole second. Nicole DeWitt was walked while Haeger grounded out to first to move the runners up with only one out. A ground ball by Bailey Castro ended up being compounded by poor base running that ended the inning with two runners being run down and thrown out.
Kentucky got a one out single from Sylver Samuel, which was followed by a deep fly to right field by Griffin Joiner that was caught by Florida’s Justine McLean. She was able to throw back to first to double up Samuel and end the third inning.
The Gators were once again threatening in the top of the fourth after back-to-back singles put runners on the corners with one out. Kelsey Nunley was able to strike out Chelsea Herndon while McLean hit a ball to shortstop that could not be handled allowing Taylore Fuller to score and give the Gators a 1-0 lead after the top of the fourth inning.
The Wildcats were stymied in the last four innings with only two base runners. The Wildcats were not able to garner a hit.
Lauren Haeger pitched another complete game shutout against Kentucky. In game two she only allowed three hits and one walk while striking out five batters.
Florida will be back in the Women’s College World Series for the seventh time in program history.
#7 UCLA Versus #10 Missouri – Los Angeles Super Regional Game 2
UCLA advanced to another Women’s College World Series in a high scoring 10-6 win over Missouri though it was not an easy win.
The Bruins started the game with a lead off walk by Delaney Spaulding and she was able to advance to second a passed ball. However, that would be as far as she would go as the next three batters went down in order.
Missouri was also able to get a good start. Taylor Gadbois hit a lead off single while Emily Crane followed with a single of her own. Another single from Sami Fagan loaded the bases with no outs. Amanda Sanchez then came up and hit a single back up the middle to drive home Gadbois while UCLA’s Ally Carda settled down to retire the next three batters including back-to-back strike outs to end the inning. Missouri led 1-0 after the first inning.
UCLA was able to roar back with a big second inning. Maddy Jelenicki led off with a double, which was followed by a walk to Gabrielle Maurice. Mysha Sataraka singled to right field to score Jelenicki and put runners on second and third with no outs. After a strike out, a single to right field by Kylee Perez allowed Maurice to score, but Sataraka was thrown out at home to keep the score at 2-1.
Up next was Spaulding who crushed the ball to right field for a two run homer and a 4-1 lead for the Bruins after an inning and a half.
The top of the third helped UCLA build their lead. A two out single from Maurice set up Sataraka to rocket a ball to right field for a two run shot and 6-1 UCLA lead.
The Bruins continued to pour it on in the fourth. Perez singled to lead off the inning while Carda was hit by a pitch with two outs to put two runners on. Stephany LaRosa was up next and she hit an opposite field shot to right field over the fence for a 9-1 lead for UCLA.
In the bottom of the fourth, Missouri was able to put runners on first and second following a walk and hit by pitch. As it was for much of the game, they could not capitalize as a ground out ended their chance.
The top of the fifth produced a scary moment. With two outs and one on, Perez hit a liner back to Tori Finucane that hit her in what appeared to be her shoulder or face. She left the game with a bloody nose and was replaced by Paige Lowary. Lowary walked Spaulding before getting a foul out to end the top of the fifth.
Missouri was able to get a lead off walk and a single from Sanchez with one out. After a fly out, Kirsten Mack was able to single to center field as Fagan scored to continue the game with the deficit cut to seven runs. After a passed ball, UCLA’s catcher Stephany LaRosa was able to get the ball off the back stop and tag out Kayla Kingsley at home to send the game to the sixth inning.
In the top of the six, Ally Carda helped her own cause with a lead off double. A wild pitch allowed her pinch runner, Jessica Amaral, to move up to third and she scored soon after on a sacrifice fly by LaRosa for a 10-2 UCLA advantage.
The Tigers were not going away early once again. Roth was able to hit a lead off homer to make it 10-3 while a single and walk put runners on first and second still with no outs recorded. A fielding error loaded the bases while an infield single by Emily Crane made it a 10-4 game with no outs. A two out walk drawn by Corrin Genovese brought home a run to make it 10-5, but Carda was able to limit the damage to only three runs.
UCLA put runners on first and second with two outs in the top of the seventh, but were unable to extend their lead. The Tigers led off the bottom of the seventh with a towering solo shot by Kelsea Roth, her second home run of the game, to cut the deficit down to 10-6. A pitching change for UCLA from Carda to Selina Ta’amilo saw the Tigers go down in order to send UCLA to the 2015 Women’s College World Series.
UCLA will be making their 25 Women’s College World Series appearance in 2015. The Bruins have won 11 National Titles in those 25 appearances.
#5 LSU Versus #12 Arizona – Baton Rouge Super Regional Game 2
LSU had another offensive breakout to defeat the Arizona Wildcats 10-5 on Sunday to make it back to the Women’s College World Series.
LSU started the top of the first with a one out single from Bailey Landry and walks by Bianka Bell and Sahvanna Jaquish to load the bases. A two out single to left field by Sandra Simmons brought home Landry and Bell for a 2-0 LSU lead. The lead was up to 4-0 after a two run double by Constance Quinn.
Arizona was also able to start well on offense. A single, error, and walk loaded the bases with no outs. A ground out by Katiyana Mauga brought one run home while runners were still on second and third. A sacrifice fly in foul territory by Chelsea Goodacre brought the score to 4-2 with Chelsea Suitos scoring. Mandie Perez was able to single and advanced to second on the throw home to put runners on second and third again, this time with two outs. An infield pop out limited the damage to two runs with LSU leading 4-2 after one inning.
In the top of the third, LSU was able to restore their four run lead. Jaquish singled to third on a bunt and Simmons came up and hit a two run blast to make it a 6-2 lead. The Tigers appeared to poised to add to the lead with a runner on third, but could not get her home.
In the bottom of the third, Arizona got a one out triple from Kellie Fox as LSU’s left and center fielders collided their arms to knock the ball lose. Fox scored on the next pitch when Mauga reached on a fielding error by the shortstop. The inning ended on a line drive out to right field that and slip by Mauga on the base paths to double her up. After three innings, LSU held a 6-3 lead.
LSU continued to dominate on offense. A single and walk put runners on first and second with no outs while Bell came up singled home A.J. Andrews for a 7-3 lead. The bases were loaded on a ground ball to third base as the Arizona defender went for the tag out on the lead runner, but missed. A deep sacrifice fly to left field by Simmons drove home Landry to make it 8-3 after the top of the fourth.
In the bottom of the fifth, Arizona was able to load the bases with two singles and an error. Fox was able to draw a disputed walk on a 3-2 pitch to drive home one run to make it 8-4 in favor of LSU with no outs. A force out at home was proceeded by another walk to make it 8-5.
At this point, Allie Walljasper was taken out of the circle for LSU for Carley Hoover. Hoover struck out the next to batters to leave the bases loaded and LSU holding an 8-5 lead after five innings.
In the bottom of the sixth, Arizona was threatening once again. Back-to-back singles followed by a wild pitch put runners on second and third with two outs. Hoover forced a pop out to first to end the threat and sixth inning with LSU leading 8-5.
In the top of the seventh, LSU got a lead off triple from Simmons followed by a double from Constance Quinn to score Simmons to give LSU a 9-5 lead. It became a 10-5 with a single by Dylan Supak up the middle that scored Quinn. Supak, who was pinch hitting for starter Sydney Bourg, was able to advance to second on the throw to home. Bourg was then reinserted and went to third on a ground out.
Andrews was up next and hit a grounder to first base, which she beat out due to some confusion by Arizona on defense. She stole second a few pitches later, but a pop out and ground out left Arizona trailing 10-5 going into the bottom of the seventh.
Mauga took a 1-1 pitch and belted it to deep left field, but it did not have enough power as the ball was caught on the warning track in left. Despite a two out double from Mandie Perez (and smart base running to get to third), a fly ball ended the game to put LSU back in the Women’s College World Series.
LSU will make their fourth appearance in the Women’s College World Series, but have yet to win the National Title. This will be LSU’s first time back in the WCWS since 2012.