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NCAA softball: All five Pac-12 teams win in Friday regionals

by Kevin Zimmerman
May 16, 2014
Arizona Athletics

Four Pac-12 softball teams threw out their first postseason pitches in the NCAA tournament on Friday, while Washington played its second regional game. All five squads came out victorious, and all but one won via the eight-run after five innings mercy rule.

Washington

No. 12 seed Washington vs. BYU

After the Washington Huskies advanced to the second game of the regional round by blanking Iona 8-0, they turned in another shutout with a 9-0 win against the BYU Cougars on Friday. Washington again jumped out in the first inning by scoring four runs and closed out the game in the sixth  by way of the run rule. Heather Tarr's squad was led by left fielder Whitney Jones, who tallied two home runs and five RBI, pushing the Huskies into the final game of the Seattle regional at noon PT on Saturday, where they face Northwestern.

[Related: 2014 NCAA softball bracket (NCAA.com)]

Arizona State

No. 9 seed Arizona State vs. Dartmouth

Second baseman Nikki Girard hit a two-run homer to help the ASU Sun Devils walk off with an 8-0, five-inning victory against the Dartmouth Big Green to open their postseason. Pitcher Dallas Escobedo allowed a single hit and struck out eight in the game, and  Chelsea Gonzalez added three RBI on the afternoon. ASU took a while to get cooking and led just 2-0 heading into the fifth before a six-run explosion ended the game. The Michigan Wolverines await the Sun Devils in a 3 p.m. PT game Saturday in Tempe, Ariz.

[Highlights: Arizona State opens up NCAA regionals with win over Dartmouth]

UCLA

No. 3 seed UCLA vs. Southern Utah

The UCLA Bruins took six innings to roll past Southern Utah, 8-0, and advance to face Notre Dame on Saturday at noon PT. Ally Carda and Jessica Hall each went three innings in the circle, combining for six strikeouts and one hit allowed against the Thunderbirds. UCLA's Alyssa Tiumalu drilled a home run in the first inning that capped a 4-0 frame, finishing with two RBI on the day, and the Bruins scored a single run in in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings to close out Southern Utah.

[Related: How to watch Oregon in the NCAA softball regionals on Pac-12 Networks]

Oregon

No. 1 seed Oregon vs. Utah Valley

Three Oregon Ducks tallied 2-for-3 hitting afternoons on Thursday en route to a 12-1 victory against the Utah Valley Wolverines. Shortstop Nikki Udria tallied four RBI and aided an eight-run first inning, while pitchers Cheridan Hawkins and Karissa Hovinga struck out 11 of 18 batters faced. The only score by the Wolverines came on a fourth inning homer by Utah Valley's Amanda Robinson. Oregon will return to the field Saturday at 11:30 a.m. PT and will face the Wisconsin Badgers, who beat Albany in their regional opener.

[Highlights: Arizona batters Boston University pitching]

Arizona

No. 11 seed Arizona vs. Boston University

The Arizona Wildcats found more resistance than their fellow Pac-12 teams did in their first NCAA tournament game, but nonetheless came out ahead of the Boston Terriers, 9-6. The Wildcats jumped out to a 4-0 lead through two frames before allowing a grand slam in the third inning. But Arizona responded with two third-inning runs and added three more in the fifth as Kelsey Rodriguez led the offensive charge with three RBI. Boston added two runs in the seventh frame, but didn't have enough to keep the Wildcats from advancing to face LSU at 1:30 p.m. PT on Saturday in Tucson, Ariz.

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