UCLA softball advances to Women's College World Series, Arizona falls in Baton Rouge
UCLA will get a chance at its 13th NCAA championship after advancing to the Women's College World Series for a record 25th time. The Bruins move on to the WCWS after sweeping the Missouri Tigers with a 10-6 game 2 win on Sunday in at Easton Stadium in Los Angeles.
The Tigers put up a fight to the tune of six runs, four of them being earned runs off ace Ally Carda. Carda, who pitched seven innings in yesterday's win, tossed six innings and struck out four Tigers today.
The Bruins homered three times, accounting for seven of their 10 runs: Delaney Spaulding got it going with a two-run shot in the second inning. Mysha Sataraka took one deep in the third, good for two runs, and Stephany LaRosa, who led the team with four RBIs, capped it off in the fourth with a deep three-run shot to center. UCLA showed off their championship-worthy bats all day Sunday, rallying for 11 hits and drawing five walks.
Mizzou posed a comeback threat in the late innings as Carda wore down. Kelsea Roth homered to leadoff the sixth and cut the Tigers' deficit to seven. Then, they loaded the bases following a few hits and an error at shortstop. An Emily Crane single made it 10-4 and Carda walked in a run to make it 10-5 before striking out Kirsten Mack to end the stressful inning.
Roth struck again, as her second leadoff homer in as many innings ousted Carda, and trimmed the deficit to 10-6 in the seventh. Selina Ta'amilo entered the circle for UCLA and recorded the save, striking out two and keeping the bases clear to end the game and send her team to the WCWS. The Bruins will face Pac-12 foe Oregon in the first leg, starting Thursday, May 28 at 6:30 p.m. PT.
The Wildcats looked helpless against the LSU Tigers in game 1 of the super regionals yesterday, falling 8-0 in a five-inning effort. Today, they at least got some runs on the board and posed a threat, but ultimately lost 10-5 to fifth-ranked LSU in Baton Rouge. The Tigers started out quickly with a four-run first, and the 'Cats answered with two of their own thanks to a throwing error from pitcher Allie Walljasper. But Arizona pitchers Michelle Floyd and Trish Parks, who pitched three and four innings respectively, couldn't hold LSU down. The Tigers rallied for 12 hits total and tacked on six more runs. Katiyana Mauga and Mandie Perez each went 2-for-4 and Chelsea Goodacre finished 2-for-2 with a walk as another successful season came to an end for Arizona.