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Women's College World Series: Washington, Oregon, UCLA all earn opening-day wins

by Sarah Kezele
May 31, 2018
@UWSoftball / @OregonSB / @UCLASoftball

All four of the Pac-12's softball teams that traveled to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City were in action Thursday. See who's one win closer to reaching the WCWS final, starting Monday.

[Related: 2018 NCAA Women's College World Series bracket]

No. 1 seed Oregon 11, No. 8 seed Arizona State 6

If the opening game of the 2018 Women’s College World Series is any indication of how things will go in Oklahoma City, we are in for a treat. And maybe some heart meds.

Oregon and Arizona State kicked things off on Thursday with a combined 17 runs, plus some seriously clutch pitching when it mattered most. 

Shannon Rhodes was huge on offense for the Ducks, going 3-for-4 at the plate to produce four RBIs and cross the plate three times herself. Her teammate Alexis Mack also went 3-for-4 and scored two runs.

The scoring started right away, with ASU and Oregon notching two runs each in the first inning. 

After an uneventful second inning, the Ducks got back to it in the third. A Shannon Rhodes single paired with an ASU throwing error brought home two Oregon baserunners to make it 4-2, Ducks. Lauren Burke tacked on another run just moments later with a right-field triple to push Gwen Svekis across the plate and extend their lead to three runs.

ASU had a chance to catch up in the top of the fourth with two on and one out. Oregon coach Mike White even visited Miranda Elish in the circle, but Elish regrouped and got the next two outs in a flash to retire the side. The sophomore finished the day with six strikeouts over five full innings.

Later on in the fourth, Oregon’s Jenna Lilley reached second on an ASU error. With Alexis Mack up to bat next, another ASU error sent Lilley home to make it 6-2, Oregon.

It looked like Oregon had it all sewn up at the end of the fourth, but a key fifth inning for ASU — Morgan Howe, specifically — put the Devils right back in the game. With runners on first and second, Howe blasted the ball over right-center to clear the bases and bring ASU within one run of Oregon, 6-5.

So close, yet so far for the Devils: Oregon regained separation with a couple runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Shannon Rhodes got herself on base with a double down the left field line and, just two batters later, Haley Cruse homered to left to extend Oregon’s lead to 8-5. 

Rhodes, who had already done some heavy lifting for the Ducks, put the nail in the coffin in the sixth with a three-run home run. 

Next up for Oregon is archrival Washington on Friday at 4 p.m. PT. Arizona State moves into the elimination bracket and will face two-time defending champion Oklahoma on Saturday at 9 a.m. PT.

No. 5 seed Washington 2, No. 4 seed Oklahoma 0

In contrast to the first game of the day, Washington only scored two runs in its opener against Oklahoma on Thursday. But, hey, when you have shutdown pitching and a stellar defense on the field, that’s all you need for the win.

Gabbie Plain, a freshman from Australia, went 5 2/3 innings in the circle for UW. Her stat line doesn’t look all that notable — just one strikeout and four hits allowed — but through her first four innings she only faced one batter above the minimum. Now that is notable. Taran Alvelo came in for the final 1 1/3 frames to complete the shutdown.

The game remained scoreless on both sides through the first four innings, but the Huskies made moves in the fifth. Trysten Melhart drew a walk to lead off the inning and reached third two batters later thanks to back-to-back bunts. With Melhart on third and Kelly Burdick on second, Sis Bates pulled off yet another bunt to score Melhart in a dramatic play at the plate:

The very next at-bat with runners on the corners, Julia DePonte smacked a single up the middle to get Burdick home and make it 2-0, Huskies.

Oklahoma threatened to tie it up in the sixth with two on and two out, but UW’s Melhart wasn’t just clutch on offense. She was big-time in the outfield, too:

Washington advances to face Oregon, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Friday at 4 p.m. PT. Oklahoma drops into the elimination bracket for a date with eighth-seeded Arizona State on Saturday at 9 a.m.

No. 3 seed UCLA 7, No. 6 seed Florida State 4

The Bruins were four outs from losing their WCWS opener against Florida State on Thursday. The Seminoles were confident and loose, and the Bruins seemingly were ready to accept their descent into the elimination bracket.

Well, not so fast.

UCLA put up six runs in the bottom of the sixth to go from trailing FSU, 4-1, to leading the Noles, 7-4, heading into the final frame.

Florida State pitcher Meghan King had kept UCLA’s bats under control in her 4 2/3 innings of work, striking out six, and Kylee Hanson was going strong in relief. But the Bruins flipped a switch in the sixth to finally look like the offensive juggernaut they've been all season.

With one out and runners on first and second, Taylor Pack represented UCLA’s tying run at the plate. She connected to load the bases and set up freshman Julie Rodriguez for a sac fly to plate Stevie Wisz. That made it 4-2, Florida State.

Kylee Perez was up next with two on and two out. What better time to jack a three-run home run?

Not only did that put UCLA ahead, 5-4, it was also Perez’s 300th career hit. Her sister, Briana Perez, followed up with a bunt to get herself on first, setting up Aaliyah Jordan to triple and make it 6-4, UCLA. A Florida State throwing error eventually led to one more run to seal the Bruins’ win.

The Perez sisters combined for five hits and four RBI over seven at-bats. Rachel Garcia was a rock in the circle, striking out 15 in seven innings pitched.

UCLA moves on to play No. 2 seed Florida — which run-ruled Georgia in their opener — Friday at 6:30 p.m. PT.

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