Women's College World Series: Washington advances to championship series; Florida State eliminates UCLA
The national championship series is set: Washington and Florida State will duke it out for the title starting Monday.
This is the first time in program history that Florida State advances to the best-of-three championship series, while the Huskies return for the first time since 2009, when Washington won it all against the Florida Gators.
No. 5 seed Washington 3, No. 4 seed Oklahoma 0
Washington is moving on to the WCWS championship series following a 3-0 win over Oklahoma, the back-to-back reigning national champions, on Sunday in Oklahoma City.
Julia DePonte went 3-for-3 from the dish and drove in two of Washington’s three runs, starting with an RBI single in the first inning to send home Sis Bates from third. In the fifth, the senior sent a solo shot over the left-field wall to make it 3-0, Huskies.
GOOOONE!!!!
Julia DePonte BLASTS @UWSoftball's first #WCWS home run! pic.twitter.com/jvIVDpU8Bb
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) June 3, 2018
Washington’s second run of the day came courtesy of Noelle Hee in the third frame. With two on, two out and two strikes on the board, Hee managed to find a hole along the first-base line to push Taylor Van Zee across the plate.
Taran Alvelo was a rock in the circle for the Huskies, scattering seven hits over seven innings with no walks and no runs allowed while striking out six.
Paige Lowary and Paige Parker threw solid games for Oklahoma as well — combining for eight hits, one walk and one error — but Washington was able to jump on the few mistakes the Sooners made.
No. 6 seed Florida State 12, No. 3 seed UCLA 6 (Game 2)
It seems UCLA had mastered the comeback win with a pair of come-from-behind victories earlier in the week in OKC, but the Bruins' luck ran out Sunday. Florida State put an end to UCLA's title run with back-to-back wins over the Bruins to send the Seminoles to the WCWS championship series.
In the first game of the day, it was all defense for both squads. The contest remained scoreless until the top of the third, when an RBI single by Rachel Garcia brought home Kylee Perez.
In the bottom of the sixth, FSU's Elizabeth Mason erased the Bruins' 1-0 advantage with a three-run home run just over the centerfield wall. UCLA failed to score in the seventh, handing Florida State the win and the opportunity for a rematch about an hour later.
It was clear the Bruins had run out of steam shortly after the start of the second game. They made three pitching changes in the second inning, and Florida State put up four runs. UCLA's Taylor Pack knocked a two-run homer in the bottom of the second frame to cut the Seminoles' lead in half, but FSU kept on pushing.
In the fourth, Florida State scored three runs. UCLA fired back with two in that same inning. But in the fifth, FSU plated five more, bringing the Seminoles' lead to 12-4 and threatening the mercy rule. Briana Perez saved the Bruins from early elimination with a solo shot to right field, but UCLA never could close the gap.
The Bruins finish their season with a 58-7 record. Florida State is now 6-0 in elimination games this week heading into the championship series.