5 Things You May Have Missed in College Softball Saturday
The 2018 NCAA Softball Post Season Tournament kicked off this week. 64 of the Nation’s top teams are gathered at 16 sites all across the country to compete in the Regional round. One team will advance from each site to the Super Regional round which will take place next weekend. Below are five things that stood out to us at Fastpitch News from Saturday play.
Oregon First Team to Advance
The Oregon softball team advanced to the NCAA Super Regional round for the ninth year in a row after beating Drake on Saturday, 3-0, to win the Eugene Regional. With the win, the Ducks remain perfect in nine years of regional play under Coach Mike White and move on to a Super Regional series next week at The Jane. The Oregon pitching staff continues to be a dominating force. In two starts by Miranda Elish and a win Friday for Megan Kleist over Drake, Oregon’s pair of aces threw 21 shutout innings in the regional, allowing 10 hits and just two walks, with 36 strikeouts. The Ducks (50-7) will face the winner of the Lexington Regional in Super Regionals. A Kentucky win would bring the Wildcats to Eugene for Super Regionals two years in a row.
Liberty Upsets South Carolina
Liberty upset the host No. 16 South Carolina Gamecocks, 3-1, on Saturday at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field, advancing to the NCAA Regional Final for the first time in program history. Liberty outhit South Carolina, 10-5, while the Lady Flames left 10 runners on base compared to four for the Gamecocks. Liberty (49-12) extended the NCAA Division I’s longest active softball winning streak to 19 games in a row, dating to April 14. The Lady Flames are now 2-4 all-time in NCAA postseason play, downing No. 24 Hofstra, 2-0, in 10 innings Friday night before winning over South Carolina (46-15) on Saturday. Liberty advances to the NCAA Columbia Regional Final and is one win away from making its first appearances in an NCAA Super Regional. The Lady Flames will face South Carolina in the Regional Final at 4 p.m. on Sunday and will need one more win to advance.
Liberty advances to an #NCAAsoftball Regional Final for the first time in program history! pic.twitter.com/wnC2sjPv2N
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 19, 2018
Oklahoma Secures Second Regional Run-Rule
Paige Lowary tossed a one-hit shutout and three Sooners homered to lift OU to an 8-0 run-rule victory over Tulsa in six innings on Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Norman Regional at Marita Hynes Field. The win was Oklahoma’s second straight run-rule shutout. Overall, the Sooners have 21 run-rule victories and 26 shutouts on the season. Lowary tallied her second complete game of the season, both coming in the span of a week as she also tossed a complete game against Baylor on May 12. Lowary needed just 56 pitches to get the job done, allowing one hit and retiring 19 of 20 batters. The Sooners will take the field for the Norman Regional final on Sunday at 4 p.m. CT with an if-necessary game at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Cal State Fullerton Upsets UCLA
For the first time since 2012, one of the tournament’s top three seeds faces elimination before a regional final — and a long road back to any potential super regional. Cal State Fullerton upset UCLA 3-2 in nine innings on Saturday on a walk-off. Trish Parks got the start for the Titans and once again was outstanding. The right-hander threw all nine innings holding the powerful Bruin offense to just two runs on nine hits. Parks struck out two and walked five in the contest as well. For Fullerton, the win snaps a nine-game losing streak against UCLA with the last win dating back to 2013. It’s also the first time the Titans have beaten the Bruins in an NCAA Regional since 2005. Cal State Fullerton will play in the Los Angeles Regional final tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. at Easton Stadium. Their opponent is to be determined.
https://twitter.com/NCAAsoftball/status/997992359370547200
Jacksonville State Eliminates Auburn
Jacksonville State claimed a 3-2 win over No. 13 Auburn on Saturday, eliminating the Tigers and advancing to the Gamecocks’ fourth NCAA Regional title game. Sophomore Alexus Jimmerson tossed a complete game gem to earn the win in the circle for the Gamecocks (35-24) and also recorded the go-ahead hit in the sixth to oust the Tigers (41-17) and set up a rematch with host and No. 6 National seed Florida State on Sunday. It will be JSU’s fourth appearance in the title game of a Division I regional and its second in the last three years. The win was JSU’s first over the in-state foe from the Southeastern Conference since 1997 and just the second in 19 meetings with the Tigers. It is JSU’s first NCAA Tournament win over a Southeastern Conference team since defeating Tennessee twice in the 2009 Knoxville Regional championship game. The Gamecocks advance and will need to beat FSU twice on Sunday at JoAnne Graf Field to advance to their first Super Regional since 2009.
BONUS: Perfection for Hofstra Pitcher
Freshman pitcher Sophie Dandola threw what is believed to be the program’s first perfect game in the NCAA Tournament as the No. 24 Hofstra Softball team shut out UNCG, 6-0, on Saturday afternoon at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckman Field. Dandola finished the game with four strikeouts, pitching seven completely clean innings and throwing just 58 pitches en route to her fourth solo shutout of the season. The Pride then moved on to the Regional semi-final against South Carolina where they came up short and lost a heartbreaker on a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh.
SHE’S PERFECT! Sophie Dandola throws the first perfect game of her career to keep @HofstraSoftball alive in Columbia! #NCAASoftball pic.twitter.com/iXlnL3xDTc
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 19, 2018
