Michigan shuts out Arizona State 2-0 at WCWS

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — Sierra Romero hit a two-run shot for her 23rd home run of the season, Sara Driesenga threw a seven-hit shutout and eighth-seeded Michigan beat Arizona State 2-0 early Sunday in a Women’s College World Series elimination game.

Romero’s third-inning smash against starter Dallas Escobedo (30-6) landed on a walkway at the front of the right-field bleachers.

“I was seeing the ball really well off Dallas,” Romero said. “She’s a great pitcher, and I just took the ball where she pitched it.”

Arizona State, the 2008 and 2011 national champions, was shut out for the first time all season. Driesenga (31-8) allowed seven singles and walked three as Michigan (51-12) advanced to another elimination game later today against Washington.

The first pitch wasn’t until six minutes before midnight because the preceding game between Florida and Nebraska went 15 innings. It didn’t get over until nearly 2:30 a.m. Under NCAA rules, games cannot start after midnight.

“These are college kids. This is their normal hour,” Wolverines coach Carol Hutchins said. “The coaches, not so much. But these are college kids, and they thrive at night.”

The fifth-seeded Sun Devils (50-12) failed to score after loading the bases with no outs in the fifth. Amber Freeman grounded into a double play and, after cleanup hitter Haley Steele was walked intentionally, Bethany Kemp struck out swinging.

Arizona State also left the bases loaded in the third when Steele grounded out to end the inning. The Sun Devils had ranked fourth in the nation in scoring, at 6.8 runs per game.

“We had people in scoring position and couldn’t get it done,” coach Clint Myers said. “We didn’t do the timely hitting. That’s what wins you ballgames.”

Escobedo, the team’s ace as a freshman on the national title team two years ago, walked four and gave up three hits in 2 1-3 innings.

“I was very anxious out there. I feel like I was trying too hard to put it in the zone when I should have just did what I’ve been doing all season,” she said. “I don’t know. It wasn’t me.”

Oklahoma 10, Texas 2, 5 innings: Down 2-0, the Sooners responded with a six-run third inning and eventually run-ruled Big 12 rival Texas 10-2 in five innings in a winners’ bracket game.

Callie Parsons drove in three runs and Keilani Ricketts threw a three-hitter for Oklahoma (54-4), which won for the third time in four meetings this season against Texas. The Sooners will play Michigan, Arizona State or Washington today, needing one win in two opportunities to advance to the best-of-3 finals.

“Every game is the biggest game that you play, but this (winners’ bracket) game is the biggest game there is, because it puts you in a position to have someone have to beat you twice,” said Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso, whose team has outscored opponents 76-11 during the NCAA postseason. “I think right now with the way we’re playing, that would be difficult for any team here to do.”

Texas (50-9) will face No. 2 seed Florida in an elimination game Sunday.

“They’re a good ballclub,” Texas coach Connie Clark said. “We’re a good ballclub. When you’re facing teams at the World Series, you can’t give them that many seams. We gave them a lot of extra opportunities today by issuing free passes and a couple of very uncharacteristic errors.”

Oklahoma fell behind 1-0 in its WCWS opener against Michigan before winning 7-1 and the Sooners followed a similar script Saturday.

Ricketts (33-1) hadn’t given up a hit in the tournament until Stephanie Ceo and Brejae Washington singled to key a two-run third inning for the Longhorns. Texas would have scored more had Oklahoma centerfielder Destinee Martinez not run down Mandy Ogle’s two-out, bases-loaded blast to the warning track.

The Sooners quickly responded against Texas pitchers Blaire Luna (31-6) and Kim Bruins to seize control.

Ricketts started the rally with an RBI double. Parsons later delivered a one-out single to centerfield to score pinch-runner Erica Sampson and Brittany Williams. No. 9 batter Brianna Turang then bunted and Bruins’ throw to first base instead sailed into right field, allowing Martinez, Parsons and the speedy Turang to score, making it 6-2.

“I definitely rushed the throw,” Bruins said. “I had more time than I thought.”

Shults said the Sooners never worried when they fell behind.

“We know that our offense puts up a lot of runs,” she said. “We’re pretty good at answering when something doesn’t go our way. We don’t let things like that get to us.”

Shults and Parsons each had an RBI single in a three-run fourth for the Sooners. In the fifth, Lauren Chamberlain led off with a triple — right fielder Gabby Smith lost the ball in the sun — and Georgia Casey singled to score Chamberlain and end the game.

“That was fun,” Gasso said. “We enjoyed it very much — not necessarily because of the outcome or the amount of the score, because we respect Texas like nobody else. We were really feeling that this was going to be a major battle. We knew it right from the start. What was fun to see every single one of these players participate in a win. Everybody had a hand in helping.”

Florida 9, Nebraska 8, 15 innings: Lauren Haeger and Jessica Damico scored on shortstop Alicia Armstrong’s fielding error in the 15th inning, and No. 2 seed Florida eliminated Nebraska.

Armstrong was able to get in front of Taylore Fuller’s sharp grounder up the middle, but it hopped up and hit her before careening into center field.

The 14th-seeded Cornhuskers (45-16) scored once in the bottom of the 15th, but their chance for a third tying rally ended with Tatum Edwards getting called out at third base when her foot came off the bag after she touched it ahead of the initial tag.

“I don’t know that you could ask for anything more if you’re a fan and I know that you couldn’t ask for anything more as a coach on either side, in either dugout,” Cornhuskers coach Rhonda Revelle said. “It’s a shame that someone has to lose that, but I don’t really feel like anybody lost it because both teams just fought tooth and nail.”

Nebraska had scored three times in the seventh to force extra innings, and Taylor Edwards tied it again in the 10th with a home run to match Briana Little’s solo shot in the top half of the inning.

It ended up as the fifth game to go 15 innings or longer at the Women’s College World Series. In the longest game ever, Texas A&M beat Cal Poly-Pomona 1-0 in 25 innings in 1984.

It was the longest game since 1994, when Oklahoma State beat Cal State-Northridge 3-2 in 15 innings.

Florida advanced to face Texas in another elimination game Sunday.

Armstrong doubled to lead off the bottom of the 15th and scored after back-to-back groundouts. Tatum Edwards then drew a walk, fouling off a full-count pitch before taking ball four. Gabby Banda’s grounder glanced off of Florida pitcher Hannah Rogers and into left field, where Little fielded it and threw to third base.

Replays showed Tatum Edwards made it to the base, with Stephanie Tofft blocking it, ahead of the throw. Tatum Edwards, Taylor’s twin sister, remained face down on the infield dirt for a few moments after the final out.

“I don’t think she touched the bag,” Tofft said. “I think she got my whole knee, that’s about it.”

Haeger (16-2) gave up one run on three hits in seven innings of relief, taking over at the start of the eighth inning. Rogers, who started the game, re-entered and got the save.

“If that wasn’t one of the best, most exciting games at the World Series — I don’t know about ever. But it was one of the most exciting games I think I’ve ever coached,” Gators coach Tim Walton said. “I’m really proud of our team.”

After Nebraska took a 2-0 lead in the fourth, the SEC champion Gators (58-8) answered right back while taking advantage of three straight defensive miscues on infield grounders.

After Tofft’s one-out RBI single, Haeger reached on a fielder’s choice when Banda was unable to tag Kirsti Merritt on her way to third base.

Tatum Edwards (30-10) then fielded Kelsey Horton’s dribbler and threw home too late for a force-out, allowing the tying run to score. Two more runs scored on Fuller’s grounder when Armstrong spiked her throw to second into the dirt for an error.

Hailey Decker homered and had a run-scoring sacrifice fly for Nebraska. The Cornhuskers tied it in the seventh on Taylor Edwards’ RBI single and a sacrifice fly by Brooke Thomason that brought two runs home. Banda was caught in a rundown, but managed to score when Tofft chased her toward home plate and the ball popped out of her glove in a diving tag attempt.

“I actually thought I was out. I was crying on the plate because I thought I was out,” Banda said. “But then I saw Brooke (Thomason) and she was yelling at me and she says, ‘You’re safe! You’re safe!’ I was like, ‘Oh my God!’”

“So, then I just kept crying because we tied it. It was a cry either way moment.”

Tennessee 1, Washington 0: No. 9 hitter Tory Lewis singled up the middle to score pinch-runner Whitney Hammond with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, and Tennessee beat Washington in the winners’ bracket.

“Our kids fought from the very beginning,” Tennessee co-coach Ralph Weekly said. “It’s all about timely hitting and it took us awhile to get that timely hit, but the kids never quit. They never got their heads down and they never stopped fighting.”

Ellen Renfroe (19-4) allowed two hits and struck out 10 for Tennessee, which will next face a team from the losers’ bracket.

Tennessee (51-10) stranded 13 runners through six innings against Washington’s Kaitlin Inglesby (23-8), leaving the bases loaded three times. In the seventh, Cheyanne Tarango reached on an infield single and Hammond ran for her.

“I thought we played a great game,” Washington coach Heather Tarr said. “We dealt with some things that, I think, a lot of teams would have folded with, with regards to a really tight strike zone. So be it. That’s what it was. I thought Kaitlyn Inglesby threw a great game and threw obviously well enough for us to win. Unfortunately, offensively, we couldn’t string anything together.”

Melissa Brown sacrificed Hammond to second base. Rainey Gaffin walked and Hannah Akamine lined out to Inglesby, who unsuccessfully tried to double Gaffin off first base. Hammond took advantage and raced to third base, setting up Lewis’ game-winning hit.