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There were only two games on Friday in Oklahoma City at the 2019 Women’s College World Series, but they were two of the biggest match-ups you could schedule.
Many familiar softball faces were out and about to enjoy the great competition, although it may have been too much electricity in the stadium as the lights literally went out for a period of time.
Here’s the recap of Day 2 and as you’ll see below, pretty much everyone had their “game faces” on!
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Softball’s Greatest Rivalry—a matchup between the two most storied programs in the game’s history—led off Friday’s winner’s bracket slate of games at the Women’s College World Series.
Arizona and UCLA, easily the most legendary programs in college softball history, faced off in Friday’s opener as UCLA threw its ace, Rachel Garcia, while Arizona countered with its best in Taylor McQuillin.
The game was tight after each team scored a single run in the third inning. Garcia hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly that scored Bubba Nickles in the Bruins’ half of the frame. Evening the score, Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza hit a solo home run in the bottom of the inning to tie things up.
The score remained the same until the sixth inning when UCLA’s sophomore infielder Malia Quarles stepped up to the plate as a pinch hitter. Quarles took a 3-2 pitch and parked it to center field to give her team a one-run lead.
Malia Quarles makes the most of her pinch-hit opportunity with a LOOOONNNNNGGGG home run to give @UCLASoftball the lead again!#WCWS pic.twitter.com/8p2uWtzBMh
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) June 1, 2019
The Bruins would take advantage of some Wildcat fielding errors in the seventh inning, including a dropped fly ball in left field to four runs in the final frame.
Arizona’s Palomino-Cardoza hit her second home run of the game in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough, as she seemed to be the only Wildcats hitter that could solve Garcia and the Bruins took the win 6-2.
🎥 #WCWS Highlights – Game 5
(2) @UCLASoftball advances to the Women's College World Series semifinals after taking down (6) @ArizonaSoftball, 6-2. pic.twitter.com/v180yeHVmV
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) June 1, 2019
In the press conference following the game, UCLA’s head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez lauded Quarles for being ready at a moment’s notice off of the bench and said that she had been working on preparing the young sophomore “just for this moment.”
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The second and final winner’s bracket game pitted bitter rivals Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma swept the season series from the Cowgirls, outscoring their archrivals 16-2 in a three-game series that decided the Big 12 regular-season championship.
The Sooners got to Samantha Show early and heartily in the game, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning.
The game looked like it would quickly turn into a rout, but Show got out of the inning and pitched better as the game went on, not allowing a run before she was pulled in the sixth inning.
On in relief of Show, Logan Simunek allowed three runs in the sixth inning, giving the Sooners a healthy lead after Oklahoma State had scored just one run of its own in the first inning.
🎥 #WCWS Highlights – Game 6
(1) @OU_Softball cruises past home state rival @CowgirlSB, 6-1, advancing the Sooners to the semifinals. pic.twitter.com/mrRZ7qTsh0
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) June 1, 2019
The game was delayed briefly after a set of stadium lights went out in right field, although the stadium DJ earned rave reviews for the set list during the delay, and fans cheered with gusto when the lights began to flicker once-again.
Lights out, party 🔛#WCWS | @OU_Softball pic.twitter.com/JrZeDAGjkU
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) June 1, 2019
Oklahoma earned the win with a 6-1 final score and advanced to the WCWS semifinals on Sunday.
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Sights and Sounds
* Prior to the evening’s opening game, UCLA assistant coach Kirk Walker made an enlarged appearance in the UCLA fan section. “Somebody has to cheer for the coaches, right?” said the young lady carrying “Kirk.”
* UCLA legend and Liberty head coach Dot Richardson was quite popular over the first two days of the Women’s College World Series; at various times, including during some games, Richardson was spotted signing autographs, posing for photographs, and chatting with fans of a wide range of ages.
* A number of decorated alumni showed up to helm the cheering sections for some of the teams in the winner’s bracket:
— all-time home run queen Lauren Chamberlain was in attendance for Oklahoma
— legendary UCLA head coach Sue Enquist and alumni Natasha Watley, Tairia Flowers, and Jen Schroeder led the Powder Blue.
— Arizona greats Leah O’Brien Amico, Toni Mascarenas, and Erika Barnes helped fill out the Wildcats’ cheering section.
* Here is the schedule for Day 3:
Saturday, June 1
* Washington vs. Minnesota | 12 p.m. on ESPN
* Florida vs. Alabama | 2:30 p.m on ESPN
* Washington vs. Minnesota winner vs. Oklahoma State | 7 p.m. on ESPN
* Florida vs. Alabama winner vs. Arizona | 9:30 p.m. on ESPN