For the first time in two years, the Women’s College World Series is underway from the nation’s heartland and what a way to pick it up again!
Right off the bat, the softball has been impressive with both of the early games being one-run affairs with multiple lead changes.
James Madison provided one of the biggest upsets in recent memories with a 4-3 win over top seeded Oklahoma to earn its 40th win of the season with a quality start from Odicci Alexander and a go-ahead homer from Kate Gordon.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma State sent Georgia to the loser’s bracket, but not without a late scare from the unseeded Bulldogs, who were in hopes for the second unseeded upset in as many games.
Catch up on all the latest action that you might have missed during your Thursday workday as compiled by our new correspondent, Will Turner!
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James Madison 4, #1 Oklahoma 3 (8 innings)
In what could go down as one of the greatest upsets in college softball history, an eighth-inning, go-ahead home run from Kate Gordon pushed James Madison to a 4-3 win over top-seeded Oklahoma in the first game of the 2021 Women’s College World Series.
Dukes ace Odicci Alexander was brilliant in shutting down an OU lineup that came in scoring 12 runs per game in the NCAA Tournament – Alexander allowed just a three-run home run to leadoff hitter Tiare Jennings, who was tabbed yesterday as the National Freshman of the Year, in the third.
The redshirt senior for JMU struck out nine Sooners on the day, surpassing 700 career strikeouts in the process.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘆.#GoDukes | #RoadToWCWS pic.twitter.com/HrhwYRZVCT
— JMU Softball (@JMUSoftball) June 3, 2021
Alexander dueled with Sooners ace Shannon Saile for two scoreless innings ahead of an eventful third.
JMU got an infield single and error on a sacrifice bunt to lead off the inning, then Sara Jubas took the first pitch she saw from Saile deep to center field for a three-run homer to give the Dukes an early lead.
Oklahoma responded in the bottom half, but Alexander worked an effective rise ball throughout the zone to keep the Sooners off the board to send Thursday’s game to extras, setting up Gordon – who was 2-for-24 in the NCAA Tournament heading into the eighth-inning opportunity.
“Our team’s playing for each other,” Gordon told ESPN. “Everybody’s picking each other up. I think we’re all playing with heart…[Odicci’s] amazing, a great friend, she’s out there grinding for us. She’s so fun to play behind…It was a tough postseason, I know my teammates would pick me up.”
“It’s been a little frustrating, but my teammates talked me through a lot and believed in me. Going into that last at-bat, nothing else mattered than that…we love [the OU] fans. We love all fans being loud. We feed into that. We have been on the road for a while, so it doesn’t faze us anymore. We’re using that energy.”
UPSET COMPLETE ✅
James Madison stuns top-seeded Oklahoma in its very first #WCWS game! pic.twitter.com/Bye3vwNaLP
— ESPN (@espn) June 3, 2021
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📼 WCWS HIGHLIGHTS: (5) @CowgirlSB defeats @UGASoftball, 3-2, in game two of the Women’s College World Series.#WCWS pic.twitter.com/mwA5T1UFpW
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) June 3, 2021
#5 Oklahoma State 3, Georgia 2
Carrie Eberle scattered seven hits across a complete game effort, getting 14 groundouts to help stave off a late Bulldog rally to push the Cowgirls to a matchup with James Madison in the second game of the day in Oklahoma City.
The former Virginia Tech transfer no-hit Georgia through the first three innings and got the help of a double play in the second and fourth to polish off a quality start.
Cheyenne Factor belted her sixth home run of the year in the third to give Oklahoma State a lead it never surrendered and later built upon via an RBI single in the home sixth from Alysen Febry.
Sophomore Sara Mosley singled in a run for Georgia to trim Oklahoma State’s lead to 2-1 before Febry’s base knock in the bottom half.
The unseeded Bulldogs ultimately weren’t able to give Mary Wilson Avant the run support she’d need, but sure came close to providing the second major upset of the afternoon.
Freshman Ellie Armistead worked a 0-2 count into a full one from Eberle and ripped a double to the left center gap to plate Jaiden Fields.
Georgia got the go-ahead run to the plate, it just wasn’t able to push it across, as Eberle’s 14th ground ball out of the day finished it off in the seventh inning.
Fire us up!!! 🔥🔥🔥 #WCWS#Pitch2Pitch I #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/AcnTfp8dLO
— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) June 4, 2021
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Alabama beats Arizona to open play at the Women's College World Series#Team25 #RollTide pic.twitter.com/qwvRCCiX8o
— Alabama Softball (@AlabamaSB) June 4, 2021
#3 Alabama 5, #11 Arizona 1
Montana Fouts was nearly untouchable on Thursday night in the beginning of a doubleheader in the night cap.
The Kentucky native struck out 16, tying a career-high, in a two-hit complete game effort to help the Crimson Tide advance to the winner’s bracket.
What might have been more impressive was that Fouts needed just 103 pitches and didn’t allow a walk. The lone blemish on her line came on a two-out, two-strike seventh inning homer from Jesse Harper, the 92nd of her storied Arizona career, putting her in a tie for second all-time in the NCAA home run record books.
Bailey Hemphill nearly single-handedly pushed Alabama to a 2-0 lead with a walk in the first before coming around to score on an error after a single, then the graduate student blasted her 13th home run of the year on a line drive laser to left in the third.
In the sixth, Maddie Morgan added an RBI double to score Savannah Woodard to put the Tide up 3-0, then Abby Doerr smacked a pinch-hit, two-run homer to the opposite field, completing a three-run, two-out rally to give Fouts more than enough run support to earn her 26th winning decision of the year.
It was the right-hander’s eighth consecutive start with at least 10 punchouts and her 21st career game with double digit Ks.
For the fourth time in program history, Alabama won its opening game at the first game of the WCWS and has stretched its winning streak to 19 games, 17 of which have come over ranked opponents.
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#2 UCLA 4, #10 Florida State 0
The final score certainly doesn’t show the intensity of the pitching duel shown through the first five innings.
UCLA’s Rachel Garcia and Florida State’s Kathryn Sandercock battled in a scoreless game until a couple of key plays at second base put the Bruins ahead in the home fifth.
Kinsley Washington beat out an infield single and advanced to second on an error from Devyn Flaherty. Two at-bats later, Anna Vines took a 1-1 pitch from Sandercock and sent it to Flaherty, who attempted a throw to first, allowing Washington to score from second on the second infield hit of the inning.
Delanie Wisz added on with an RBI double in the sixth to force Florida State into a pitching change, as Sandercock yielded to Danielle Watson.
Maya Brady greeted her on a 1-1 count with a no-doubt homer to center, giving the Bruins a 4-0 lead.
Garcia locked it down from there, polishing off her second straight complete game shutout with a 1-2-3 seventh. The Olympian scattered five Seminole hits and two walks, striking out 11 on the night to set up a UCLA – Alabama matchup on Friday.
SEE-YA!!!!
Brady 💣! Her 14th of the season to tie for the team lead, and third in as many games!!!
4-0 Bruins, B6.
📺 ESPN#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/q1UFhEl0vG
— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) June 4, 2021
