OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Sunday’s semifinals are set as Oregon put up a three-spot in the third and added another run in the seventh to eliminate Oklahoma from the Women’s College World Series on Saturday night at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla., 4-2.
On Sunday, Florida will face Baylor (1 p.m. ET, ESPN), while Alabama and Oregon will meet up (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). Baylor and Oregon will need to win twice to avoid elimination from the WCWS.
Left fielder Janie Takeda (2-for-4, double, two RBIs) and first baseman Kailee Cuico (2-for-4, double, two RBIs) led the Oregon offensive charge, while Sooner third baseman Shelby Pendley posted a 2-for-4 effort with an RBI for OU.
Cheridan Hawkins improved to 35-5 on the year after permitting two earned runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts over 6.1 innings. Pendley (2-1) suffered the loss, allowing three earned tallies on a trio of hits, walking one and striking out one in 2.1 frames.
Box Score | Oregon Quotes | Oklahoma Quotes | Notes
Oregon threatened right from the start as third baseman Courtney Ceo led off the top of the first with a single back through the middle. A wild pitch and a groundout moved the NFCA All-American speedster within 60 feet of paydirt. Unfortunately for the Ducks, Cuico went down swinging as the pair was left stranded.
Designated player Brittany Williams got Oklahoma’s offense started in the bottom of the second by christening the inning with a walk against UO All-American pitcher Hawkins. Following a towering fly out by third baseman Georgia Casey, right fielder Erin Miller earned a free pass, putting two aboard with still only one retired. Hawkins proved up to the situation, however, striking out both Sooner center fielder Callie Parsons and shortstop Jessica Vest to end the threat.
A walk and a hit by pitch came back to haunt Pendley and Oklahoma during the top of the third as Takeda blasted an RBI double into the left center gap for a one-run advantage. That ended Pendley’s stint in the circle, having allowed one run on three hits over 2.1 frames, as Stevens entered in relief. With runners stationed at second and third, Cuico laced a hard shot off the third baseman and into foul ground for a pair of RBIs as the UO lead expanded to 3-0.
OU left fielder Destinee Martinez began the bottom of the second by reaching on a one-out error at first. She was soon joined via free pass by first baseman Lauren Chamberlain. Pendley stepped to the dish and hit a bouncer back to the circle that was corralled by Hawkins. She pivoted quickly but had no play at second, instead throwing on to first for a force. With two OU runners stationed in scoring position, Williams looked at three consecutive strikes to finish off the frame.
The Sooner offense finally got untracked in the bottom of the fourth against Hawkins as Casey and Miller christened the inning with OU’s initial two hits of the match-up. Following a stolen base and a pop-up for the first retirement, Vest delivered an RBI single to left center, getting the Crimson & Cream on the board trailing 3-1. On what either was a failed double steal or a missed squeeze, Miller got caught straying too far off third base and was gunned down for a massive second out. That play seemed to take the sting out of the Oklahoma rally as catcher Whitney Ellis bounced back harmlessly to the circle to end the frame.
The Oregon lead was cut to just one at 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth as Pendley blasted a towering shot just over the wall in right.
With the Ducks hoping for some valuable insurance in the top of the seventh, shortstop and No. 9 hitter Nikki Udria ripped a one-out double down the right field line. Ceo walked and suddenly UO had two speedsters on the base paths. Stevens managed to strikeout designated player Alyssa Gillespie but allowed a run-scoring bloop single to right by Takeda as the Ducks moved in front by two.
Down to one final chance to continue the Sooners’ campaign, Ellis bestowed some life with a leadoff single to left. Martinez bounced back to the circle and the throw to first was low but dug out of the dirt for the initial out. That brought the extremely dangerous Chamberlain to the plate as the potential tying run. Facing a 3-1 count, Karissa Hovinga threw two perfect change-ups back-to-back to strikeout the OU All-American and climb within one out of a victory. It wouldn’t prove that easy, though, as Pendley singled deep into the hole at short to station runners at the corners. Williams stepped into the batter’s box against the newly re-entered Hawkins and promptly grounded out to short to end the match-up.
