NCAA Women's College World Series
Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Weather: Mostly sunny, windy, upper 60s
Sunday's schedule (All times Central):
Game 11 - Arizona 1 vs. California 2
Game 12 - Texas vs. UCLA
Game 13 - 5 p.m. - Arizona vs. Cal
Game 14 - 7:30 p.m. - UCLA vs. TexasChampionship game - 3:30 p.m.
Monday's game (CDT):
Game 11: Texas 0, UCLA 3 -- FINAL
UCLA (52-7) 000 100 2 -- 3-6-1
Texas (49-8) 000 000 0 -- 0-2-0
Cat Osterman, Amy Bradford (5), Lizi Sowers (7) (Texas) and Keira Goerl (UCLA)
Winning Pitcher: Keira Goerl (38-7)
Losing Pitcher: Cat Osterman (32-5)
As with the other California team playing in the loser's bracket, UCLA would not go down without a fight. Texas sophomore pitcher Cat Osterman kept the Bruins at bay until the top of the fourth when Toria Auelua hit a solo home run to put UCLA up 1-0. Amy Bradford would come in for Osterman in the fifth, and it remained a pitcher's duel: Goerl struck out eight and Osterman and Bradford struck out a total of five. With a total of eight batters in the top of the seventh, Lizi Sowers came in to relieve Bradford who gave up an RBI double to Natasha Watley and an RBI single from Claire Sua that put the Bruins up 3-0. The Bruins held on to the lead to force the if necessary game.
UCLA and Texas will meet again tonight after the first if necessary game.
WHAT THEY SAID
"I think Keira (Goerl) did a great job of getting ahead. I'm most proud of how we carried out our offensive plan. We got Cat (Osterman) to throw a lot of pitches. I knew it was getting close (pitch count). She threw more than 80 pitches. It was a huge emotional shift when you see the other team take out their go-to pitcher like that."
"Just to get ahead in the count and work all ends of the plate."
"I felt like I was seeing Cat really well. I was a little anxious. I think the home run helped the momentum shifted a lot. It added confidence to the team."
"I think we anticipated it would be a great match up. Keira (Goerl) threw a good ball game against us. Our team has a lot of character. I feel good about our chances tonight and to come out and make adjustments."
"Keira (Goerl) is one of the best because she keeps everyone off balance. We'll do our best. We'll try everything we can and try to win the next one. I don't think there was extra pressure (after the home run). We are an underdog. Everything's huge for us. (Texas) has a lot of experience. We've come back in the last inning before."
"It reallly didn't have anything to do with a fatigue factor or the pitch count. I felt like it was a good opportunity to get a look at Amy (Bradford). We have to anticipate two games even though we would have liked to end in one. If Cat is not as crisp or we want to take a look at the UCLA hitters, we would go to Amy sooner. I thought she did a fairly good job. I anticipate that Cat will come out solid; I have no doubt she'll come out better."
Go to NCAA Championships for the complete Women's College World Series schedule, including television coverage.