There was one no-hitter, two extra-inning games, one upset and
one near-huge upset.
Thursday’s first day of the NCAA Softball Regionals at
UCLA would’ve satisfied even the most hard-to-please sports
fan.
Five games.
Thirteen hours.
Eight teams.
One hundred percent of fans going home knowing they saw a great
game.
In how many sports can you see five playoff games in one day
without moving from your seat?
And they were all great games, too. The only game that
wasn’t close was Keira Goerl’s no-hitter for UCLA.
Thursday’s regional games at Easton Stadium may have been
the best sporting event I have ever been to. And I’ve seen a
lot in my day, both professional and college.
I had the luxury of watching all 12 hours of it, and I have the
sunburn to prove it. It’s amazing how red your arms can
turn.
“¢bull; The Big Red Upset
Nothing to do with sunburns, but Big Red is Cornell’s
mascot. The Big Red were the overwhelming underdog, having never
won an NCAA Tournament game. Long Beach State is an annual
postseason contender and has the No. 10-ranked pitching staff in
the country.
But the Big Red machine kept at it under the leadership of coach
Dick Blood. (Yes, Blood really is the Big Red coach and, yes,
I’m having too much fun with Cornell’s mascot.)
“This feels better than any win we’ve ever
had,” Big Red pitcher Sarah Sterman said. Her team won
2-1.
“¢bull; Why I love Central Michigan
The Chippewas (how many of you knew that mascot?) nearly pulled
out an upset of No. 2 seed Alabama.
I love them because of their fans. Central Michigan traveled
very well, and their fans were the loudest of them all at Easton
Stadium.
“¢bull; The pitching duel
The most boring team in the country played to a 1-0 loss against
Louisville.
Well, I made up the country part, but Missouri coach Ty
Singleton called his own team boring. His teams have excellent
pitching and defense but can’t hit.
Neither team had a rally of any kind ever. But it’s fun to
see pitchers dominate every once in a while.
“¢bull; The no-hitter
Goerl questioned whether her no-hitter against Mississippi
Valley State was so great after the game.
She was in a league of her own.
Fortunately and unfortunately, the game ended after five innings
because UCLA won by the eight-run rule.
Goerl is back in postseason form.
“¢bull; The great game I missed
If I would’ve stayed for extra-innings of the night cap
elimination-game between Long Beach State and Central Michigan,
this column space would’ve been blank today.
I’m sad. I missed it.
I saw both teams rally in the late-innings, and Central Michigan
worked its magic again and again.
But, apparently, it ran out.
Long Beach won in nine innings.
E-mail Quiñonez at gquinonez@media.ucla.edu.