UCLA’s road to the NCAA Softball Championship just got a
lot easier. In a stunning upset, Sarah Sterman pitched six-seeded
Cornell to a 2-1 victory over Long Beach State, advancing the Big
Red to the regional semifinals. The 49ers came back in the
nightcap, with a 3-2 win over Central Michigan in nine innings to
keep their hopes alive. Cornell’s victory was the first by an
Ivy League team in the tournament since Harvard won in 1998. The
49ers, a heavy favorite coming into the game and one of the top
potential rivals for UCLA in this region, could not seem to put any
good aluminum on the ball. “We knew Sterman throws a lot of
off-speed pitches and has a lot of movement on her pitches,”
Long Beach State coach Pete Manarino said. “We have to make
adjustments.” The Big Red scored their two runs on a single
by Melissa Heintz and a fielder’s choice double play in the
fourth inning. “It was huge to jump on them early,”
Cornell coach Dick Blood said. “We’re just excited to
be here, and even more excited to beat a storied team like Long
Beach.” The 49ers scored their lone run on a single by Marcel
Torres in the sixth inning, after a single by Lauren Johnson and a
walk by Jamie Farnworth. Meredith Cervenka and Lindsay Knoff
combined to pitch seven strong innings for Long Beach, giving up
two runs and five hits. Cervenka had a perfect game through three
innings, but Cornell was able to scrape out two runs.
“Sweeney was our catalyst today,” Manarino said.
“The pitching was strong by both teams, and we just had to
play small ball.” The 49ers await the loser of today’s
UCLA-Louisville game.
ALABAMA 4, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 2: Continuing a
surprising day, second-seeded Alabama survived a close game with
seventh-seeded Central Michigan to advance to the semifinals. The
Crimson Tide will face Cornell today. Alabama was down 2-1 in the
third when Stephanie VanBrakle hit a two- run homer off of Chippewa
pitcher Amber Puchalski to put the Tide ahead for good. “I
was just looking for an inside pitch,” VanBrakle said.
“I just stayed back on the change up and tried to hit it
solidly up the middle.” Erin Wright pitched seven strong
innings for Alabama, getting eight strike-outs while allowing only
two runs, one earned. Central Michigan was eliminated after their
extra-inning loss to Long Beach State.
LOUISVILLE 1, MISSOURI 0: The close games
continued as fourth-seeded Louisville defeated fifth-seeded
Missouri in the eighth inning. Louisville will face UCLA today.
Louisville pitcher Aja Sherman worked her way out of a bases-loaded
jam in the top of the inning, as she held the Tigers to just two
hits.