Softball tops Oregon 3-1 in WCWS
Arizona State softball moved past the Oregon Ducks, 3-1, in the opening round of the Women's College World Series, May 31. The Sun Devils will play Alabama at 6:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. CT, June 1, in the sixth game of the WCWS.
Arizona State (52-9) goes on to play Alabama (56-7) at 6:30 p.m. PT, June 1, in the winners bracket after defeating Oregon (44-17) with a score of 3-1. The Sun Devils are on the hunt to become the third softball program ever to win back-to-back national championships.
In the first inning of the ASU softball team's 10th Women's College World Series appearance, the freshman duo of Amber Freeman and Haley Steele gave the Sun Devils a quick 1-0 lead. Freeman plated Steele with a deep double to right center, bringing Steele around from first base for the first run of the game.
The double is Freeman's eighth of the season and bumps her RBI to 41 on the year. A two-out rally in the third added cushion to the Sun Devil lead, 3-0, after Freeman reached on an infield Duck error, allowing Katelyn Boyd and Talor Haro to score, unearned. Haro reached with on a single while Boyd via walk.
Dallas Escobedo went the distance to pick up the win in a five-strikeout performance, making her 24-6 on the year. Oregon's Jessica Moore takes the loss and falls to 32-14 but fanned three Sun Devils along the way.
Oregon rallied for a single run, unearned, in the top of the seventh after an ASU error. The Ducks got on the board down 3-1 after Christie Nieto came home during a Jamie Rae Sullivan at-bat.
With the win, ASU improves its record against conference opponents in the WCWS, now sporting a 3-7 tally with wins against Oregon (3-1, 5/31/12), UCLA (4-0, 2008) and Oregon State (3-1, 2006). The last time ASU and Alabama met was in 2009, with the Crimson Tide winning 6-2. Alabama leads the series 5-4, dating back to 1998.
FRIDAY TICKET UPDATE
Friday's session three of the 2012 Women's College World Series is sold out, but fans still have a chance to catch the games as a limited number of standing room only tickets will go on sale June 1 at 2 p.m. CT.
Tickets are $17 each and can be purchased at the ASA Hall of Fame ticket booth. Sales will not be conducted online or over the phone. Friday's action begins at 6 p.m. with top-seeded California taking on fourth-seeded Oklahoma. The evening's second game will feature the No. 2 seed, Alabama, against Arizona State.