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Day 2 of the Arizona schools' trip through northern California is now on the books, albeit much later than expected for Arizona and Cal. The Wildcats and Golden Bears played for nearly double the regulation seven-inning length of a game, with Arizona prevailing 4-2 on a two-run homer by Kristie Fox in the top of the 13th. Taryne Mowatt pitched 13 innings for the win and also got two hits of her own in her six at-bats (Mowatt often plays in the field when not pitching).

Meanwhile, Stanford rebounded from yesterday's loss to U of A by knocking off ASU, 3-1. Saturday's team match-ups will be repeated Sunday.

Elsewhere, it was "splitsville" for Alabama and Georgia in their Saturday double-header, while Michigan took two from Ohio State.

It's been a busy week for Wolverine senior pitcher Jennie Ritter, who got both wins vs. the Buckeyes today (going all seven innings in the first game, then five in relief of Lorilyn Wilson in the nightcap).

Last Tuesday, in a non-conference double-header against Central Michigan, Ritter pitched a total of 16 innings in leading Michigan to a sweep. Ritter went the distance in the opener, a regulation seven-inning game. Wilson then started Game 2, which went into extra frames. After giving up a lead-off single to CMU in the top of the 10th, she was replaced by Ritter. Most observers probably figured the game wouldn't go much longer, but they would have been wrong. Ritter ended up pitching another nine innings, before UM won it in the bottom of the 18th.

Based on the play-by-play sheet (click here and then scroll down below the box score), CMU and Michigan didn't appear to use the International Tie Breaker (ITB) system that I alluded to in my Wednesday, April 19 posting (below). The way the ITB has been applied in NCAA softball, once the 10th inning is reached, each half-inning begins with a runner on second base, to increase the chances of a score and eventual closure to the game.

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