Alan's College Softball Blog

Arizona State has just edged Florida, 6-5, with a two-out, bases loaded shot that got through the Gator third-base person. ASU took an early 4-0 lead, but its frosh pitcher Dallas Escobedo struggled in the top of the fourth, giving up five runs (including a pair of two-run homers). The ESPN announcers suggested that Escobedo was telegraphing her change-up by doing something different with her arm motion than when she threw faster pitches. The Sun Devils tied the game 5-5 in the bottom of the fourth and then there was no more scoring until the bottom of the seventh.

Alabama has defeated Baylor, 3-0, in the opener of tonight's "Winners' Bracket Friday" of the Women's College World Series. It is the second straight shut-out for Tide pitching.

The Big 12 conference has garnered attention for sending four teams to the WCWS. All four have now suffered a loss and must play on "Survival Saturday," when all games are in the losers' bracket of the double-elimination tournament. One Big 12 team is guaranteed to be sent home early on, as Missouri and Oklahoma play each other (Saturday, 2:30 Eastern). The winner will then get Baylor ~~Florida~~ (Saturday night, 9:30). On the other side of the losers' bracket, Oklahoma State will face Cal (Saturday, noon), with the winner playing Florida ~~Baylor~~ at 7:00 pm Saturday.

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2012 Geospatial Map of NCAA Tournament

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