The annual Judi Garman Classic at Cal State Fullerton gets underway today and runs through Sunday. Top teams include three from the Pac 12 (No. 2 Arizona State, No. 14/19 Arizona, and No. 16/18 Washington), along with No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 9/10 Texas, No. 14/15 Michigan, and No. 21-tie/unranked Virginia Tech. Click here for the tournament page.
Washington used a first-inning grand-slam homer from pitcher Danielle Lawrie and some late insurance runs to defeat Georgia by a score of 9-3 in tonight's late game. The win gives U-Dub a spot in the best-of-three championship series against Florida starting Monday (Georgia had defeated Washington earlier today, 9-8 in nine innings, to force tonight's rematch). The Huskies thus claimed "top dog" status over Georgia on their side of the bracket. Florida got a two-out grand-slam homer from Ali Gardiner in the bottom of the seventh to edge Alabama 6-5. The Crimson Tide made a strong recovery in the tournament after looking "not ready for prime time" in an opening-round loss to Michigan. But, as a result of tonight's heartbreaking loss to the Gators, Bama is now eliminated. Lowrie's and Gardiner's grand-slams are among four that have been hit so far in this World Series.