News about coaching retirements (plural) and the scheduling controversy appear below the game synopses...
Alabama-Florida State
This is not the Montana Fouts we're used to seeing! Three Seminoles have stepped to the plate in the top of the first and the results are a single, a walk, and an Elizabeth Mason three-run shot (video)... 3-0 FSU with none out... Noles add one run in the second and four in the third, making it 8-0... Bama with two in the bottom of the third, so the score is 8-2 FSU... Fouts is on the outs, having been removed after two and two-thirds innings pitched... Tide coming up in the bottom of the fourth... Leadoff double for Alabama by KB Sides... FSU replaces Kathryn Sandercock in the circle with Caylan Arnold... Fly to right for first out... Another fly, to left-center, for second out... Inning ends on grounder to second...
Still trailing 8-2, Bama coming up in bottom of fifth... Leadoff single to center... Bunted to second, one out... Perhaps the Tide was going for the element of surprise, but how can a team trailing by six give up one of its precious nine remaining outs on a bunt? Bailey Hemphill homers to cut Tide deficit to 8-4... One of the ESPN commenters notes FSU decision not to walk Hemphill with first base open... FSU goes to the bullpen for Danielle Watson... Grounder to first for second out... Four-pitch walk... Ground single to right, ball just evading 2B-person's glove. Two outs, runners on first and second... Solid single up the middle drives in runner from second -- making it 8-5 -- but runner from first thrown out trying to go to third. Inning over...
Nothing for FSU in top of sixth... Bama coming up in bottom of sixth, trailing 8-5... Tide goes out in 1-2-3 inning...
Top seven: A couple of two-out singles for Seminoles... The latter hit by Kaley Mudge, making her 5-for-5 on the evening... Grounder to third forces lead runner and ends the rally... Bottom seven: Tide down to its last three outs, trailing 8-5... Fly to right for first out... After 2-0 count to Hemphill (both pitches well outside strike-zone), Hemphill takes two strikes... Hemphill flares one to left, caught for second out... 3-0 to Kaylee Tow, as Bama desperate for baserunners... Four-pitch walk... Brings up Jenna Johnson... Strike looking... Fly to right ends it... Florida State will face Oklahoma in two-out-of-three championship round, beginning Tuesday night... Hard to imagine how Alabama, coming off the high of a 6-0, Fouts perfect-game win over UCLA on Friday night, falls short of championship round, but it happened...
Oklahoma-James Madison
The Dukes have struck quickly -- and I mean quickly -- as Kate Gordon drives the very first pitch of the game over the left-field wall (video)... 1-0 JMU after half an inning... Bottom one: Two-out walk for Sooners... Nothing comes of it, though... Top two: JMU down quietly... Bottom two: Again, a two-out walk for Sooners... And again nothing comes of it... Quickly moving game: JMU goes quietly in top of third... Leadoff walk for OU in bottom of third... K for first out... Two deep fly-outs (the second one actually in foul territory wide of the left-field foul-line) end the inning... Nothing doing in top of fourth for Dukes...
Bottom four: Leadoff triple to right-center for OU's Nicole Mendes (video)... K for first out (swinging on what looked like a sinking change-up)... Wild-pitch (which also was ball four to batter) scores run from third, now 1-1... Grounder to short, force at second, batter beats throw to first to avoid double-play... Two outs... Opposite-field line single to left, puts runners on first and second for OU... Another single to left makes it 2-1 Sooners, with runners on second and third (batter took second on left-fielder's bobble and then her throw to third)... JMU can't let this get out of hand... K ends inning and keeps it at 2-1 Sooners...
OU pitcher Giselle "G" Juarez has retired 10 straight Dukes entering top of fifth...Eleven on leadoff K... Twelve with another K... And 13 with a grounder back to Juarez... Bottom five: One-out single for OU... Another deep fly, hauled in by JMU left-fielder on warning track, two outs... Blistering ground single down the line to left puts Sooners on first and second... Full-count on Mackenzie Donihoo... Doubles to right-center gap, making it 4-1 OU... HBP puts runners on first and second... Another double to right-center gap, this time by Jayda Coleman, makes it 6-1... Another HBP... Odicci Alexander, to hugs of teammates and cheers of crowd, leaves the circle... New pitcher gets final out... 7-1 Sooners is your final. OU on to the championship round, which begins Tuesday...
***
Before discussing today's upcoming WCWS games, we have some breaking news: Mike Candrea, who coached Arizona to eight NCAA championships (1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, and 2007) in his 36-year tenure in Tucson, has announced his retirement. Further details on U of A softball under Candrea are available here at the program's online record book. I have no inside information on the Wildcat program, but I would think there's a good chance it will take the "Lowe road," as in Caitlin Lowe. A key player for Arizona from 2004-2007, Lowe currently holds the title of Associate Head Coach, which sometimes signifies someone is an heir apparent to the head coaching position.
Candrea is not the only coach from one of this year's eight WCWS teams to announce their retirement. Georgia's Lu Harris-Champer is stepping down after 21 years in the Dawg dugout. Her UGA teams made it to the WCWS five times.
On to tournament developments in OKC...
Typically, Monday night is when the two-out-of-three championship round begins. Because of some scheduling modifications, however, today's two games -- Oklahoma vs. James Madison and Alabama vs. Florida State -- will finalize the winners of the two pools. The two pool winners will play in the championship round, which now will begin Tuesday night.
Scheduling issues -- both the postponement and non-postponement of games -- have roiled the college softball community. Because of rain delays, Florida State and Oklahoma State had to start their Saturday night game shortly before midnight, a game that ended at 2:18 a.m. Sunday morning. As noted within the linked article in this paragraph, the decision not to delay this game until the next day was blasted by Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso (not a participant in the overnight affair) as "ridiculous" for making the teams wait so long to play.
Then, on Sunday, after one-loss Oklahoma beat undefeated JMU and one-loss Florida State beat undefeated Alabama to force rematches in both match-ups, the NCAA delayed the two games until Monday. According to the linked article:
When the NCAA's decision was announced over the P.A. after the Seminoles' victory Sunday night, it was met with a couple of boos. The crowd, for the most part, was expecting to see Oklahoma play James Madison again. But Patrick Dunn, assistant director of athletic communications for Oklahoma, said the team was "pretty excited" to get the extra rest.