NEBRASKA-ALABAMA
T1, Huskers go down scoreless against Jocelyn Briski... B1, Bama with runners at first and second on walk and HBP with no outs against Jordy Frahm... K for first out... K for second out... Marlie Giles blasts one to center, giving Crimson Tide a 3-0 lead... Another K to end the inning... B3, still 3-0... Nebraska brings in Ashley Jensen to pitch, moving Frahm to 1B, to begin the half-inning... Leadoff walk, followed one out later by Husker mess-up playing a bunt, gives the Tide runners on second and third with one out... Giles up again... Hits sac-fly to make it 4-0 Tide, advance trailing runner to third... Audrey Vandagriff at the plate with two out... Ground-out ends inning...
T4, Briski has retired all nine Nebraska batters she's faced so far... Frahm at the plate... K... Hannah Coor grounds out... Hannah Camenzind trying to break through for Huskers... 0-2 count goes to 3-2... Camenzind homers to center, ending Briski's perfect-game, no-hitter, and shutout bids... Now 4-1 Tide... Ground-out to end the half-inning... B4, Husker throwing error on two-out grounder to short keeps Bama inning alive with runner on second... Jena Young singles to left, making it 5-1 Tide... Per ESPN announcers, Young has gotten on base in all seven of her WCWS plate appearances this year! Nothing further for Bama...
Young's WCWS plate appearances:
Thursday vs. UCLA: Single (1st inning), Single (3rd), Walk (5th), Single (6th)
Tonight vs. Nebraska: Walk (1st), Single (2nd), Single (4th)
T5, Leadoff Nebraska runner on second after left- and center-fielders get confused over who should catch fly to left-center... Nothing comes of it... B5, Jensen strikes out the side... T6, per ESPN, Frahm's streak of 47 straight games getting on base as a hitter in jeopardy as she hasn't gotten on tonight... Frahm strikes out. She'll need a Husker rally to have another plate appearance... Drop on deep pop-up to right by Bama gives Nebraska a runner on second... Nothing comes of it... B6, nothing for Bama... T7, Huskers will need a rally to avoid dropping to the losers' bracket... Bama's Briski trying to finish off a one-hitter (with no walks)... One out... Two down... Game over on fly to center...
TEXAS TECH-TENNESSEE
(I have updated some of the details below, having watched highlights of the game.)
T1, Vols' Karlyn Pickens strikes out Mia Williams to start the game... Mihyia Davis with an infield single for Texas Tech, with slugging Jackie Lis coming up... Ground out, advancing Davis to second for Jasmyn Burns... K ends Red Raider half of the inning... B1, Kaitlyn Terry starting for Tech... Allows an infield single, but nothing else, scoreless after one... T2, Pickens pitching to former Vol Taylor Pannell... Pops up... Nothing for Tech in T2 or Tennesse in B2... Raiders also scoreless in T3...
B3, Bella Faw with leadoff single for Tennessee... Taelyn Holley up... Bunts Faw to second, batter retired... In what looks like it will be a low-scoring game, the Vols opt for small ball... Back to the top of the Tennessee order with Sophia Knight up... HBP, giving Vols runners on first and second with one out... Elsa Morrison up... Pitching change, with NiJaree Canady coming in for Red Raiders. Those readers who watched the TTU-Florida super-regional know that Tech coach Gerry Glasco is comfortable switching pitchers on an almost batter-by-batter basis to get a strategic edge. One limitation is that, when a pitching reappears in the same inning, she does not get any new warm-up tosses... Morrison fouls out to catcher for second out, now up to Ella Dodge for Tennessee... Wild pitch advances runners to second and third, then Dodge HBP loads bases for Emma Clarke... Note Tennessee's "Triple E" threat (Elsa, Ella, and Emma)... 0-2 count on Clarke... Three straight balls for full count... Pop to first leaves the bases loaded. Still scoreless... T4, Tech goes 1-2-3... B4, Alannah Leach reaches on Tech infield error... K for first out... Gabby Leach (Alannah's sister) up. Alannah's pinch-runner thrown out trying to steal second... Gabby singles, bringing up Faw with two outs... Foul-out to catcher ends inning, still scoreless after four...
T5, two-out single to left for Tech's Lauren Allred, only the second hit allowed by Pickens (the other occurring in the first inning)... Canady strikes out to end the half-inning... Tech appears to have placed less emphasis on Canady's batting this season, as she has recorded a .214 average and .738 OPS in 42 AB this season, compared to .278 and 1.054 in 108 AB last year... B5, Holley with leadoff homer, oppo to left, for Tennessee... Next three batters retired... 1-0 Vols...
T6, Williams with one-out double for Tech... Davis singles, Williams out at home for second out... It was a ground single up the middle, allowing Tennessee outfielder to make throw from shallow CF. Still, very close at the plate, with "out" call upheld upon challenge... Lis up... Walks, giving Raiders runners on first and second with two outs... Burns up... 2-0 count... Pop to third ends TTU threat... B6, Vols go 1-2-3...
T7, last chance for Tech, trailing 1-0... Raiders have been getting to Pickens lately -- perhaps via Times Through the Order effect -- but haven't been able to score... Pickens still out there... Pannell leads off... Singles to center, bringing up Terry... Walks, giving Tech runners on first and second with no outs... Allred up... Pannell steals third, tying run 60 feet away... Terry steals second... 3-0 to Allred, may be walking her to load bases and set up force plays... Yep...Lagi Quiroga up... K for first out... Desirae Spearman batting for Logan Halleman... Sac-fly to center ties game 1-1, advances Tech runners to second and third with two out. Runner initially called out at the plate, which would have ended the game, but video challenge shows catcher missed the tag... The always-dangerous Williams at the plate... Sage Mardjetko relieving Pickens... Full count to Williams... Walks to reload the bases... Davis up... Flies out to left, as Alannah Leach rushes in to snare sinking bloop, 1-1 going to bottom half of seventh... B7, Terry pitching... Vols down 1-2-3... Going to extras...
T8, Mardjetko pitches to Lis... Four-pitch leadoff walk... Burns up... K for first out, brining up Pannell... Grounds into fielder's choice, runner on first with two out for Terry... Wild pitch advances runner to second... Four straight foul balls! Ball for full count to Terry... Grounds out to short, still 1-1 going to bottom half... B8, Terry retires Tennessee in order...
T9, Tech down in order... B9, Clarke with leadoff homer to center off Terry, Vols win 2-1... A roughly 10-minute highlights video of the game is available on YouTube here... With all the great defensive plays, close calls (including a crucial reversal), and drama, this really was a game for the ages! Tennessee has an inside track, but I wouldn't count Tech out yet...