College Softball World Series 2015: Thursday Results, Highlights and Reaction

After an exciting super regional round that saw eight teams advance to Oklahoma City, the College Softball World Series began Thursday with four games, featuring many of the best programs in the sport.  

Since the College Softball World Series is a double-elimination tournament, no school was in danger of being sent home when play began. At the same time, starting off with a loss is something that some teams are never able to recover from, so the opening slate of games is hugely important in terms of setting the tone.

Here is a rundown of how Thursday's action has played out as well as further analysis regarding every game on the schedule.

College Softball World Series Bracket

Updated bracket available at NCAA.com.

Thursday's Results

Time (ET)	Team 1	Team 2	Score
12 p.m.	Tennessee	Florida	7-2, Florida
2:30 p.m.	LSU	Auburn	6-1, LSU
7 p.m.	Alabama	Michigan	5-0, Michigan
9:30 p.m.	UCLA	Oregon	7-1, UCLA

Thursday Recap

The University of Florida entered Thursday's game as the reigning national champion and the No. 1 seed in the 2015 College Softball World Series. The Gators certainly lived up to the advanced billing as well, easily defeating No. 8 Tennessee, 7-2.

As expected, the Gators were anchored by Lauren Haeger, who made a massive impact both on the mound and at the plate.

According to the SEC Network, Haeger has excelled as a pitcher and a hitter over the course of her collegiate career unlike anyone who came before her:

That was on full display Thursday as the National Player of the Year hurled a one-hitter and smacked a home run in the first inning.

Florida added to its lead in the third inning as first baseman Kayli Kvistad crushed a two-run homer to make it 3-0.

Per Chris Harry of GatorZone.com, Kvistad's blast was an absolute no-doubter:

The Lady Volunteers were able to claw back into it by virtue of a two-run home run from second baseman Megan Geer in the fourth inning. That would prove to be Tennessee's only hit, though, as Haeger was dominant from that point forward.

Florida was able to tack on four extra runs, and it was aided significantly by the Lady Vols' poor defense as they made four errors and didn't do starting pitcher Rainey Gaffin any favors.

The Gators entered the College Softball World Series with a target on their backs after winning the title last year, but it didn't seem to impact them whatsoever.

According to Kassidy Hill of GatorCountry.com, head coach Tim Walton felt confident in his team's ability to rise above the pressure that comes with being No. 1:

"

I think getting to this point, going through—you want to be the No. 1, just for matchup purposes, but there are a lot of extra bags that come with that. And I think our players have handled that very well ... after you win a championship, kind of all eyes are on you and expectations are there and to get back ... after you go and win a championship, what are you going to do to follow up that and especially with only graduating the two kids we graduated from last year.

"

Perhaps Florida's calmness Thursday had something to do with a pep talk it received Wednesday night.

Per Walton's Twitter account, former Florida head men's basketball coach and current Oklahoma City Thunder boss Billy Donovan spoke to the team prior to the start of the College Softball World Series:

Donovan led the Gators to consecutive championships, which is something Walton is hoping to accomplish with his team.

There is still a long road ahead for Florida in its title defense, but its dominance over Tennessee was undoubtedly a strong and promising start.

In Thursday's second game the Auburn Tigers entered as the preferred seed at No. 4 against the No. 5 LSU Tigers, but many expected the latter squad to come out on top due to their longer history of success at the College Softball World Series.

That was ultimately the case as LSU used a strong middle of the batting order and an excellent performance from starting pitcher Carley Hoover to take down Auburn 6-1.

Auburn made its first ever College Softball World Series appearance Thursday, and that inexperience was evident from the very start. LSU jumped on its Tiger counterparts right off the bat as shortstop Bianka Bell hit a solo home run in the top of the first inning.

Not only did that jack put LSU on the path to victory, but it also made history as Bell became LSU's all-time leader in single-season homers, according to Steve Schneider of WAFB-TV:

The hit parade would continue in the third inning for LSU as it tacked on four more runs by virtue of a two-run double from Sahvanna Jaquish and a two-run home run by Kellsi Kloss.

As seen in this GIF courtesy of NCAA Softball, Kloss' tater got out of the park in a hurry:

Jaquish, Kloss and Bell accounted for all of LSU's RBI, which has been the norm over the course of the season, per Jacques Doucet of WAFB-TV:

Auburn was finally able to get on the board in the fifth inning, but LSU canceled that run out in the sixth to make it 6-1. Hoover was on cruise control from then on as she hurled a complete game en route to victory.

LSU's win sets the stage for a clash with No. 1 Florida Friday, while Auburn must go on to face Tennessee in an elimination game that will see the loser sent home from Oklahoma City.

Auburn's performance was certainly disappointing considering how far it has come this season, but it will now have an opportunity to perform under pressure against the Lady Vols.

Losing right away could prove to be a character-building experience for the Tigers, and they may ultimately be better off for it.

On the strength of a four-run fourth inning, the Michigan Wolverines shut out the Alabama Crimson Tide 5-0 in Thursday's third game in Oklahoma City.

Kelly Christner put Michigan on top 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning with a home run to right field:

In the end, that was all the Wolverines needed as Megan Betsa held the Tide to four hits over seven innings. She also struck out six batters and allowed just one walk. After the game, Alabama center fielder Haylie McCleney marveled at Betsa's filthy changeup, per Angelique S. Chengelis of the Detroit News:

Betsa's offense provided some insurance runs in the fourth. Sierra Romero started things off with a single and moved to second when Christner walked. Kelsey Susalla then loaded the bases with a single.

Lauren Sweet promptly unloaded all of the bases with a grand slam. Although the inning ended without Michigan adding any more runs, the Wolverines did more than enough with Betsa hurling a gem from the mound.

What's worth mentioning is that Michigan had the same amount of hits (four) as Alabama. Unfortunately for the Tide and their starting pitcher, Alexis Osorio, the bulk of those four hits came all at once.

Wolverines coach Carol Hutchins will ideally want a more balanced offensive performance, scattering a few more hits across multiple innings, but there's certainly something to be said for capitalizing on an opportunity.

When Michigan got runners on base, it made the most of its chances, and that kind of trait will take the team far in Oklahoma City.

Thursday's play wrapped up with another one-sided result as the UCLA Bruins toppled the Oregon Ducks 7-1.

In the first, third, fourth and fifth innings, Ducks starting pitcher Cheridan Hawkins allowed just a single hit. It was in the second and sixth innings that she ran into serious trouble.

Stephany LaRosa ended Hawkins' bid for a no-hitter, perfect game and shutout all in one swing of the bat with a solo home run to put UCLA 1-0 to the good. Gabrielle Maurice delivered the Bruins' second homer of the inning, also of the solo variety, to double her team's lead.

Oregon threatened in the bottom of the fourth after getting runners on first and second with nobody out. Neither Geri Ann Glasco nor Koral Costa could move them over, but a single from Lauren Lindvall loaded the bases with two outs. Unfortunately for the Ducks, Alyssa Gillespie grounded into a fielder's choice that ended the inning.

Will Rubin of Duck Territory felt that Oregon had really struggled to that point with regard to in-game strategy:

By the time the Ducks mounted their next offensive, the game was all but over.

UCLA exploded for five runs in the top of the sixth. Back-to-back singles from Allexis Bennett and Ally Carda put runners on first and second to start the inning. After they moved up a base on a fielder's choice, a two-out double from Mysha Sataraka plated both runners to give UCLA a 4-0 lead.

Maurice then struck out but moved to first on a dropped third strike. Gracie Goulder followed up with an RBI double, and Kylee Perez delivered a two-run single to cap off the scoring. By the time it was all said and done, Oregon had two innings to make up a seven-run deficit.

The Ducks attempted a comeback in the bottom of the seventh as Costa doubled and scored on a single from Lindvall to start the proceedings, but that was all Oregon had left in the tank. Carda shut the door for the complete game.

UCLA will get the Wolverines Friday night at 9:30 p.m. ET Both teams still have a loss to give, so a defeat wouldn't be the end of the world.

The same can't be said for Oregon, which is fighting for its College World Series lift against Alabama on Saturday. The loser of that game will be packing its bags and catching the first flight out of Oklahoma City.

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