NCAA Softball World Series 2016: Thursday Results, Highlights, Twitter Reaction
After four days off following the Super Regionals, the 2016 NCAA Softball World Series kicked off on Thursday with four games featuring eight teams looking to achieve immortality.
The field of eight teams has been broken up into two brackets, playing in a double-elimination format. After the champions of each bracket have been crowned, those two teams will do battle in a best-of-three series to determine a national champion.
No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Oklahoma are the two highest-ranked national seeds still playing, but they are locked in the same bracket and thus will be unable to meet in the championship series.
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Here's a look at the results from ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, as well as updated bracket standings and reaction.
Thursday Results
| 1 | No. 8 Florida State vs. No. 16 Georgia | Georgia 5, Florida State 4 |
| 2 | No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 12 UCLA | Auburn 10, UCLA 3 |
| 3 | No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Alabama | 7 p.m. |
| 4 | No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 10 LSU | Approx. 9:30 p.m. |
Bracket Standings
| Georgia (1-0) | Michigan (0-0) |
| Auburn (1-0) | Alabama (0-0) |
| UCLA (0-1) | Oklahoma (0-0) |
| Florida State (0-1) | LSU (0-0) |
Auburn def. UCLA, 10-3
Auburn rode a five-run first inning to a 10-3 victory over UCLA in the Women's College World Series and set up a showdown against Georgia in the winner's bracket.
The win elicited a note of congratulations from Auburn men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl on Twitter:
The Tigers' first-inning was unusual, to say the least, as their five runs came on just one hit. The hit was a double by Kasey Cooper that didn't actually score anyone. Bruins starter Selina Ta'amilo hit Auburn leadoff hitter Tiffany Howard with a pitch and she advanced to third on Cooper's two-bagger.
After Ta'amilo got Emily Carosone to pop out, things unraveled. Carlee Wallace walked and Jade Rhodes was hit by a pitch to score the first run, at which point UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez went to the bullpen and brought in Paige McDuffee.
McDuffee hit two batters and first baseman Brianna Tautalafua botched a throw that allowed the final two runs of the inning to score.
Being staked to a five-run cushion was plenty for Auburn starter Kaylee Carlson, who tossed a complete game and allowed three runs on seven hits.
The contrast in pitching was patently obvious in that first inning, per Dana Sulonen of the Opelika-Auburn News:
This was not an unexpected result for UCLA. The Bruins' pitching staff finished 28th overall in team ERA, per NCAA.com, which ranks eighth among the teams still playing in Oklahoma City.
It's certainly not bad pitching staff that helped UCLA reach this point, but its bread is buttered on offense with three players who have hit at least 10 home runs.
Mysha Sataraka added to her total with a three-run shot in the fourth inning, her 14th of the year, that gave UCLA some hope it could claw back into the game.
Per ESPN Stats & Info, Sataraka's blast tied UCLA with Louisiana-Lafayette for most home runs in the Women's College World Series (10).
However, that would be the only big mistake from Carlson, who settled down to allow just two singles over the final three innings and give her offense time to tack on more runs against UCLA pitching.
Things won't get any easier for UCLA after the loss, as the Bruins will take on Florida State in an elimination game. The Seminoles did not look good in their loss, committing seven errors against Georgia, but still managed to keep things close throughout.
It will take a complete team effort by the Bruins if they want to keep their season alive.
Georgia def. Florida State, 5-4
The opening game of the Softball World Series was one that Florida State wants to forget, as the Seminoles committed seven errors in a 5-4 defeat against Georgia.
According to Cliff Brunt of the Associated Press, Florida State's seven errors tied a Women's College World Series record. Major League Baseball hitting coach Matt Lisle tweeted out the ugly scoreboard reading for the Seminoles:
Of the five runs Georgia scored in this game, only one was earned. Florida State pitchers Jessica Burroughs and Meghan King combined to allow just six hits and one walk but got no support from their defense.
Three straight miscues by Florida in the second inning, led to two Georgia runs after the Gators jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Shortstop Cali Harrod and third baseman Jessica Warren committed errors on back-to-back plays, followed by catcher Sydney Broderick giving up a passed ball.
After Georgia took a 4-2 lead in the third inning, things remained quiet until the sixth inning, when Florida State made some noise. Alex Powers hit a two-run homer off Georgia starter Chelsea Wilkinson to even the score, with FSU Baseball providing the impressive distance on the blast:
Errors once again doomed Florida State in the seventh inning, allowing Georgia to score the winning run. Harrod started things off with an error that allowed Cortni Emanuel to reach first. Emanuel got to third after a stolen base and error by backup catcher Korina Rosario.
Alyssa DiCarlo drove in Emanuel on a groundout to the shortstop that wound up being the difference. Georgia starter Chelsea Wilkinson tossed a complete game, only striking out one while scattering six hits and those four runs.
Even though Florida State's subpar defense was the story of this game, credit Georgia for taking advantage of the miscues to get a huge victory. The Bulldogs were being tested against a team that had won 10 straight games entering Thursday, so their resolve after falling behind early will help them going forward.
The Seminoles do have their backs against the wall with this loss but have every reason to feel confident before their next game Saturday. One game with seven errors is a disaster, and the odds of anything this bad happening again are slim.
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