OKLAHOMA CITY — Kayla Hanson gave up just one run, and Florida State knocked off top-seeded Oregon 4-1 in a Women’s College World Series elimination game on Saturday night.
Meghan King entered the game for Florida State with one out and two on in the seventh and retired both batters she faced for the save. She got the win earlier in the day against Georgia.
Florida State (54-12) will need to beat UCLA twice on Sunday to advance to the championship series.
Miranda Elish got the loss for Oregon (53-10) after entering the night with a 37-1 career record.
Florida State opened the scoring when Elizabeth Mason doubled to score Cali Harrod in the third. The Seminoles added another run in the fifth when Mason singled to score Harrod again.
In the sixth, Florida State’s Zoe Casas sent one deep to right field. Oregon’s Haley Cruse got her glove up to prevent a home run, but Deja Bush scored on the single to put Florida State up 3-0.
Oregon finally got on the board in the sixth when Haley Cruse doubled to score Shannon Rhodes. Sydney Sherrill’s solo homer in the seventh provided insurance for Florida State.
OKLAHOMA 2, FLORIDA 0 — Oklahoma’s ace Paige Parker threw a two-hitter for her second shutout of the day, and Oklahoma remained alive in its quest for a third straight national title.
It was the first time in three years of World Series play that Parker had to win two games in a day. Against Florida, she threw 104 pitches and struck out eight to pick up her 10th career WCWS victory. In the 2-0 win over Arizona State earlier in the day, she threw just 78 pitches, gave up two hits and struck out seven.
“For her to have an outing like that after playing Arizona State against a team like Florida that’s such a well-rounded team in every area — it was one for the ages, in my mind,” Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said. “It was not only just masterful, but it was a will to find a way to win, which led into our team, and they were going to find a way to win with her putting those efforts on the mound.”
It was an elimination game between programs that have combined to win the past five national championships and played for the title last year.
Florida (56-11) started Kelly Barnhill, but coach Tim Walton pulled the All-American after just two innings. Aleshia Ocasio stepped in and was solid, but she got no support from the offense. Walton and the Gators couldn’t handle how well Parker mixed her pitches.
The Sooners (57-4) will need to beat Washington (51-8) twice today to reach the championship series.
OKLAHOMA 2, ARIZONA STATE 0 — In addition to the pitching of Parker, Jocelyn Alo’s solo homer in the third, her nation-leading 29th of the season, gave Oklahoma a 1-0 lead. Lea Wodach’s RBI single in the sixth put the Sooners up 2-0 to eliminate the Sun Devils.
FLORIDA STATE 7, GEORGIA 2 — Zoe Casas had two hits and knocked in three runs, as Florida State eliminated Georgia (48-13).
