Tennessee overcomes controversial call, defeats UCLA to reach Women's CWS semifinals
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Laura Mealer's RBI single in the ninth inning gave Tennessee a 5-4 win over UCLA on Sunday that lifted the Volunteers into the Women's College World Series semifinals and eliminated the Bruins.
The game nearly had a controversial finish.
UCLA's Megan Grant hit a two-run blast with two outs in the top of the seventh inning that appeared to tie the score at 4-all. There was an umpire review that appeared to involve whether or not Grant touched home plate. After a nearly 15-minute delay, the home run ruling was upheld because it was determined on the field that the runs were scored, and the home plate umpire announced that the play was not reviewable. Had Grant been called out, the game would have ended with Tennessee winning 4-2.
Even after giving up the homer, Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens recovered and went the distance for the win. The first-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American gave up four earned runs on 11 hits and struck out seven. She threw 148 pitches.
Taylor Pannell's two-run homer put Tennessee up 4-2 in the fifth to help set up the dramatic ending. She had three hits.
Tennessee (47-16) will play Texas on Monday in the semifinals and will have the beat the Longhorns twice to advance to the best-of-three championship series. Texas will need to win just once to reach the championship series for the third time in four years.
UCLA's Alexis Ramirez and Sofia Mujica hit solo homers. The Bruins (55-13) were trying to become the first semifinalist from the Big Ten since Michigan in 2015.
___
AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
27 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Goalie Flekken leaves Brentford for Bayer Leverkusen in pursuit of Champions League glory
LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) — Bayer Leverkusen completed the signing of goalkeeper Mark Flekken from Brentford on Tuesday. The Netherlands international signed a three-year deal until June 30, 2028, for an undisclosed fee. 'Mark Flekken possesses a wide range of skills that a goalkeeper in modern top-flight football needs,' Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said. 'He has strong reflexes, good control of the penalty area, and, thanks to his height of 1.95 meters, has tremendous reach. 'Mark exudes an impressive physical presence; from a footballing perspective, he has certainly been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League over the past two years.' The 31-year-old Flekken spent two years at Brentford, making 77 appearances for the Premier League club. 'We were expecting Mark to be our goalkeeper for many more years, however when Bayer Leverkusen made it known that they wanted to do this transfer, and Mark made it clear that he was interested in moving closer to home and with a possibility of Champions League football, we turned our attention towards how all parties could make this happen,' Brentford director of football Phil Giles said. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Flekken previously played in Germany with Duisburg and Freiburg, but has the chance to compete for the biggest titles with the 2024 Bundesliga champion, which has just hired former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag as its new coach. 'To be able to contribute my qualities to a top German club with ambitious national and European goals now makes me very happy,' Flekken said. 'I love the Bundesliga and, of course, I'm also looking forward to challenging for the Champions League with the Werkself.' Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher is expected to replace Flekken at Brentford. ___ AP soccer:
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Forward Viktor Gyökeres pulls out of Sweden squad with injury
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Viktor Gyökeres has pulled out of Sweden's squad for upcoming friendlies against Hungary and Algeria because of an injury. The Swedish Football Association said the injury was 'minor' without elaborating. Sporting Lisbon striker Gyökeres left the national team training base in Bosön after being assessed by team medics. Gyökeres has just completed an outstanding season for Lisbon — scoring 48 goals and winning the Portuguese league and cup double. He has established himself as one of the top strikers in world soccer, sparking speculation about a transfer to one of Europe's giants during the offseason. Arsenal has been heavily linked, with the Premier League club expected to move for a top-class forward in the transfer window. Leipzig forward Benjamin Sesko is another reported target. Sweden plays Hungary on June 6 and Algeria on June 10. ___ AP soccer:
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Acerbi's refusal makes it unclear who will mark Haaland for Italy in key World Cup qualifier
ROME (AP) — Francesco Acerbi, the defender who was supposed to mark Erling Haaland, turned down the callup to the national team. The other Inter Milan players are demoralized after getting routed 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final. Italy's preparations for a key World Cup qualifier at Norway on Friday have been anything but ideal. Add in the extra pressure that the Azzurri face after failing to qualify for the last two World Cups and it's easy to understand why coach Luciano Spalletti says 'it won't be a simple qualifier.' It's Italy's first qualifier and the Azzurri are already trailing group leader Norway, which has a full six points and a plus-seven goal differential after beating Moldova 5-0 and Israel 4-2. Winning the group is the only way to ensure direct qualification to next year's tournament in North America. The second-placed team goes into the playoffs, the stage where Italy was eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia and ruled out of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively. Haaland scored against Moldova and Israel and recently returned from a left ankle injury that kept him out for all of April. Acerbi's relentless man-to-man lockdown efforts kept Haaland scoreless both in Inter's Champions League opener at Manchester City in September, which ended 0-0, and the 2023 Champions League final. But Acerbi informed Spalletti shortly after Saturday's Champions League final that he was turning down his first callup since March 2024. Acerbi said on Instagram that he felt disrespected. 'I don't want to stay where I'm not really wanted and it's clear that I'm not part of the coach's plans,' Acerbi wrote. Alternatives to Acerbi Since Alessandro Buongiorno, another center back, left Italy's training camp due to a right thigh injury, and Roma center back Gianluca Mancini was left out of the squad, it's unclear who will mark Haaland. One option could be Federico Gatti of Juventus, although Gatti has played only eight minutes since breaking a bone in his left leg in March. Another solution could be Matteo Gabbia of AC Milan. Or Alessandro Bastoni could be moved from left back to central defense in Spalletti's three-man back line. Haaland has 40 goals in 41 matches for Norway. 'If they have one very good player, we should have 11,' former Italy coach Arrigo Sacchi said in the Gazzetta dello Sport. 'The problem isn't Haaland, it's us. We need to play as a team and start interpreting football as a collective effort.' Italy's goals came late in a Nations League quarterfinal loss to Germany in March, when Moise Kean scored twice and Giacomo Raspadori converted an injury-time penalty in a 3-3 second-leg draw that eliminated the Azzurri and sent them into a tougher qualifying group. There was also an embarrassing goal conceded in Germany's 2-1 first-leg victory, when goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and the entire Azzurri defense were protesting to the referee. Donnarumma enters the Norway match on a high, though, after helping PSG to the Champions League trophy. With Acerbi gone, the remaining Inter players with Italy are Bastoni, Federico Dimarco, Nicolò Barella and Davide Frattesi. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli, who had a strong finish to Serie A, also left the training camp injured. Kean, however, is coming off the best season of his career with 19 goals for Fiorentina. 'Whether we go to the World Cup or not depends a lot on how we play in Norway,' Spalletti said. 'The players and I know how important this match is.' ___ AP soccer:
