OKLAHOMA CITY — Rylie West hit a three-run homer and No. 4 seed Tennessee defeated No. 5 seed Alabama 10-5 on Thursday in the opening game of the Women’s College World Series.
Jamison Brockenbrough and Katie Taylor had two hits and Kiki Milloy scored twice for the Lady Vols (50-8). Tennessee will play No. 1 seed Oklahoma on Saturday, with the winner of that game advancing to the semifinals in the double-elimination bracket.
Tennessee’s Ashley Rogers, a first-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American, gave up two runs in four innings to improve to 19-1 this season.
Jenna Johnson and Kenleigh Cahalan each had two hits and Marlie Giles hit a solo homer for Alabama (45-21). Jaala Torrence gave up six runs — two earned — in 2 1/3 innings for the Crimson Tide. Alabama’s Ashley Prange committed three errors that led to four unearned runs. She had six errors all season combined before Thursday.
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Tennessee opened the scoring in the second when Taylor doubled to knock in two. Milloy, the nation’s home run leader, was intentionally walked, then Zaida Puni doubled to score Taylor and Milloy and push the Lady Vols’ lead to 4-0.
“Whenever they intentionally walk me, I’m like, ‘I don’t know if that’s the best move because Zaida is going to come up,'” Milloy said. “Every time they walk me, I feel like she’s done something to manufacture a run.”
In the third, Cahalan hit the ball off first base and it bounced high in the air, allowing two runs to score for the Crimson Tide.
Tennessee answered in the third when Brockenbrough, a freshman, hit her second homer of the season. The two-run blast to center gave the Lady Vols a 6-2 lead and chased Torrence. West’s homer in the fourth increased Tennessee’s lead to 10-2.
Alabama scored two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth.
OKLAHOMA 2, STANFORD 0: Jordy Bahl threw a five-hitter with 11 strikeouts to help two-time defending national champion Oklahoma defeat Stanford.
Bahl outlasted Stanford pitcher NiJaree Canady, the nation’s leader in ERA and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Freshman of the Year. Canady gave up just four hits and one earned run in five innings against an Oklahoma team that leads the nation in scoring and batting average.
Jayda Coleman’s RBI single in the fifth provided all the offense Oklahoma needed.
Oklahoma (57-1) extended its Division I-record win streak to 49 games and advanced to play No. 4 seed Tennessee (50-8) on Saturday. The winner reaches the semifinals in the double-elimination bracket.
No. 9 seed Stanford (45-14) will play No. 5 seed Alabama (45-21) in an elimination game on Friday.
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