June 3, 2007
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Arizona improved to 41-6 this year when scoring first and 23-1 when getting on the board in the first inning. It is now 54-3 all-time when scoring at least one run in the WCWS.
The Wildcats' seven-run win was the largest margin of victory in a WCWS semifinal since 1996. The Wildcats defeated Iowa 10-2 in a six-inning run-rule in advancing to the championship game where they defeated Washington 6-4.
Arizona became the first team since 2003 to win two games on Sunday and advance to the championship game/series. UCLA and California accomplished the feat in '03 as the Bruins won the title.
Arizona junior pitcher Taryne Mowatt had recorded 32.6 scoreless innings in this year's WCWS before Lauren Greer's RBI single to left in the bottom of the fourth. Mowatt is 4-1 in the WCWS and in her 36 innings has surrendered just 14 hits and three runs (one earned for a 0.20 ERA).
With the win, the Wildcats moved to 4-1 this season against the Huskies. The five-game season series marked the most games between the two squads since 2000 when they faced each other six times.
The Wildcats' 12 hits in tonight's contest were the most for Arizona in the 2007 WCWS. They recorded 10 hits against DePaul yesterday.
The Wildcats' eight runs marked the most runs a team has scored against Washington since UCLA beat the Huskies 10-6 on April 6 of this year.
The seven-run defeat was the worst Washington loss since May 27, 2006.
Wildcat third baseman Jenae Leles was 2-for-2 and tied a season high with four RBIs. Her two-run double in the first inning put the Wildcats up 2-0.
U of A senior shortstop Chelsie Mesa recorded two RBI and a season-high three runs on three hits.
Washington pitcher Caitlin Noble made her first postseason appearance on the year. She pitched two innings, scattering four hits and giving up two earned runs with a pair of strikeouts and walks.
With 4,602 fans in attendance for the game, a WCWS record 46,398 people have passed through the entrance gates. The previous record for a WCWS event was 46,122 last year.
The championship series between Arizona and Tennessee will start Monday at 7 p.m. CDT. Game two will be played Tuesday at 7 p.m. and an if-necessary game will be played Wednesday at 7. All games will be televised by ESPN2HD.
Arizona will be going for its second straight national softball title and eighth overall, while Tennessee will aim for its first.
