2015 NCAA Softball Championships
Tucson Regional
Saturday, May 16
Game 3: Minnesota vs. Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz. - No. 16 Arizona put together four mini rallies to slip past No. 15 Minnesota, 5-1, here at UA's Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium to move into Sunday's NCAA Softball Championships regional title round against the Gophers, who won later that night to advance.
Minnesota (47-8) will play the winner of the game to follow, New Mexico State vs. St. John's, in the second elimination game at the site tonight.
Arizona (40-17) got a credible pitching performance from freshman Trish Parks (15-5), who scattered five hits, struck out five and closed the game with four scoreless innings in her 10th complete-game of the year. Minnesota's Sara Groenewegen (29-6) took the loss, missing out on a potential 30th victory in the circle.
UA's Katiyana Mauga snapped a hitless game in the second inning, launching a 1-1 pitch into the left field stands for her 26th home run of the season, solo fifth on Arizona's single-season record chart. UA got a walk from Chelsea Goodacre and Mandie Perez was hit by a pitch to put two on with no out, but Minnesota ace Groenewegen got a pair of popups and a strikeout to thwart the rally.
The Gophers tied it with a hit and three ground balls in the third, capped by a RBI by Danielle Parlich to plate Erika Rozell, who had led off with an infield single off Parks..
UA had a chance to make a move in the bottom of the third. Hallie Wilson singled and a walk to Chelsea Suitos opened the frame, and after a strikeout by Kelly Fox, Mauga drew a walk to load the bases. Goodacre drew another walk to bring in a run, and Minnesota switched to pitcher Nikki Anderson, who got a 6-4-3 double play ball from Perez to end the inning.
Minnesota loaded the bases with a walk, a Taylor LeMay single and a fielder's choice that didn't work out for Arizona in a potential run-down with Kaitlyn Richardson rounding third. But Parks got out of the jam by striking out Rozell and getting an infield ground ball to stop the challenge.
The Cats stretched it to 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth with three hits by Suitos, Mauga and Goodacre, the last of those driving in Suitos, and then after Perez was hit by a pitch, Mo Mercado's grounder brought in pinch runner Payton Kornfeind.
Hannah Granger and LeMay singled to open the sixth for the Gophers, but Parks got a popout, groundball and a strikeout to strand them both, the Gophers' eighth LOB of the game to that point.
Fox, who had struck out three times, blooped a single off second baseman Parlich's glove to drive in Suitos and make it 5-1 in the Cats' half of the inning. Suitos had reached on a fielder's choice and stole second. Mauga followed with a single to right to put runners at the corners but Anderson struck out Goodacre to strand two -- UA's ninth of the game.
Arizona moved to Sunday's 4 p.m. regional championship game with Minnesota, who emerged from the loser's bracket having to beat the Wildcats twice. The "if necessary" game would be at 6:30 p.m.
Arizona Post-Game Quotes:
Head Coach Mike Candrea
"Well I was very pleased with Trish (Parks’) performance and I thought that was big. We got some timely hits and she just kept plugging away. We had some good plays defensively. It was a shaky start with a dropped pop up, but I think at this stage of the game, a win is a win."
On how the pitching has been strong over hitting:
"Well it has been a pleasant surprise. With Trish (Parks), I was excited she got through the first inning and settled in. A kid that throws 70 mph with a good off-speed pitch can be pretty tough if she just controls the strike zone. Today I think she had two walks, and when she does that we have a good chance to win. You have to tip your hat to them too. As the pitching gets better, the offenses are going to be quieter. We had some time to hit when we needed it, and the big thing is we had a chance to put five runs on the board."
On Minnesota’s pitcher Sarah Groenewegen:
"I thought we did a pretty decent job with her and she is a good pitcher. She kind of lost it there for a little bit. But I am sure if they get through tonight, she will be back on the mound, and we will expect nothing but the best from her. I thought the big thing was (Katiyana) Mauga's homerun. That was a statement, and maybe she started getting a little tentative around the middle of our lineup because those kids can hurt you with the long-ball, but Groenewegen is a good pitcher. She has a great mix and good off-speed, so she is a challenge. At this stage of the game and this time of the year, that is what you are going to see all the time.”
If this is where he hoped he would be after 57 games:
"Well this is where we want to be. I really felt throughout the year this team had the offensive capability. I felt like this was going to be one of my best defensive teams, but we stumbled a little in that regard. The key to this whole year has been developing the pitching. Both of them are very young and inexperienced, so we have taken some knocks along the way. The great thing is that they both have had a lot of innings to be able to accomplish that. You saw a little bit of it in the Oregon series with a couple of complete games. I really felt that was a step in the right direction. Obviously here, pitching, defense and timely hitting are always going to win championships."
C Chelsea Goodacre
On Trish Parks:
“I think her mentality is a lot stronger. People get on base with not that great of hits, and she realizes that she can go after the next one. She plays it one pitch at a time versus letting it roll. It’s great that she went all seven innings. It sets us up for the next games. Say we have to face Minnesota again tomorrow, we still have two pitchers in our pockets that they have not seen yet, so for our pitchers to be able to do that has been pretty incredible.”
On timely hits:
“Our hitting is not on all cylinders like it has been at other times, but we got what we needed, we did what was necessary, and hopefully we will start to roll.”
On Katiyana Mauga:
“We just want her to succeed, and get on base anyway that she can. If she can get all four then that’s great.”
On Minnesota’s play:
“I think they are a very good team, and if we don’t play with our A-game, they could give us a run for our money.”
P Trish Parks
On being the starting pitcher:
“I felt pretty good. Just knowing my team is always behind me made me relaxed, and I just wanted to go out there and attack them.”
On getting out of tough situations:
“I am a lot more comfortable and just more relaxed. I have been trusting my pitches one by one and just going after them.”
On the significance of the tournament:
“I was just taking this weekend as ‘this is what I always dreamed of as a little kid.’ Now I am going to go out there and take advantage of it. This is my dream.”
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Game 4: St. John's vs. New Mexico State
TUCSON, Ariz. - New Mexico State (47-15) kept its best season in history alive with a 9-6 victory over St. John's in the Tucson Regional of the NCAA Softball Championships Saturday afternoon. St. John's (28-19) was eliminated in its first NCAA softball appearance.
A walk, two fielder's choices and two more walks set up St. John's rightfielder Yvonne Rericha for a two-run single in the top of the first to put the Red Storm on the board first. The Aggies cut the lead in half with a ground-out RBI by Fiana Finau after a pair of NMSU hits in the bottom of the frame.
NMSU took the lead with a two-run single by Rachel Rodriguez in the second inning after a walk, a hit and wild pitch put two in scoring position. SJSU answered with a two-out homerun by Erin Burner, her 13th of the season, to tie the game at three apiece.
Lexi Robles' single and a triple off the rightfield fence by Hannah Anderson put SJSU up 4-3 in the fourth, chasing NMSU starter Karysta Donisthorpe. In the fifth, the Red Storm missed on another opportunity with two walks and two hits, getting a runner thrown out stealing, plus the third out of the inning on a throw to the plate by NMSU centerfielder Staci Rodriguez.
Two two-out errors by SJSU shortstop Monique Landini helped New Mexico State load the bases for a two-run double by Kelsey Dodd to reclaim the lead for the Aggies in the fifth. Then, a two-run single by Malena Padilla made it 7-4. A two-run double by Finau made it 9-4 in the bottom of the sixth. That gave her 74 RBI on the season.
SJSU's Mackenna Neuroth hit a two-run pinch-hit home run in the top of the seventh to close out the scoring.
Makayla Adams (8-4) won in relief for NMSU, while Tori Free (11-7) took the loss.
NMSU will play Minnesota in the evening elimination game following, with the winner to face Arizona at 4 p.m. tomorrow in the regional title round. Arizona is unbeaten in the regional at 2-0 and would have to be beaten twice.
St. John's Post-Game Quotes:
Head Coach Amy Kvilhaug
On her reaction to the game:
“It is never easy when you come to the end of the line, but after this season I have a lot of mixed emotions. I am so proud to have been a part of this season and to have such wonderful seniors and support.”
On what was said postgame:
“I thought we were very comparable teams and a couple breaks just did not go our way, and they ran away with it a little bit. In terms of what I said to the team, we did a recap of all the successes we have had. We talked about all of the wonderful things that the seniors contributed. Mackenna Neuroth, who does not usually get much playing time and has never quit, comes up in her last collegiate at bat and hits a homerun to dead center field. That was pretty awesome. She will go and remember that for the rest of her life, and that means everything to me. We recapped the memories of what the seniors set in motion, and now I think this has to be the standard of the program moving forward.”
On defensive or offensive keys to success:
“I thought pitcher Tori Free did a great job. She threw very well this weekend, and did a good job of keeping players off balance and keeping the ball down. The plays we made behind her were big. Without them, I think the games could have gotten out of hand. I think it was a combination of Tori and our defense doing all of the things that we could do.”
On the buildup for next year:
“Just the experience alone is incredible. Our top three goals at the beginning of the year were to win the regular season big east, win the big east tournament and make it to the NCAA tournament, and we achieved all three of those. So at the beginning of the week we had to start talking about new goals. One of our captains said it really well. She said ‘I think we need to enjoy the experience, but I also think that we need to not change the way things are.’”
C Erin Burner
On her thoughts about being the program’s all-time leader with 43 homeruns and having the single-season RBI record:
"Well right now it does not feel very good just because the outcome was not in our favor."
On the rough 5th inning:
"I just think they started hitting the ball. They saw that it was the fifth inning and started swinging at better pitches."
Game 5: Minnesota vs. New Mexico State
TUCSON, Ariz. - Minnesota ace Sara Groenewegen saved her own game with three gutty strikeouts in the seventh to propel the Gophers over New Mexico State, 2-0, and into the NCAA Softball Regional Championship round on Sunday at 4 p.m.
Groenewegen sailed into the seventh inning with a two-hit shutout, facing one batter over the minimum. However, she walked the first two batters, struck out another, then walked a third to load the bases. With the game on the line she struck out NMSU sluggers Fiana Finau and Dallas McBride to notch her 30th victory against six defeats.
The Gophers (48-10), meanwhile, stranded 11 runners, a high for the Tucson regional action after five games, but got a few key hits to put numbers on the board.
Minnesota head coach Jessica Allister was tossed from the game by first base umpire Geri Magwire after arguing a call with her team batting in the second. Taylor LeMay hit a grounder to short and the first baseman appeared to drop the throw, although LeMay was called out.
The Gophers took a 1-0 lead in the third when Sam Macken singled and scored on a double by Danielle Parlich. Allister watched from a doorway landing to Ina Gittings Gym beyond the foul line in right field.
Groenewegen was touched for her first hit in the bottom of the third, with Dallas McBride singling up the middle. She was picked off first by Gophers catcher LeMay, however, to keep Groenewegen to nine batters faced in the first three innings.
Parlich collected an RBI single in the fourth to make it 2-0, plating an unearned run after an Aggies error. The Gophers ran themselves out of another potential scoring opportunity when Macken overran third on an infield single by Danielle Parlich in the sixth and was out on a 4-3-2-5 rundown play.
Minnesota faces Arizona at 4 p.m. Sunday, having to beat the host Wildcats twice. NMSU ended its season with its best historical softball record, 47-16. McBride (18-7) took the loss in the circle.
