OKLAHOMA CITY — James Madison looked like a Women’s College World Series regular on Thursday.
It actually was the Dukes’ first trip, and they made their first game memorable. Kate Gordon hit a solo homer in the top of the eighth inning and Odicci Alexander threw a complete game to help James Madison stun top-seeded Oklahoma 4-3 in eight innings.
The Dukes (40-2) got the win against a program that won national titles in 2000, 2013, 2016 and 2017 and was the runner-up in 2012 and 2019. In front of an amped-up crowd at the newly expanded USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium just 25 miles from Oklahoma’s campus, James Madison and its small group of energetic supporters looked right at home.
“I think with the mindset of just another game, we haven’t looked past anybody,” Gordon said. “We prepared. We had fun. In our pregame we were enjoying it. We’re soaking in the fans, soaking in this atmosphere and this experience.”
The Dukes believe the win matters to more than just them.
“I think these players, they’re playing for each other, but they’re playing for a lot more,” James Madison coach Loren LaPorte said. “We’re playing for all the smaller schools out there that work just as hard.”
Alexander controlled the action. The second-team NFCA All-American threw 129 pitches and struck out nine. She faced the top of Oklahoma’s order in the eighth and escaped without allowing a run in helping the Dukes advance to a game Friday in the winners bracket against either Oklahoma State or Georgia.
Oklahoma (50-3), which led the nation in home runs this season by a wide margin, never figured out the movement or the speed of Alexander’s pitches.
“I think at the plate some of our plans got lost,” Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said. “You can see that by the way we were swinging. So we need to figure out why. Why did our plans get lost? Were the lights too big for you? Was the speed too fast for you? The video will tell us exactly what we need to know, so we can work on fixing that as we go forward.”
Now, the Sooners the face elimination.
“I think we learned a lesson,” Jennings said. “Tough way to start out the World Series. We just got to flush it. One pitch at a time. Just do what we do, stay true to our circle now. Just, you know, taking it one pitch at a time, just doing this thing.”
No. 5 Oklahoma State 3, Georgia 2: In Oklahoma City, Chyenne Factor’s two-run homer in the fourth inning helped No. 5 seed Oklahoma State win in the WCWS opener for both teams.
Carrie Eberle gave up just one earned run in a complete game victory for the Cowgirls (48-10). She scattered seven hits, struck out two and walked one.
Oklahoma State advanced to play James Madison in a winners’ bracket on Friday. The winner of that contest will need one more victory to reach the best-of-three championship series.
Georgia (34-22) will play Oklahoma on Saturday in an elimination game.
With Oklahoma State up 2-0, Georgia’s Sara Mosley singled and Sydney Kuma barely beat a throw to the plate to make it a 2-1 game in the top of the sixth.
Alysen Febrey, a first-team NFCA All-American who transferred from Georgia after the 2019 season, singled in the bottom of the inning to score Kylie Naomi and push Oklahoma State’s lead to 3-1.
Ellie Armistead doubled and knocked in Jaiden Fields in the top of the seventh, bringing Georgia within a run with a runners on first and third and one out.
Eberle got Savana Sikes to pop out. Oklahoma State third baseman Sydney Pennington charged a slow hopper and fired to first for the final out.
No. 2 UCLA 4, No. 10 Florida State 0: In Oklahoma City, Rachel Garcia threw a five-hitter and struck out 11 as UCLA won.
Garcia, a U.S. Olympian and two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, threw 80 of her 112 pitches for strikes.
Maya Brady hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to provide insurance runs for the second-seeded Bruins (47-5), who will play No. 3 Alabama in a winners bracket game on Friday.
Florida State pitcher Kathryn Sandercock allowed one run through five innings before getting into trouble in the sixth. Danielle Watson replaced her, and Brady — the first batter Watson faced — hit one over the fence in center field.
The game matched the past two national champions. Florida State won in 2018, and UCLA in 2019.
Florida State (44-11-1) will play No. 11 Arizona in an elimination game on Saturday.
In the fifth, UCLA’s Kinsley Washington singled and advanced to second on a throwing error. Anna Vines singled and knocked Washington in for the game’s first run.
In the sixth, Delanie Wisz had an RBI double before Brady homered.
