The Pac-12 Has Its Day At The WCWS

The second day of the 2022 Women's College World Series is officially in the books. After dropping their opening games on Thursday, Arizona, Northwestern, Oregon State and UCLA fell into the elimination bracket for contests on Friday. Meanwhile in the winners' bracket, Florida, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas had Friday off and will battle on Saturday afternoon with a semifinal berth on the line.

In a fight to keep their seasons alive, both games in the losers' bracket featured repeat matchups from the regular season, as UCLA and Northwestern had a rematch of their extra-inning classic in Florida and conference foes Oregon State and Arizona squared off in the second elimination game of the day. UCLA and Arizona were able to fend off elimination and keep their seasons alive. Their journey in Oklahoma City continues with another set of elimination contests that are scheduled for Sunday afternoon against the losers of Saturday’s games.

Game Five: UCLA 6, Northwestern 1

Nobody had a better day on Friday than Megan Faraimo. The Bruins' ace did it all for UCLA en route to ending Northwestern’s season in the elimination contest.

Faraimo went the distance, recording 10 strikeouts, and none bigger than striking out Big Ten Player of the Year Rachel Lewis in the fifth inning. The Wildcats loaded the bases and Faraimo fell behind to Lewis with a 3-0 count, but she delivered three straight strikes to end the threat. With all the momentum on her side, Faraimo led off the following inning by hammering a ball out of the yard to left field for just her second home run of the season.

UCLA’s offense stepped up and recorded six runs through four different innings, and Faraimo bounced back from a rough outing in the circle against Texas.

The Bruins advance to another elimination game and will take on the loser of No. 7 Oklahoma State and No. 14 Florida.

Game Six: Arizona 3, Oregon State 1

The nightcap was a pitchers' duel, but Arizona was able to get the win and survive elimination. The conclusion of the game did not come without dramatics, though, as Oregon State brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the top of the seventh inning.

Besides both squads scratching across a run in the second inning, the pitchers took control and settled in nicely, as Mariah Mazon—who was unavailable on Thursday—went up against Devyn Netz.

The scoreless tie was broken when Carlie Scupin came through with a double to center. Transfer Blaise Biringer delivered a clutch single that drove in an additional insurance run to seal the deal for the Wildcats. Hanah Bowen entered in relief and combined with Netz to shut down any potential Beaver threat and extend both her college softball career and Arizona’s season.

The Wildcats' journey will continue against the loser of No. 1 Oklahoma and unseeded Texas.

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