Wildcat Athletics Arizona Falls Short To Oklahoma, 1-0

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5.28.2000
Arizona Falls Short To Oklahoma, 1-0

Arizona Softball - Women's College World Series
Semifinal vs. Oklahoma - Sunday, May 28, 3 p.m.
Don Porter Hall of Fame Stadium, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Box Score
Post-Game Quotes

OKLAHOMA CITY--Oklahoma first baseman Lisa Carey had one of only four Sooners' hits off Arizona pitcher Becky Lemke, but one of them was a home run in the fourth to give OU a 1-0 victory and eliminate the Wildcats from the 19th annual Women's College World Series.

Oklahoma (65-8), ranked No. 4 and the No. 3 seed in the tournament, advanced to the NCAA Championship game Monday at 12 noon CDT against No. 3-ranked UCLA. The Sooners are making their first WCWS appearance.

Arizona, the nation's No. 2-ranked team throughout the year and the NCAA No. 2 seed, finished its season at 59-9.

Arizona's Lemke and OU's Jennifer Stewart kept hitters off balance through most of the game, but Carey, the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, hit her 19th home run of the season, a solo shot with one out in the bottom of the fourth to give the Sooners a 1-0 lead it would not relinquish.

Arizona threatened in the first with runners on the corners and two outs after Nicole Giordano and Toni Mascarenas each singled, but Giordano was cut down at the plate on an attempted delayed double steal.

The Cats had one other runner in scoring position. Lauren Bauer lead off the sixth beating out a single to short and was sacrificed to second by Giordano. She moved to third on a ground by Katie Swan but Stewart followed by getting Mascarenas to ground out to end the inning.

Stewart limited Arizona to six hits and struck out four in improving her record to 33-6.

Lemke struck out nine and finished with a 30-7 record. Arizona was making its 13th consecutive appearance in the College World Series and failed to reach the title game for only the fourth time in those forays into the championship