May 20, 2006
IOWA CITY, IA – California’s Haley Woods powered two homeruns en route to a 4-2 triumph over No. 14 Nebraska at Pearl Field. Fourth-ranked Cal (46-12) advances in the winner’s bracket of the Iowa City Regional and will play Sunday at 12 p.m. (CDT). Nebraska (43-10) will play the winner of the Iowa/Illinois State contest at 7 p.m. (CDT) in an elimination game later today.
All four Cal runs came via the long ball. Woods ripped her first round-tripper down the left field line in the bottom of the first. Two innings later, Julie Meyer led off the bottom of the third with a solo shot to left, her eighth homer of the year, to give Cal a 2-0 advantage. Later in the inning, Woods hit a mammoth two-run home run over the left field fence to swell Cal’s lead to 4-0. The duo went a combined 4-for-5 with four RBI today.
Woods, who collected the Bears’ game-winning RBI in last night’s 1-0 win over Illinois State, increased her team-leading home run total to 16 and RBI total to 55 after today’s offensive outburst.
Nebraska jumped back into the game with two unearned runs in the top of the fourth. The Cornhuskers tallied their first run on a Trisha Tannahill bunt single that plated Jessica Yoachim. Pinch runner Jamie Borg scored on the next play after Cal pitcher Kristina Thorson threw away a sacrifice bunt attempt to first base to trim the Bear lead to 4-2. The two Nebraska runs in the fourth halted Thorson’s scoreless streak at 30 1/3 innings.
Thorson allowed only one hit en route to her school single-season record 34th win. After striking out 14 Illinois State batters last night, the senior sat down 11 Cornhuskers today.
Nebraska starting pitcher Ashley DeBuhr recorded only her ninth setback of the season, throwing three innings, allowing four runs and striking out four.
GAME SUMMARY
NEBRASKA 000 200 0 — 2 1 0
CALIFORNIA 103 000 0 — 4 6 3
WP – Thorson (34-8)
LP – DeBuhr (25-9)
LOB – NEB (4); CAL (1)