COLLEGE SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES : Iowa’s 6-5 Victory Eliminates Fullerton

Members of the Cal State Fullerton softball team were square dancing outside their dugout Saturday, celebrating a four-run lead against Iowa in the fifth inning of a losers’ bracket game of the College Softball World Series in front of 3,193 at Hall of Fame Stadium.

But those same players were crying about an hour later after the Hawkeyes scored four runs to tie it in the bottom of the seventh and another run in the ninth to win, 6-5.

It was the second comeback victory of the day for the Hawkeyes.

“If that isn’t one of the finest comebacks I’ve ever seen” Titan Coach Judi Garman said. “That has got to go down as the best comeback in the history of the College World Series.”

Iowa (41-25-1) bunched five of its seven hits in the seventh to score four earned runs and tie the score. Then, in the ninth with bases loaded and one out, Iowa’s Melissa Wielandt scored the winning run on Tasha Reents’ infield single.

The Hawkeyes will face UCLA (48-6) today at 12:30 p.m. PDT. Iowa, which lost to UCLA, 2-1, in a first-round game, needs to beat the Bruins twice to advance to the Monday’s championship game.

Iowa 9, Michigan 7--Brandi Macias’ two-run double in the top of the 14th inning broke a 7-7 tie between the two Big 10 Conference teams and the Hawkeyes held on to win their first series game.

Trailing, 7-5, Iowa scored two runs in the top of the seventh on two hits and an error to send the game into extra innings.

The teams combined to set six series single-game records and tie four others. Those set were total errors (11), total hits (31), total runs batted in (12), total runs (16), most hits by a team (17, by Iowa) and most hits by a player (five, by Iowa’s Macias and Michigan’s Kellyn Tate).

Nevada Las Vegas 5, Southwestern Louisiana 1--Kim Rondina’s three-run double highlighted a five-run third for the Rebels (49-13), who will face Arizona (65-5) today. The Rebels have to beat Arizona twice to advance to Monday’s championship game.

UNLV 2, Princeton 1--Trailing, 2-0, the Tigers (49-13) rallied in the bottom of the seventh on Stacy Thurber’s two-out run-scoring single, but Amie Stewart (30-7) struck out Michelle Morale with runners at first and second to end it.