UCLA Advances to the Final Four

The NCAA Division I Women’s College Softball World Series in Oklahoma City has come down to the final four teams. Top-seeded Arizona faces California and Texas plays UCLA today.

The Bruins (51-7) kept their title hopes alive Saturday night with a 2-1 victory over Pacific 10 rival Washington (47-16-1) in an elimination game, thanks to third baseman Tairia Mims.

Mims hit a long home run to deep center field in the bottom of the sixth inning -- her 22nd of the season and 60th of her career -- to give UCLA and right-hander Keira Goerl the victory. It was Goerl’s second win of the day.

Goerl (36-7), who limited the Huskies to four hits, pitched her 14th one-hitter of the season, and Mims and Monique Mejia hit homers as the Bruins eliminated Louisiana Lafayette, 5-1.

The Bruins put that game away by scoring three runs in the sixth inning. Mejia hit a two-run homer. Emily Zaplatosch led off with a single. Andrea Duran then doubled and scored on a double by Natasha Watley.

*

Sophomores Patrick Rooney and Brent Haapanen hit successive homers leading off the 10th inning to to give Pepperdine a 7-6 victory over San Diego in Game 2 of their the West Coast Conference championship series at Pepperdine.

The Waves (36-22) evened the series at 1-1 and set up a decisive third game today at 1 p.m. The winner earns the conference’s automatic berth in the 64-team NCAA Division I tournament.

The Toreros (30-28) scored once in the bottom of the inning on a single by Tony Perez, but Joey Prast lined into a double play to end the game.

Prast hit a drive to left fielder Brandon Daguio, who doubled up pinch-runner Jamie Hesselgesser.

Haapanen’s homer, a long drive over the left-field wall that provided the margin of victory, was his first collegiate home run.

Chapman, meanwhile, lost to Christopher Newport, 6-4, in its second-round game at the NCAA Division III World Series in Grand Chute, Wis.

The Panthers (35-12) will play Emory University today in an elimination game.

Christopher Newport (33-7) scored five times in the bottom of the first inning. Chapman scored twice in the eighth inning, but left the bases loaded.

*

Stanford freshman Amber Liu overcame a 5-3 deficit in the first set and defeated top-seeded Vilmarie Castellvi of Tennessee, 7-6 (5), 6-2, to win the NCAA Division I women’s singles title at Gainesville, Fla.

The fifth-seeded Liu won three straight games to take a 6-5 lead, but wasted three set points in the 12th game and another in the tiebreaker before taking the first set. She controlled the second set, getting a break for a 3-1 lead, and won the second set in only 39 minutes.

Liu, who lost only one set in six matches in the tournament, became the 11th Stanford player to win the singles title in the 22-year history of the NCAA Championships.

*

Azusa Pacific used a balanced effort over three days of competition at Olathe, Kan., scoring in the throws, distances and jumps to win the NAIA women’s outdoor track and field title, edging Lindenwood University, Mo., 86-78.

The title is the Cougars’ first on the women’s outdoor circuit, and combined with their effort back in March, it gives the Cougars a sweep of the NAIA indoor and outdoor 2003 championships.

Azusa Pacific opened the day in second place, three points behind Lindenwood. Sophomore Vivian Chukwuemeka, however, won the shot put early in the competition to give the Cougars the lead for good.

Chukwuemeka defended her title with a throw of 58-7 1/2, a foot short of her NAIA record set last season.

*

Johns Hopkins, sparked by four goals apiece from Kyle Barrie and Bobby Benson, routed defending champion Syracuse, 19-8, in the semifinals of the NCAA Division I lacrosse tournament at Baltimore.

The Blue Jays will attempt to win their first title since 1987 on Monday against Virginia, which beat Maryland, 14-4, in the other semifinal.