Huskies one win away from championship series after blanking ASU

May 30, 2009, 12:00 AM

OKLAHOMA CITY-It was the polar opposite of what the two Pac-10 powers had combined to produce in their previous three meetings. But what wasn't unfamiliar was the final scene here at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium last night, one that saw a mob of purple at home plate after another walk-off win for the Washington softball team over Arizona State. This one came via the bat of Morgan Stuart, who singled in Kimi Pohlman from third base in the bottom of the eighth to give the Huskies a 1-0 win in the second round of the Women's College World Series, moving them one win away from the championship series. The win was UW's third in four tries against ASU this season, and the second to come in the Huskies' last at-bat. Ashley Charters belted a towering solo homer in the bottom of the seventh on April 5 to assure the Huskies of a season series win against the defending national champs. But this one was not only different than each meeting the Huskies had with the Sun Devils in the regular season, it was also different from most of the games the UW had won previously in the postseason. There was no frustration-none early, anyway- from leaving runners in scoring position, simply because the Huskies couldn't sustain any rallies. They didn't put a great deal of pressure on ASU starter Hillary Bach, who pitched what Sun Devils head coach Clint Myers described as a "masterful" game. "Hillary Bach pitched the best collegiate game of her 45 games this year," Myers said. And that's probably a fair assessment. Bach went toe-to-toe with national player of the year Danielle Lawrie in a pitcher's duel typical of a Pac-10 battle, as she held the Huskies to five hits through the first six innings. But as usual, Lawrie was better. The Sun Devils had more success against her in the regular season than any other team in the conference, but none of that mattered last night. Lawrie never allowed a runner past second base, gave up just two hits in eight innings and didn't walk a batter. Lawrie was happy to recover from what she described as a mediocre outing Thursday, during which she led her team to a 3-1 win over Georgia. "I think what I changed was more mentally of how I performed yesterday [against Georgia]," Lawrie said. "That was a B-minus game and at the World Series, that's not acceptable. We only have one opponent to show what we're made of." Their bats were once again slow to arrive. Washington's only real opportunity to score before extra frames came in the fourth inning, when Jenn Salling was gunned down at the plate trying to score on a double by Alicia Blake. The Huskies' second-best chance to score may have come in the sixth, when Pohlman led off with a single and tried to steal second base-on a signal cross-up, UW head coach Heather Tarr would reveal afterward. She was thrown out-for the first time in 21 tries this season-on what appeared to be a fairly questionable call. Salling and Lawrie followed with deep fly-outs that ended the inning. Pohlman finished 3-for-4, and has five hits in the tournament. The Huskies also blew a chance to win it in the bottom of the seventh, moving a runner to third base with one out before Bach coaxed a fly-out from Ashlyn Watson and a pop-out from Niki Williams. Watson's fly ball was too shallow for Tarr to send pinch-runner Marnie Koziol home, but she likely would have scored because the throw ended up pulling ASU catcher Kaylyn Castillo well away from the plate. But all's well that ends well, and because Stuart made sure that this one did, the Huskies now need only to win one game Sunday to advance to the championship series. "You have a plan and you try to execute it," Lawrie said. "That's exactly what we did today." Reach sports editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

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