Final: Alabama 41, Georgia 34
No. 4 Alabama wins an absolutely crazy game over No. 2 Georgia. Bama blew a 28-point lead but found a way to save it with Ryan Williams’ circus catch in the final minutes.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Florida State is taking a different path this time.
The Seminoles lost their Women’s College World Series opener in 2018, then won six straight to win the national title. They lost their opener again in 2021, then rallied to reach the championship series.
This time, they have won their first two games. Kathryn Sandercock was strong in relief, and No. 3 seed Florida State held on to beat No. 7 Washington 3-1 on Saturday night and clinch a spot in the semifinals.
Sandercock allowed one run on six hits in 5 2/3 innings to claim the win, and now the Seminoles are in what coach Lonni Alameda jokingly called “uncharted territory.” It’s a good spot because Sandercock, a second-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American, now has time to rest.
“It’s really important to keep her legs underneath her,” Alameda said. “We’re going to face really good teams, dogfights from here on out. We have to take care of the bodies as best we can. Earning days off is really big for us. We’ll see how it plays out.”
Devyn Flaherty had two hits and scored twice for the Seminoles (57-9), who will play the winner of Sunday’s Tennessee-Oklahoma State game on Monday. Florida State remained unbeaten in the double-elimination bracket and will need to win once on Monday to advance to the best-of-three championship series. The Seminoles would have to lose twice to be eliminated.
Washington freshman Ruby Meylan lasted just 1 1/3 innings and took the loss. Lindsay Lopez gave up just one run in 4 2/3 innings of relief.
Washington (44-14) will play its Pac-12 rival, No. 9 Stanford (46-14), in an elimination game on Sunday. Washington took two of three at Stanford in May.
“It’s another opportunity to play our game,” Washington coach Heather Tarr said. “We’ve got to come back. This is a tough loss for us. It hurts. You want to win this game. It’s like a big difference.”
Sandercock stepped in for freshman Makenna Reid in the second inning. Sandercock gave up a single and hit a batter before escaping a bases-loaded jam without allowing a run.
Josie Muffley’s single in the second scored Flaherty, and Kaley Mudge’s sacrifice fly scored Mack Leonard to give Florida State a 2-0 lead.
Washington trimmed the deficit to 2-1 in the sixth and had a runner on third with two outs but couldn’t get her across.
Washington trailed 3-1 before starting the seventh with two hits. The Seminoles snuffed out the threat when Muffley snagged a hard line drive by Madison Huskey and got the out at second for the double play.
“Josie is so athletic,” Sandercock said. “Athleticism for her to get up that high. To have the wherewithal to throw it to second base and get the double play, she’s just incredible athlete, great teammate, definitely has a great softball IQ. I have so much trust in her playing.”
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: twitter.com/CliffBruntAP
___
AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
The Washington Capitals announced the roster that will dress for their penultimate preseason tilt against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Monday night (7 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network in-market, ESPN+ out-0f-market).
Defenseman Rasmus Sandin will make his preseason debut after reporting to training camp late due to visa issues.
Washington is expected dress most of their expected opening night lineup for October 12 vs. the New Jersey Devils, except the team’s first-line of Alex Ovechkin, Dylan Strome, and Andrew Mangiapane and top defensive pairing of Jakob Chychrun and John Carlson, all of whom have played the past two games.
The roster also features three recent first-round picks by the team in centers Connor McMichael (25th overall, 2019) and Hendrix Lapierre (22nd, 2020) in addition to left-wing Ivan Miroshnichenko (20th, 2022).
Left-wing Jakub Vrana, who is attending Washington’s training camp on a PTO agreement, will play his third consecutive game and fourth overall after notching a goal and an assist in his last two.
Logan Thompson will play the whole game in net, according to head coach Spencer Carbery.
Sunday #Caps lines:
Ovechkin-Strome-Mangiapane
McMichael-Dubois-Wilson
Milano-Lapierre-Protas
Duhaime-Dowd-Raddysh
Vrana-Sgarbossa-Miro
Extras: Cristall, ParascakChychrun-Carlson
Fehervary-Roy
Sandin-TvR
Alexeyev-McIlrath
Extra: BearLindgren
Thompson
Shepard— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) September 29, 2024
Here is the expected roster for Monday’s game in Ohio:
The roster Columbus should ice on Monday can be found below:
Columbus defeated Washington by a score of 8-4 in the District on Friday in the first of the two’s home-and-home set.
Washington’s final preseason game will take place at Capital One Arena on Saturday against the Boston Bruins (5 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network locally, NHL Network nationally).
By Harrison Brown
The Washington Nationals might not have had a great season in terms of their win-loss record, but this was a season in which they saw a lot of their young players develop.
While the Nationals have struggled for quite some time, the future does look bright for the franchise. This year, there was a lot of growth for Washington, especially in their lineup.
This campaign, the infield combination of C.J. Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. really took their games to the next level, as Abrams was selected to his first All-Star team. While those two taking a step into the All-Star caliber range was important, a few new top prospects also came up and made their debuts.
Both James Woods and Dylan Crews got to see meaningful action in the second half of the season, and as two of the top prospects in the outfield in the Majors, that is a great sign for next season.
While the future looks bright in the lineup, the Nationals do still have some work to do in the starting rotation and bullpen.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently ranked the Top-5 pitchers for the Nationals this season in this order: Jake Irvin, Kyle Finnegan, MacKenzie Gore, Mitchell Parker, and Derek Law.
“Right-hander Jake Irvin has been the unsung hero of the Nationals staff, making 32 starts and posting a 4.22 ERA and a 153-to-49 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 183.1 innings of work. His 1.18 WHIP ranks eighth among qualified NL starters, ahead of guys such as Max Fried, Freddy Peralta, Logan Webb and others. Veteran reliever Derek Law may have pitched well enough this season to earn himself a MLB deal this time around in free agency. The 34-year-old has a 2.68 ERA and 16 holds in 72 appearances after signing a minor league deal each of the past four offseasons.”
Irvin was certainly deserving of being in the top spot, as the right-hander had the second-best WAR of any pitcher on Washington this season at 2.3.
While it was good to see Law recognized on the list, the argument could be made that he was the second-best pitcher on the team this season. Law has had a 7-4 record and 2.63 ERA. Furthermore, his WAR of 1.8 is right behind Irvin.
Unfortunately for the Nationals after Irvin and Law, there really wasn’t much else to get overly excited about on the pitching staff. Adding a top-end starter to help guide this rotation next season should certainly be a priority for Washington.
The biggest game of the season so far delivered in a big way.
No. 4 Alabama had No. 2 Georgia on the ropes early in their top-five showdown, up 28-0 at one point, but the Bulldogs just kept fighting their way back and forced a dramatic finish in Tuscaloosa. In the end, after trading leads late in the fourth quarter, Alabama secured the win with a miraculous catch-and-run TD by freshman Ryan Williams, and then an interception in the end zone by cornerback Zabien Brown.
The 41-34 finish was the capper on an incredible day of college football action — one that got going early when Kentucky went into Oxford against No. 6 Ole Miss and stunned the Rebels, 20-17, in a back-and-forth affair that ended with a shanked field goal that would’ve tied it.
And yet another highly ranked team lost to an unranked opponent at home when Arizona beat No. 10 Utah 23-10 in a late-night upset.
Later in the day, No. 21 Oklahoma got a late pick 6 to spark a comeback win over Auburn and earn its first SEC win. No. 16 Notre Dame also notched a key victory of its own in holding off No. 15 Louisville while No. 9 Penn State handled No. 19 Illinois at home and Colorado blew out UCF on the road.
And to cap the night, No. 25 Boise State rode running back Ashton Jeanty to a big 45-24 win over Washington State.
Live166 updates
No. 4 Alabama wins an absolutely crazy game over No. 2 Georgia. Bama blew a 28-point lead but found a way to save it with Ryan Williams’ circus catch in the final minutes.
Video: Who Are the Black Swing Voters?
Dem lawmakers push bill to restore funding to UN agency with alleged ties to Hamas: 'So necessary'
Four killed, dozens injured in Alabama shooting
Money for cutting-edge climate technology could dry up in a second Trump term
Election 2024 Polls: Florida
Critics slam landmark EU competitiveness report as 'one-sided'
Secret Service protection bill passes House unanimously after Trump assassination attempts
Cards Against Humanity says in new lawsuit that SpaceX has destroyed some of its South Texas property