COLUMBUS, Ga. – Outside of the large contingent of Jessup fans in attendance, Columbus has been left stunned following the offensive outburst of the Warriors. Backed by two big innings to open the game, Jessup is now 2-0 in the World Series after taking down No. 2 Oklahoma City 11-2.
The win improves the Warriors' record season to 41-10 and keeps them in the winner's bracket.
Head coach
Brie Campbell said that there was some uncertainty coming into the day, but her team answered perfectly. "I think today was just a question mark for us because we haven't played this side of the bracket before. And we hadn't seen them play live before. We watched a little bit of film, but today, we took the approach of play like it's your first game of the year against a new opponent. I think that helped calm the nerves."
If there were nerves, Jessup didn't show it, starting with pitcher
Terra Goetz, who retired Oklahoma City in order to start the game. Jessup then gave their pitcher some run support, starting with
Sam Lorge who blasted a no-doubter to left field that made it 3-0.
Lorge's home run is a milestone moment, as she becomes the program's all-time leader in home runs with 31. Lorge tied the record with a first-inning home run yesterday.
"It couldn't have happened in a better place," added Campbell on Lorge breaking the home run record. "Sam will continue to be Sam…For her to hit that one yesterday and then to do the same thing today with a first-inning home run to break it, it's a testament to her hard work to make adjustments and be there for her team."
Jessup added to the run support with a
Maddy Ybarra triple in the second, making it 5-0. Ybarra then scored on the Warriors' second home run in as many innings as
Sarah Giles sent her 19th of the season over the fence.
Oklahoma City got on the board with two in the fourth, but Jessup quickly stole the runs back, starting with
Madisyn Leffle's RBI single in the bottom half. Ybarra then drove in her third run of the day, which was followed by two more RBI from Giles to set the score at 11-2.
Bella MacFarlane then entered in relief to toss a perfect inning and cement the victory.
Goetz improves her record to 14-2 on the season after she allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits across four innings of work.
Jessup will now prepare to take on a second first-time opponent in the University of Science and Arts. The Drovers come into the World Series ranked No. 6 in the nation and beat Central Methodist 8-3 on Thursday.
Campbell noted that it's a positive for her team to be playing teams they are unfamiliar with. "That's why we're here. We truly believe that the west coast is the most competitive coast, and that's why we compete at the level during our non-conference schedule that we do. Teams like Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon are continuously here in Georgia, so we know if we can play with them, we can play with anyone."
Saturday's game is slated for 7 p.m. (EST). Fans can tune into the action for a fee
HERE.
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Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter & Instagram).
