OKLAHOMA CITY – The level of punishment is severe for losing an opening game in the Women's College World Series. Most double-elimination tournaments bring back a pair of losers for an elimination game the next day.
Not so with the softball World Series. The four losers had a day off on Friday, meaning those teams — including the Gophers — would have to win two games Saturday, and two more on Sunday, in order to advance out of a bracket and into the two-of-three final series scheduled to start Monday.
The advertised reason for this is to have room for postponements to be played on Friday, if one of those famed spring storms blows through Oklahoma while the four opening games are scheduled on Thursday.
Another reason could be that if you don't have two teams eliminated by Friday afternoon, you won't have visitors from those teams bailing out of their hotel rooms and canceling dinner reservations a day earlier.
Whatever, it puts a considerable burden on a Gophers team that has relied on one ace pitcher — Amber Fiser, a first-team All-America — as it contemplates the long-shot possibility of getting through four games in two days.
Or, you just don't contemplate that scenario.
"We're concentrating on the one game in front of us, an outstanding Washington team, and nothing else," Gophers coach Jamie Trachsel said Friday.
The Gophers lost to UCLA 7-2 on Thursday, with Fiser going 5⅔ innings and throwing 114 pitches.
Washington lost 3-1 to Arizona in eight innings. Taran Alvelo pitched that game for the Huskies. Washington's "other" pitcher — first-team All-America Gabbie Plain — is expected to face the Gophers in an elimination game at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Clearly, there's no reason for the Gophers to be looking ahead, although Trachsel did confirm that if her team would continue on through the weekend, "We will need both of our pitchers."
Sydney Smith is a senior righthander and the other option. She has pitched in 23 games (18 starts) this season, with a 13-5 record and a 2.47 ERA in 104⅔ innings. Her last start came in the Big Ten championship game vs. Michigan on May 11, when Smith was replaced by Fiser during the Wolverines' winning three-run rally in the fifth.
Smith has thrown three pitches — to get Thursday's last out vs. UCLA — in the six NCAA tournament games played for the Gophers. Fiser has pitched 41⅔ innings those games.
A brief conversation with Trachsel on Friday provided a slight hint that Smith could be in the circle if the Gophers wind up playing two games on Saturday.
Has a determination been made on a starter for the Washington game?
"We aren't going to talk about that," Trachsel said.
Jensen waiting
The departure of slugger Kendyl Lindaman as a transfer to Florida in January was not the only major loss to the Gophers lineup. They also lost sophomore Ellee Jensen in early March to a leg injury (stress fracture). She played 13 games and this will become a redshirt season.
This was no minor loss. Jensen was the leadoff hitter and center fielder. She started all 58 games in the outfield as a freshman and led the Gophers with a .401 average.
"We miss her on the field, but Ellee has done a great job for us in her new role: lead cheerleader in our dugout," said Allie Arneson, the senior shortstop.
Asked on Friday about being out of the lineup for this run to the softball World Series, Jensen said: "I'm OK. I miss not playing, of course, but it is awesome seeing this happen for our team.
"I'm proud of all of them. And seeing Ali [Lindner] come in as a freshman and do so well in center field … I'm especially proud of her."
Jensen said she was not yet recovered from the injury and wouldn't be playing, even without the redshirt declaration. "No, but I'm getting better," she said. "There's no doubt at all that I'll be ready to play next season."
