WORLD SERIES CENTRAL | BRACKET
COLUMBUS, Ga. – Southern Oregon star Cayla Williams outdueled Annalise Wood, Georgia Gwinnett's frontrunner for the NAIA Pitcher of the Year award, in every sense Thursday at the South Commons Softball Complex.
Wood, who entered the matchup with a 0.61 ERA, had not surrendered more than three earned runs all season before Williams pinned four on her with one violent swing in the NAIA World Series opener for both teams. In addition to her grand slam, she twirled a two-hit complete game as the No. 4-seeded Raiders defeated the No. 5-seeded Grizzlies, 5-1, to move within three wins of another championship.
SOU (47-12 overall) advanced to play at 1 p.m. Pacific Time on Saturday against the winner of Friday's game between No. 1 Oregon Tech and No. 8 Central Methodist (Mo.).
Williams' outing got off to a shaky start when the first two Grizzlies she saw reached base, the first on an error and the next on a bunt single. She escaped that jam, left two more runners stranded in the second inning, and was in full control the rest of the afternoon.
After squandering their early opportunities, the Grizzlies got caught in a self-inflicted predicament in the third. A hit-by-pitch, two misplayed bunts and Riley Donovan's bases-loaded walk gifted the Raiders the game's first run. Williams – whose comical batting average since the beginning of April is .549 – then came up with one out and squared up Wood's offering, sending it comfortably over the 220' sign in center field for her sixth home run of the season and first in 19 games.
The senior from San Jose, Calif., returned to the circle and allowed one hit the rest of the way, a solo home run pulled by catcher Sydney Pelaez. The Grizzlies had previously been limited to one or no runs just once in the last two months.
Williams has won four consecutive postseason decisions, bringing her record to 21-5. Wood dropped to 23-3. She was averaging nearly 11 strikeouts per seven innings before finishing with two over six frames against SOU.
The Raiders have won their World Series openers on two other occasions: in 2019 and '21, the years of their national championship runs.
If they win Saturday, they'll play at 4 p.m. Monday for a spot in Wednesday's championship round. If they lose, they'll have to win five consecutive elimination games starting at 1 p.m. Monday.