OKLAHOMA CITY - Caylan Arnold and Kathryn Sandercock combined for a shutout as Florida State beat Alabama 2-0 on Sunday in a Women's College World Series semifinal.
No. 3 Alabama was unbeaten in the double-elimination bracket at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium and Florida State had a loss, so the 10th-seeded Seminoles' victory forced a winner-take-all rematch to determine who will play in the best-of-three title round.
Because of a weather delay that pushed the Alabama-Florida State game back 2 1/2 hours shortly after it started, the NCAA moved the deciding game from Sunday to Monday.
Top-seeded Oklahoma (53-3) will play unseeded James Madison (41-3) in the other semifinal Monday. The Sooners beat the Dukes 6-3 earlier Sunday, avenging a loss Thursday in the first game of this year's WCWS. Their winner-take-all game also was moved back to Monday at 4 p.m. Eastern, with the rematch of the Crimson Tide (52-8) and the Seminoles (47-11-1) to follow.
The championship series was moved back a day and will begin Tuesday.
Alabama had reached the semifinals on the strength of two dynamic performances by pitcher Montana Fouts. Lexi Kilfoyl stepped in on Sunday and pitched admirably, striking out nine batters, but it wasn't enough as Alabama's 20-game winning streak was snapped.
Florida State coach Lonni Alameda wasn't sure which way Alabama coach Patrick Murphy would go.
"I don't know what they were thinking on that, but I don't think there's a whole lot of difference with the two of them," Alameda said. "I know Montana has been lights out for them. But I know Kilfoyl is good, too. And she kept them right in that ballgame."
The Seminoles beat 11th-seeded Arizona on Saturday afternoon, then played until after 2 a.m. Sunday to eliminate No. 5 Oklahoma State because a weather delay pushed an earlier game back. The Seminoles were back on the field 13 hours later, then faced the delay on Sunday.
"It was definitely different, but we came here to play softball and we wanted to play last night," Florida State infielder Sydney Sherrill said. "We fought and we won the game, and we were just excited to have another day of games. And then this game obviously getting delayed was another hiccup, but we work through that stuff all year."
Even with the craziness, the Seminoles found enough to win.
"It's been a grind," Alameda said. "A lot of us don't know what day or time it is, and we're just rolling. And with that rain delay we bend, but we don't break. It's been a mantra all season."
Alabama's best chance to score came in the fifth inning. Maddie Morgan singled with one out, then advanced to second on a passed ball. Taylor Clark was hit in the helmet so hard by Arnold's pitch that it knocked her helmet off and left the bill cracked. Florida State escaped without allowing a run.
The Seminoles loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth for Sherrill. On a full count, Sherrill walked to score Dani Morgan for the game's first run. The Seminoles left the bases loaded and scored just once in the inning.
Dani Morgan tripled with two outs in the sixth, then Josie Muffley singled to score Morgan and make it 2-0.
Sandercock, who entered the game in the fifth in relief, got the win. Arnold gave up two hits in 4 2/3 innings and Sandercock threw 2 1/3 innings of perfect relief.
"Pitchers were lights out today and held them off," Sherrill said. "We've had that duo all year, pitchers holding them off, figuring out ways to score. We did that this game. And it's awesome to have that stability on the pitching mound, knowing that they can hold us off and we'll figure out ways to score."
Alabama would have been fine with playing again Sunday night.
"Honestly, we could go right now," Kilfoyl said after the game. "And I think that we would have - that kind of lit a spark. We'd have enough to fight back. But I guess tomorrow, it does help because we're getting a day of rest and we get to regroup and come out tomorrow fresh and come at them."
In Oklahoma's win against James Madison, Tiare Jennings hit a leadoff homer and drove in the go-ahead run with a seventh-inning double and Nicole May threw 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to seal the win.
Sara Jubas hit a three-run homer and Odicci Alexander threw a 118-pitch complete game for James Madison. Alexander already had complete game in wins over Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
"It's always a little bit easier the second - not easier, but you have more knowledge the second time around," Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said. "And having never faced her, we were not prepared for what she was bringing."
Alexander expected the Sooners to be better prepared in the rematch.
"Oklahoma does have a tough offense," she said. "Facing them twice, I knew it was going to be hard. I knew they were going to put balls in play. They kind of just strung their hits together more than we did."
Jennings' double in the seventh scored Rylie Boone, who had opened the inning with a perfectly placed bunt single, to make it 4-3. Kinzie Hansen followed with a two-run homer for the Sooners.
The Dukes trailed 1-0 in the third when Madison Naujokas hit a ball solidly down the left-field line that rolled into foul territory and under a fence for a ground-rule double. Logan Newton, who would have scored if the ball remained playable, was held up at third. The Sooners escaped the inning without allowing a run.
Nicole Mendes tripled to drive in Mackenzie Donihoo and make it 3-0 in the third.
Jubas' two-out blast tied it in the fourth.
"Sara's so clutch, so composed, and she loves that moment," Dukes coach Loren LaPorte said. "She always does really good for us in those moments. Super proud of her."
James Madison remained confident. The Dukes lost to Missouri in a super regional before coming out on top in the winner-take-all third game.
"It just showed us we have the fight and the drive to keep pushing ourselves and to win the third game," Jubas said. "And so I think we're going to take that through to this series as well."