I felt like Carda never had control from the start in that game. Her misses were huge. Just one of those days. Unfortunate it was that game when it happened.
On a side note: I think that any body part hanging over in the river, should be fair game for bruising. Ball or a strike but no base.
I think it is sad that a D1 team at the WCWS doesn't have a second pitcher to come in that can be trusted. Both teams in the finals have 2 great options and a 3rd decent option and I don't think that is a coincidence.
Fielding has been uneven too. There have been some clearly elite athletes playing who are still relying on that versus having execution level skills.
I also think some of the coaching has been really suspect. Not calling bunts in clear bunting situations, terrible situational fielding positioning waiting WAY too long to change pitchers, strange substitutions, etc. Carda had been wild from the start, but it got worse and she couldn't throw a strike past the 8th inning unless she threw a 44mph change up... you could see she was going to walk in a winning run but hey, lets leave her out there.
The strike zones have been awful, but what should we expect. It is too small in NCAA already and squeezing it further isn't helping, but when you think about it, what level of umpiring should we be expecting? There isn't a really a career in this like there is in baseball.
And I guess we just threw the leaping IP out. Carda leaped on almost every pitch without a call and on most it was obvious. She hasn't been alone.
On the other hand I have enjoyed watching every game. Total blast.