One batter into the top of the seventh inning, Nicole Mendes got the call. She jogged from center field to the mound with a runner on first base.
In what would become a 16-3 loss to UCLA, the most lopsided Championship Series game in Women’s College World Series history, Mendes made her first trip to the mound since April 7 and ninth all season.
Mendes had only pitched a total of 8 1/3 innings this season prior to Monday night. She last took the mound in a 16-0 win against Baylor, when she threw one shutout inning.