Kristina Thorson didn’t have long to fret over California’s loss to UCLA in the championship game of the Women’s College World Series.
Five days later, the Golden Bears ace and Shorecrest graduate made her first of two appearances against the U.S. National Team in Hayward, Calif., as a member of the Sorcerer All-Stars.
In three innings, Thorson faced 15 batters and gave up five hits, two walks, one home run and three runs to go with three strikeouts in a 6-1 Team USA victory.
Her line was similar the next week in Eastern Washington pitching for the Spokane All-Stars — three innings, 15 batters, five hits, one home run and four runs (one earned) allowed to go with three strikeouts in an 8-0 defeat.
The results didn’t damper the experience for Thorson, whose Washington Blast select team is playing in the Canada Cup through July 11 in Surrey, British Columbia.
“It’s always exciting to pitch against the best hitters in the world,” she said.
The Sorcerer All-Stars became just the fifth club to score against Team USA, which is undefeated on its Aiming for Athens tour that started last February.
“They’re such a great team. The thing that really sets them apart is their hitting,” Thorson said. “You can’t make a mistake against them, period. If you do, they’ll capitalize on it. If you put the ball out over the plate at all, they’re going to hit it.”
Thorson faced plenty of accomplished batters during Cal’s postseason run, but even the best collegiate squads paled in comparison to Team USA’s star-studded lineup.
“Every hitter they have would be the No. 3 or No. 4 hitter on any college team,” said Thorson, who finished her sophomore season 28-4 with a 0.87 earned-run average and 232 strikeouts in 226 innings.
Thorson went 4-0 in NCAA regional play and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. She threw 28 scoreless innings, allowed just six hits, struck out 30 and walked four.
That momentum carried over to the College World Series as Thorson collected 12 strikeouts and yielded just two hits in a 4-2 opening-round victory over Florida State.
In her next start against Louisiana State, Thorson was pulled in the third inning and took the loss. She sat out Cal’s win over LSU later that day and didn’t start the title game against Pac-10 rival UCLA.
Thorson spelled Kelly Anderson in the fifth inning of the championship game with runners on first and second and the score knotted 1-1. After a sacrifice bunt, two runs scored on a one-out single to center.
“I felt like I let my team down and that’s the worst feeling in the world,” Thorson said of giving up the game-winning hit.
Most teams have trouble adjusting to Thorson and Anderson’s contrasting styles. While Thorson goes after hitters with four pitches — a riseball, dropball, curve and changeup — Anderson makes batters chase her offspeed pitches.
“I don’t think we could complement each other any better,” Thorson said. “We’re a perfect 1-2 punch that keeps teams off balance. We’ve got totally different personas on the mound.”
Thorson allowed team-lows in hits (119), runs (30), earned runs (28) and walks (27) and racked up numerous individual accolades.
She earned first-team all-Pac-10 honors, was a first-team Easton All-American and a second-team Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-American.
“It’s a reflection on the team as a whole more than anything,” Thorson said of the awards. “I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without a solid defense. It’s nice that the team is finally starting to get some recognition.”
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