We have hit the midway point of April and the tenth week had big matchups across the country both in conference and out of conference. There were a lot of upsets throughout the top 25 all week long. We take a day-by-day look at all the action below.
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
The headliner was #1 Florida State at #3 Florida, which the Gators won 1-0. The duel between the two teams fittingly lasted until the seventh when Kayli Kvistad’s single to right field drove home Justine McLean for the walk off win. The relievers for both teams walked away the with decisions; Meghan King got the loss for FSU (17-1) and Kelly Barnhill got the win for Florida (16-0).
Walk-offs against your rival are always sweet! #GoGators 🐊🐊 pic.twitter.com/oHeOxn1Yc9
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) April 13, 2017
#21 Kentucky crushed rival Louisville 10-1. The Wildcats scored the 10 runs without hitting a home run and were aided by 4 Louisville errors. Breanne Ray went 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs and both hits went for doubles.
#18 Michigan defeated Michigan State 5-1 thanks to 17 strikeouts by ace Megan Betsa. Betsa threw complete game allowing the one run on four hits and two walks. Aidan Falk led the offense going 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs.
For the second time in a week, Texas State defeated an in-state foe from the Big 12. Last week it was Texas and this week it turned out to be #13 Baylor. Randi Rupp threw a gem with a complete game shutout allowing only three hits and striking out four. The Bobcats won on an RBI groundout in the bottom of the seventh by Christiana McDowell for the game’s only run. McDowell hit the ball hard enough to cause the fielder to dive for the ball and prevent a throw to the plate.
Nebraska and Iowa played a doubleheader and it was Iowa who swept the two games to end Nebraska’s 8 game winning streak. Kaitlyn Mullarkey had a big day recording the walk off RBI on a double in 4-3 game one victory. Game two saw her add two more RBIs as Iowa won 5-2.
Yale and Quinnipiac put on a show in a 12-11 victory for the Ivy League Bulldogs. Both teams saw big innings throughout the game; Quinnipiac scored four in both the fourth and sixth innings while Yale scored four in third, three in the fifth, and three in the sixth. It was Yale’s sixth inning that proved to the difference as three straight RBI hits brought the final score line.
Quinnipiac’s Erin Larsen went 2 for 3 with 2 runs and 4 RBIs while teammate Sara Heimbach went 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs. Yale’s offense was more dispersed as 8 different players recorded an RBI and no player had more than two.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
The Pac-12 had some surprising results in their conference games. First was #12 Washington handing #4 Oregon their third loss in the last four games. The Huskies scored in the first inning on an error and held the Ducks scoreless until the fourth. That is when the Ducks took a 2-1 lead on a single by Mia Camuso and an RBI walk by Shannon Rhodes.
Washington responded with two runs in the top of the fifth on a two run shot by Ali Aguilar. Casey Stangel added another in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly as the Huskies won 4-2.
Oregon State posted a surprise run rule victory over #8 UCLA, 8-0. Alysha Everett had an RBI single in the third inning and Natalie Hampton cleared the bases in the next at bat to make it 4-0. Everett added three more RBIs in the fourth on a bases clearing double. Sammie Noland made it 8-0 on a single three batters later.
VICTORY FEELS SO GOOD! We knock off No. 8/9 UCLA in five innings!
Beavers 8, Bruins 0 | FINAL (5)#GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/RBDRNCV4UF
— Oregon St. Softball (@BeaverSoftball) April 13, 2017
#2 Arizona stymied #14 Utah in the first game of their series 5-1. Tamara Statman hit an RBI triple in the second and a two run double in the fourth and the final two RBIs came from Mandie Perez’s double in the fourth. Utah got one back in the seventh on a Kelly Martinez double, but it was too little, too late. Danielle O’Toole threw the complete game allowing one walk and five hits with 7 strikeouts.
Friday, April 14, 2017
The ACC saw doubleheader sweeps in four matchups. North Carolina swept Boston College, Notre Dame swept North Carolina State, Syracuse swept Pittsburgh, and Louisville swept Virginia Tech.
Also in the ACC, #1 Florida State fell 7-2 at South Carolina. FSU took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but a flood of five runs in fourth and two in the fifth overwhelmed the Seminoles. Tiara Duffy had 3 RBIs and Alyssa VanDerveer went 3 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs for South Carolina. Florida State was only able to muster four hits while the Gamecocks put up 12.
#15 James Madison destroyed Delaware in two, five run ruled shortened games. Niki Prince went 3 for 3 with 2 runs and 4 RBIs and Madyson Moran went 2 for 3 with 3 runs and 3 RBIs in the 10-2 game one victory. Game two was a 13-1 score and more of the same. Prince went 2 for 2 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs. Taylor Newton’s only hit was a three run home run while Megan Good went 2 for 2 with 2 RBIs and 2 walks. Good won both games to improve to 26-1.
There were several long games in terms of innings it took to complete a contest. Long Beach State needed 12 innings to beat Cal Poly 2-0 and also needed 9 innings to sweep the doubleheader. UIC needed 12 innings to get past Northern Kentucky 1-0. Elaine Heflin went 10 1/3 innings allowing just one hit and striking out 18.
It took Fairfield 13 innings to defeat Monmouth 1-0. Angelina McGuire drove home the only run while Destinee Pallotto went 12 innings allowing seven hits and striking out 9. Morehead State also needed 13 innings to defeat Belmont 10-7 in a wild game. The teams combined to score 14 runs in the first six innings but then failed to score runs in the 7th through 12th innings. Robyn Leighton went 3 for 7 with all 3 RBIs coming on the walk off three run home run. Allison Rager went 4 for 4 with 2 runs, 3 walks, and 4 RBIs.
#14 Utah upended #2 Arizona 6-3 to even the series at one. Utah raced out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning and it became a 6-0 lead on a 2 run triple by Anissa Urtez and RBI single from Hannah Bowen. The Wildcats were able to cut the deficit in half in the final two innings, but it came too late. The Utes handed Taylor McQuillin her first loss of the season (13-1) and ended Arizona’s 26 game win streak.
#4 Oregon was able to even their series against #12 Washington with a 4-1 win. For the second game in a row, Washington scored a first inning run. This time, however, that would be the last time they scored in the game. Oregon tied the game on a throwing error in the third inning and Nikki Udria made it 3-1 later in the frame on a two run shot. The Ducks added a fourth run in the fifth inning as Megan Kleist threw a complete game allowing five hits and striking out five.
#17 Louisiana-Lafayette faced a strong Texas State team, but made their two wins look easy in a doubleheader. Haley Hayden had a 2 run double and two run home run as DJ Sanders also hit a two run homer in the 8-1 first game victory. Game two was another DJ Sanders show as she hit not one, but two Grand Slams in a 12-4 rout.
SATURDAY REWIND: All 3 hits by DJ Sanders on Friday in San Marcos were home runs (2 grand slams) and she totaled 10 RBI for the night. pic.twitter.com/sBmL0x0cxJ
— Ragin’ Cajuns SB (@RaginCajunsSB) April 15, 2017
#22 Ole Miss posted a pair of 1-0 victories over #11 LSU. Game one saw both teams record three hits apiece as Kaitlin Lee came away with the victory after 8 shutout innings with no walks and 5 strikeouts. Miranda Strother’s eighth inning solo shot gave the Rebels the walk off win.
Game two featured slightly more hitting, but no change in the score. Morgan Bruce went 5 1/3 innings giving up three hits and three walks, but earned her 8th win of the season (8-4). Lee came on for the final 1 2/3 innings, which produced her first save of the season. Ole Miss scored the only run in the third inning as a result of an LSU error.
Missouri was able to get an excellent road victory at #7 Auburn by a score of 6-1. Auburn struck first with a solo shot by Kasey Cooper, but that was answered by Kirsten Mack’s solo shot in the second. Mack added another solo home run in fourth inning. Missouri added two more in the sixth inning for a 4-1 lead and made it 6-1 on a two run home run by Braxton Burnside.
Saturday, April 15, 2017
A week of upsets continued starting with #2 Arizona losing to #14 Utah 3-2. Arizona led 1-0 after a half inning thanks to Mo Mercado’s single, but Utah came back in the bottom half with a sacrifice fly from Anissa Urtez and an RBI single by Bridget Castro. Arizona tied the game in the second on an error and the game went scoreless until the seventh. Arizona had a chance to take a lead by loading the bases, but nothing came of it. Utah took advantage of their chance as Alyssa Barrera singled home Ball for the walk off victory.
#12 Washington won 5-3 over #4 Oregon to take the series. The Huskies took a 1-0 lead in the fourth, but the Ducks took a 2-1 lead on Nikki Udria’s two run home run. Udria drove home a third run on a single to center in the sixth. Washington rallied in the top of the seventh to tie the game on Morganne Flores’ two run double. Two innings later, it was Flores again who doubled home two runs for the eventual 5-3 win.
#21 Kentucky used a superb pitching performance to defeat #3 Florida 5-1. Meagan Prince threw a complete game allowing only two hits and three walks with 8 strikeouts. Katie Reed went 3 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs. Florida had won 10 in a row coming into the contest.
FINAL – No. 21 Kentucky 5, No. 3 Florida 1; The Wildcats knock off the third-ranked Gators and Prince allows just two hits! #WeAreUK pic.twitter.com/VZysbp1k4F
— UK Softball (@UKsoftball) April 15, 2017
#22 Ole Miss swept #11 LSU with a 3-2 victory. The Rebels trailed for nearly the entire game as LSU was the better team. The Tigers scored their two runs off Amanda Doyle’s bat. Ole Miss pulled a three run home run in the bottom of the seventh by Alyssa Gonzalez. It was a tough loss for LSU given their domination for all but the final half inning.
#25 Ohio State fell to Indiana 3-1. The Hoosiers got RBI singles from Erin Lehman, Nicole Lawvere, and CaraMia Tsirigos in the fourth, fifth, and six innings respectively. The Buckeyes clawed on back in the sixth, but to no avail.
Maryland won a close 2-1 battle over #18 Michigan. Maryland scored in the bottom of the first on Anna Kufta’s RBI single. They doubled the lead on a solo shot from Juli Strange while Michigan made a final inning rally. The Wolverines made it 2-1 on Courtney Richardson’s double, but could not tie the game despite having two runners on base.
Also suffering an upset, though not as surprising, was #17 Louisiana-Lafayette losing to a good Texas State. The Bobcats took a 1-0 lead on a single by Bailee Carter. The Ragin’ Cajuns tied the game on Haley Hayden’s single the in fifth inning. Texas State started the eighth inning with a double and then got a sacrifice bunt. They eventually loaded the bases Jaelyn Young’s single back to the pitcher gave the Bobcats a 2-1 win.
#10 Oklahoma finished off a sweep of Kansas with a 6-2 win. The Sooners won the three games by a combined score of 26-10. Caleigh Clifton went 3 for 4 with 2 runs and an RBI. Five different Sooners recorded an RBI as Paige Lowary improved to 10-1 after throwing a complete game allowing three hits.
South Carolina Upstate swept Stetson with a 9-2 win to move two games ahead of their Atlantic Sun opponents. Ryan Rector and Abbie Millete both recorded 2 RBIs as Holly McKinnon tossed 4 2/3 innings to move to 19-6. The Spartans have won 6 conference games in a row.
Syracuse, Notre Dame, Louisville, and North Carolina all finished their sweeps over Pittsburgh, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, and Boston College respectively. Florida State continues to lead the ACC at 18-0 with North Carolina at 12-5 and Louisville at 7-4.
#1 Florida State ended a short two game losing streak with a 3-1 win over South Carolina. FSU allowed seven hits over the game, but South Carolina could not break through until the bottom of the seventh. Carsyn Gordon and Cassidy Davis both recorded RBIs as Meghan King threw 6 2/3 innings to get the win (18-1 on the season).
Sunday, April 16, 2017
#3 Florida bounced back from a loss on Saturday to defeat #21 Kentucky thanks to a no-hitter from Kelly Barnhill. Janell Wheaton had RBI singles in the first and fifth innings to give Barnhill all help she needed. Barnhill was dealing with 15 strikeouts and the lone baserunner came in the sixth inning when she walked Erin Rethlake. The Gators cruised to a 2-0 win to take the series.
Barnhill throws second-career no-hitter!
Here’s how it all went down in the #Gators 2-0 win over No. 21 Kentucky. #GoGators pic.twitter.com/T3eUqy8o96
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) April 16, 2017
#24 Arkansas was able to prevent a sweep at the hands of #5 Texas A&M on a walk off win 4-3 win. A scoreless game gave way to 2 runs for Arkansas in the fifth including a solo home run by Nicole Schroeder. The Aggies put up three in the seventh on RBIs from Samantha Show, Payton McBride, and Tori Vidales. The Razorbacks answered in the bottom of the inning with two out RBI singles from Tori Cooper and Ashley Diaz, the latter ending the contest.
Mississippi State won 5-2 over #19 Georgia to bag their second straight SEC series. Georgia took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third with RBIs from Sydni Emanuel and Alyssa DiCarlo. Mississippi State responded in the next frame with four runs led by Caroline Seitz hitting a two run shot to tie the game. They scored the other two runs on an error by Georgia before Seitz hit her second home run, a solo shot, in the fifth inning. Seitz had a great weekend going 7 for 10 with 4 home runs, 4 runs scored, and 14 RBIs.
#16 Tennessee won 2-0 on a walk off home run over #9 Alabama to take the series from the Tide. Saturday’s game was ended in the same fashion walk off fashion, but Sunday was ended on a two run home run via Brooke Vines. The Vols have won 18 in a row.
#6 Minnesota run ruled Northwestern 8-0 in five innings to complete their third straight series sweep. Sara Groenewegen threw another gem allowing only two hits and striking out 10 Wildcats. She also went 3 for 3 with an RBI while Kendyl Lindaman had a three run triple and Maddie Houlihan drove home two runs. The Gophers lead Michigan by half a game in the Big Ten standings and Illinois by one game.
Speaking of Michigan, the #18 ranked Wolverines defeated Maryland 4-3 after a seventh-inning rally. Michigan trailed 3-2 after six innings but was able to load the bases on three walks with only one out. Kelly Christner hit a single to tie the game and Courtney Richardson drove home the decisive run on a sacrifice fly. Maryland had two runners on base in the seventh, but could not tie the game.
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