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| Texas State 6, Tulsa 1 |
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| Tulsa 4, Columbia 0 |
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| UCF 8, Western Carolina 0 |
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| #23 James Madison 3, UCF 2 |
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| UConn 2, Stony Brook 1 |
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| UConn 8, Wright State 1 |
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| Memphis 5, UNF 0 |
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| Memphis 8, Southeastern La. 2 |
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| Bryant 8, USF 4 |
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| USF 9, Fordham 0 |
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| Ball State 7, ECU 2 |
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| Canisius 4, ECU 3 (8 Inn.) |
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| Houston 2, Syracuse 1 (10 Inn.) |
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Highlights
UConn 2, Stony Brook 1; UConn 8, Wright State 1
Pitching efficiency, combined with clutch hits and some flashy leather, helped the UConn softball team cruise to a doubleheader sweep of Wright State, 8-1, and Stony Brook, 2-1, on Saturday. Starting pitchers Jill Stockley (2-2) and Marybeth Olson (3-2) both earned complete-game victories, recording 14 strikeouts and just one walk on another effective day in the circle for the Huskies. Sophomore infielder Carli Cutler led the charge with a team-high three RBI on the day, while Briana Marcelino and Hollis Wivell - a pair of freshmen from Connecticut - each had two hits in the doubleheader. UConn bounced back from a sweep on Friday in dominant fashion, as it never trailed against the Raiders or Seawolves. The Husky defense also showed up, turning a pair of double plays - one in each game. The Huskies recorded six hits with runners in scoring position, capitalizing on its chances in a more effective fashion than on Friday. Five different players recorded RBI against Wright State and Stony Brook.
Memphis 5, UNF 0; Memphis 8, Southeastern Louisiana 2
Memphis picked up two more wins Saturday afternoon at the 32nd Annual Louisiana Classic, defeating North Florida by a score of 5-0 and Southeastern Louisiana by an 8-2 margin.It took four innings for the bats to come alive, but when they did, hits came often for the Tigers. Memphis struck in the fourth and sixth innings against North Florida and was backed in the circle by Molly Smith's second-straight shutout appearance. Brooke Lee got the offense started early against Southeastern Louisiana with her team-leading third home run of the season. Although errors plagued the Tigers in the top half of the second, the bats came through in the later innings to push Memphis to victory. Mariah Nichols improved to 2-2 on the year with a complete game in the circle. The Tigers have yet to allow an earned run in the tournament.
Houston 2, Syracuse 1 (10 Innings); Houston 2, UNLV 0
Houston picked up a pair of wins in the Houston Hilton Plaza Invitational, walking it off 2-1 in eight innings against Syracuse, before shutting out UNLV, 2-0, on Saturday night at Cougar Softball Stadium. With the wins, the Cougars improve to 7-4 overall, while the Orange and Rebels fall to 7-5 and 11-4, respectively. Against Syracuse, freshman Caela Kincade plated the game-winning run with a walk-off double down the right field line in the bottom of the eighth. In the nightcap, senior left fielder Kaylin Crumpton and senior shortstop Mariah Garcia each hit solo home runs in the bottom of the sixth to provide all the offense needed in the shutout. In the circle, sophomore Trystan Melancon (3-2) and junior Savannah Heebner (4-1) each picked up wins behind complete-game efforts. Facing Syracuse, Melancon issued just one run on five hits and two walks, while tying her career high with eight strikeouts. Meanwhile, Heebner limited UNLV to four hits, while striking out five and walking none in her second-consecutive shutout in as many days and the 11th overall of her career.
Tulsa 4, Columbia 0; Texas State 6, Tulsa 1
Tulsa softball team split a pair of games on Saturday, the second day of the FAU "Strike-Out Cancer" Tournament at the FAU Softball Stadium. The Golden Hurricane defeated Columbia, 4-0, after a 6-1 setback to Texas State. Shelby Estocado, Julia Hollingsworth and Morgan Neal each collected three hits for Tulsa, with Estocado notching her American Athletic Conference-leading third homer of the season. In the circle, Emily Watson allowed just two hits while she struck out a season-high 13 batters in the shutout of Columbia.
In the opener, Texas State got three runs in the first and Randi Rupp allowed just one run and two hits with nine strikeouts to lead Texas State to the 6-1 victory. Tulsa's lone run in the contest came in the top of the second, when Estocado launched her third homer of the campaign. Rupp kept the Tulsa offense in check and the Bobcats added two runs in the third and another in the sixth for the 6-1 final margin. Against Southeastern Louisiana, Watson had her best outing of the early season, improving to 4-2 on the season with seven shutout frames. Tulsa’s offense backed the senior with three runs over the first two innings. In the bottom of the first, Tori Stafford drove in a run with a fielder's choice before Shannon Hughes knocked in another with a sacrifice fly. The lead grew to 3-0 in the second when Estocado singled up the middle to plate Hollingsworth. In the fourth, Tulsa turned a Columbia error into a run when a grounder from Hollingsworth scored Jesse Smith for the 4-0 cushion. In the circle, Watson retired the first 10 batters that she faced, with the no-hitter being broken up with one out in the fourth on an infield hit. The Lions' only other hit came in the top of the seventh, but Watson worked around a leadoff double to close out the 4-0 win.
USF 9, Fordham 0; Bryant 8, USF 4
Hannah Parker and Georgina Corrick each set career highs in strikeouts on Saturday afternoon as USF fell, 8-4, to Bryant before defeating Fordham in a run-rule victory, 9-0 (5 inn.). In the Bulls' win, Corrick pitched all five innings and struck out 10 of 16 batters in her third triumph this season. USF posted 13 hits and no errors to claim the 9-0 victory in five quick innings. Cassidy Boyle continues to prove herself a top asset for the Bulls. The senior went 2-for-2 with two RBI, and posted her third home run of the season, fourth of her career. Amber Atkinson also stood strong for the Bulls with a 3-RBI blast in the second inning to help give USF a 6-0 jump early. The Bulls sealed the game with three runs from two singles and a walk in the third inning.
Bryant took a quick 4-0 lead with a 3-run homer and an RBI single in the first inning of the Bulls' early matchup. Samantha Worrell responded with a 2-run homer to help jumpstart the Bulls' offense in the second frame. Morgan Gross sent an RBI double soaring past the center fielder, also in the second inning, to bring the Bulls within one of the Bulldogs. Gross' second RBI, and USF's final run, was a sacrifice fly to plate junior Lindsey Devitt who reached on an error in the fourth inning. Bryant tacked on four more runs to overcome the Bulls, 8-4. Parker fanned eleven in 6.1 innings of work with just one walk against Bryant.
UCF 8, Western Carolina 0; #23 James Madison 3, UCF 2
The UCF Knights wrapped up day two of the Green and Gold Classic adding both a win and a loss to their 2018 season record. The Knights trounced the Western Carolina Catamounts in a rematch, 8-0, in five innings for their second-straight shutout, but dropped the second game of the double header to No. 23 James Madison, 3-2. Denali Schappacher went 4-for-4 in the matchup with the Catamounts including two stolen bases, while Hayley Bejarano registered three hits and a run scored. Sophomore Aubrey Johnson hit her second home run of the season as she finished the day with two hits, a pair of runs, and two RBI.
For the second game in a row, UCF shutout their opponent as Kamryn Toney picked up her first win of the season as she threw a five-inning one-hitter, while the offense racked up 11 hits to secure a 8-0 victory over Western Carolina. In the second game, the Dukes got on the board early plating two runs in the first inning, but the Knights responded in the second when Johnson blasted a home run to left field scoring Jensen to knot it up 2-2. James Madison snagged another run in the second off an RBI single to take back the lead for good.
Ball State 7, ECU 2; Canisius 4, ECU 3 (8 Innings)
ECU had the lead in both of its games Saturday on day two of the Pirate Invitational, but fell to Ball State 7-2 and Canisius 4-3 in eight innings. In game one, the Pirates struck the scoreboard first when freshman outfielder Tyler King crossed home plate on a RBI double by redshirt sophomore infielder Tate McClellan. ECU loaded the bases looking for more, but a groundout terminated the inning. The Cardinals took control in the top of the fourth, plating seven runs on seven hits to assume a 7-1 advantage. The Purple and Gold tallied the final run of the contest when King scored on a passed ball.
The second game saw an RBI single by Lauren Castro put Canisius in front briefly 1-0 in the top of the first before a McClellan RBI single knotted the score at one in the bottom of the frame. ECU manufactured two runs in the bottom of the third to take an 3-1 lead thanks to a pair of hit by pitches and a couple of walks. The Pirates held the lead all the way to the top of the seventh when the Golden Griffins plated two runs on two hits and an ECU error to tie the score at three. Kara Paradowski provided the winning run in the top of the eighth with a RBI single and the Pirates went down in order in their half.
#20 Michigan 11, Wichita State 0; #21 Ohio State 9, Wichita State 0
Wichita State fell to No. 20 Michigan in a run-rule, 11-0 loss, on day two of the Texas Invitational before dropping game two in a 9-0 run-rule to No. 21 Ohio State. A slow start for the Shocker defense cost them big as the Wolverines came into their second game of the day with the hot bats. Michigan went through the entire batting order in the first inning, tabbing on six runs on six hits that included four singles and two doubles. A bright spark for the offense was Bailee Nickerson who had one of the Shocker's two hits with a two-out single into left center in the first. In the second Michigan added three more on a triple and two singles with the Shockers going down in order in the second and third. In the fourth Neleigh Herring drew a walk in her second career appearance at the plate (two walks in two appearances), Ashton Esparza singled into center field for the second and final hit for the Shockers. A fielder's choice 6-5 got Michigan out the inning. In the bottom half the Wolverines added two more to push the lead to 11 on a double and two singles before getting the Shockers down in order in the fifth to end the game as a run-rule.
In the second game of their doubleheader, Ohio State began how they left off and scored a run early in the first on a double from All-American Lilli Piper with a single getting her home. In the second the Shocker bats showed some signs of life. Caitlin Bingham reached first on an error and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Asea Webber singled into left field to get runners on the corners but the Buckeyes got out the inning with a swinging strikeout. Piper struck again in the third with a deep triple down the right field line with a wild pitch from Bingham getting her home. In the top of the fourth, Ohio State dominated by going through the batting lineup and scoring seven runs on six hits and an error with the Shockers going through three pitchers to stop the damage. Bailey Klitzke came in for the fifth, throwing three swinging strikeouts in the one inning she pitched. Bingham started in the circle, pitching 3.1 innings with two strikeouts.