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| Tulsa 11, Nicholls 3 |
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| Tulsa 4, North Texas 3 |
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| Memphis 3, Fort Wayne 1 |
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| Houston 5, Stephen F. Austin 1 |
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| USF 3, Wisconsin 1 |
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| USF 6, Western Michigan 5 |
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| UCF 3, Long Beach State 0 |
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| #3 UCLA 9, UCF 1 |
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| Georgia State 2, UConn 0 |
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| Georgia State 9, UConn 7 |
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| Longwood 4, ECU 1 |
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| Hawai'i 5, ECU 3 |
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Highlights
Tulsa 11, Nicholls 3; Tulsa 4, North Texas 3
Tulsa swept the opening day of the North Texas Invitational with an 11-3 run-rule victory over Nicholls State and a 4-3, eight-inning win over host North Texas on Friday at Lovelace Stadium. Shelby Estocado recorded five hits, including two doubles, while Morgan Neal notched four hits and scored four runs on the day for the Golden Hurricane (9-7), who have now won sixth of its last seven games. Tori Stafford hit a big three-run homer in the opener and the pitching staff combined to strike out 20 batters in 14 innings.
In the opener, Stafford went 2-for-3 with a career-high four RBIs and hit her three-run homer in the fifth to help Tulsa run-rule the Colonels (9-5), 11-3. Samantha Pochop improved to 3-3 on the campaign with a season-high nine strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work, while Madison Higley picked up the first save of her career with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief. In game two, Tulsa plated three runs in the top of the eighth and then held on to defeat the Mean Green (7-5), 4-3. The Hurricane wasted no time in gaining the advantage as back-to-back doubles from Hollingsworth and Neal to start the game gave the visitors a 1-0 lead that it would hold until the bottom of the sixth. Emily Watson allowed just one hit over the first five innings, but North Texas tied the score with a solo homer in the sixth. The score remained tied through seven frames to send the contest to extra innings. Playing under the international tie-breaker rule, TU started the eighth with a runner on second and Neal lined a one-out single to score Meinen for the 2-1 lead. The Hurricane would get its final two runs of the inning on a wild pitch and an error to extend the cushion to 4-1. The Mean Green would not go away as it opened the bottom half of the panel with a two-run homer off the bat of Harley Perella to pull within 4-3. Watson shook off the long-ball and retired the next three batters to close out the game.
USF 3, Wisconsin 1; USF 6, Western Michigan 5
The USF softball team defeated Wisconsin and Western Michigan to open the Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater, Fla., on Friday night. Freshman Georgina Corrick set a new career high in strikeouts with 12, and sophomore Brooke Hartman powered USF to a 6-5 walk-off win over Western Michigan. The Bulls went hard right out of the gate against the Badgers. Corrick tossed a complete game striking out 12, and senior Amber Atkinson batted in the first run to give USF an early 1-0 lead. Stellar base running and a few Wisconsin errors in the second inning helped the Bulls add two more runs including an RBI single by senior Lauren Evans, sealing USF’s 3-1 victory.
Western Michigan got an early start against USF in the first inning with two runs on four hits. The Broncos were able to hold the Bulls scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning. Hartman hit her first homerun this season for two RBI, to tie up the game, 2-2. By the top of the seventh inning, the Broncos had regained the lead, 5-2. The Bulls loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh, and redshirt freshman Brooke Leistl was thrown out at home in a fielder’s choice. USF went on to score four runs with two outs in a thrilling comeback win. Hartman came in at the perfect moment to slam an RBI single into right field for the game-winning sixth run.
Memphis 3, Fort Wayne 1
In the 2018 home opener, Memphis claimed a 3-1 victory against the Fort Wayne Mastodons in the first day of the Blues City Classic. Memphis turned nine hits into a trio of runs, and four no-hit innings from reliever Mariah Nichols helped seal the win. The Tigers struck first with a solo home run off the bat of Brooke Lee. Fort Wayne evened the game with an RBI knock in the top of the third, before Memphis regained the lead in the fifth inning. Ashley Threatt delivered an insurance run in the home half of the sixth with an RBI single, while Nichols sat the Mastodons down in order to close the game.
Houston 5, Stephen F. Austin 1
Houston downed Stephen F. Austin, 5-1, on Friday night at Cougar Softball Stadium as part of the Houston Red & White Showcase. With the win, the Cougars improve to 9-4 overall and 5-0 at home, while the Ladyjacks fall to 8-7 on the season. In the circle, junior Savannah Heebner improved to 5-1. The native of Sedalia, Colo., limited SFA to one run on four hits, while walking none and striking out two in a complete-game effort, her team-leading fifth of the season. Sophomore infielders Sarah Queen and Arielle James led the offense with 2-for-3 efforts, respectively. Queen finished with one RBI, coming on a double in the bottom of the first inning, and one run scored, while James scored twice and added a hit by pitch.
Georgia State 2, UConn 0; Georgia State 9, UConn 7
UConn showed promising signs all over the field against Georgia State on Friday, including three home runs in the second game, but it dropped both contests to the Panthers on the first day of the I-75 Challenge. The Huskies received strong pitching in the first game from junior Jill Stockley and sophomore Katie Koshes, but fell 2-0, unable to take advantage of scoring chances. In game two, the bats came alive – but UConn was outdueled, 9-7. Redshirt freshman Olivia Sappington smacked two home runs in the second game, the first Husky to have a multi-home run performance since Kiwi McDaniel against Northern Kentucky last season on March 4. In addition, sophomore Carli Cutler blasted her first home run of the season as part of UConn’s 11-hit output in game two against Georgia State. Four players had multi-hit days, including sophomore Kiwi McDaniel and freshman Briana Marcelino.