GREENVILLE, North Carolina – Lauren Mills tied an NCAA record with two grand slams and American Athletic Conference Player of the Year Addison Barnard, the nation’s leading slugger, hit two home runs of her own as No. 2-seeded Wichita State powered its way to a 22-0 win against Memphis Thursday morning in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.
 
The Shockers advance to Friday’s semifinals, where they will face either East Carolina or South Florida at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
 
Wichita State set an American Athletic Conference Championship record with 22 runs as the Shockers a combined 15-for-27 at the plate.
 
Mills hit grand slams in each of her first two at bats Thursday as the Shockers built a 6-0 lead after the first inning and a 15-0 lead after two. Barnard, meanwhile, had two-run blasts in each of her first two plate appearances as the nation’s home runs leader smacked her 31st and 32nd round-trippers of the season.
 
Sydney McKinney, the national batting leader entering the game, went 5-for-5 with three runs scored, improving her average to .512 on the season.
 
Wichita State, which entered the game ranked second among Division I teams with 113 home runs, quickly added to that total with four round-trippers Thursday. The potent 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup delivered out of the chute as McKinney led off with a single and Barnard followed with her 31st home run of the season, a deep two-run shot that easily cleared the fence in left-center.
 
Mills delivered a one-out grand slam to center to make it 6-0 as the Shockers batted around in the first inning.
 
It was more of the same in the second inning as McKinney muscled a base hit through the infield to again set the table for Barnard, whose second home run of the game cleared the fence in center to make it 8-0. Mills’ second grand slam was a towering shot that bounced halfway up the light post in right-center and gave the Shockers a 12-0 cushion.
 
While the Shocker lineup did its part, three Wichita State’s pitchers limited the Tigers (16-38) to three hits in the shutout victory. Erin McDonald worked three innings and scattered two singles with two strikeouts to get the win.
 
Mills was 2-for-2 with eight RBIs and three runs scored, becoming the 18th player since 2000 to hit two grand slams in a game. She became the 10th Division I player this season to register at least eight RBIs in a game.
 
Barnard was also 2-for-2 with five RBIs and two home runs before she was intentionally walked in her final two plate appearances. Lainee Brown was 2-for-3 with a three-run double for Wichita State, which improved to 33-15.
 
The game was delayed by 46 minutes in the third inning due to rain.