UCF's Shelby Turnier had a no-hitter in the Knights' season sweep of East Carolina and Houston topped USF in a pair of games during softball action around The American on Sunday.
UCF 3, East Carolina 0
Junior Shelby Turnier tossed the second no-hitter of her career as No. 20/20 UCF defeated East Carolina, 3-0, Sunday morning in Greenville, N.C. The Knights improved to 29-5 on the season and 3-0 in American Athletic Conference action with the third shutout of the weekend at the ECU Softball Stadium. Turnier became the third UCF pitcher to toss two no-hitters in their career, joining senior Mackenzie Audas and Allison Kime. The junior struck out a season-high 14 batters and gave up just one walk in the complete-game effort. Sarah Christian took the loss for the Pirates and allowed three runs, one of which was earned, while scattering seven hits over 7.0 innings of work.
UConn 5, Grand Canyon 3
Chelsea Eckert picked up her second win in as many days as UConn wrapped up play at the 2015 Louisville Slugger Invitational with a 5-3 victory over Grand Canyon on Sunday in Stockton, Calif. The Huskies improve to 10-17 with the win while the Antelopes fell to 19-16 with the loss. Emily O'Donnell had her second home run of the tournament in the fifth inning, launching a three-run shot to left field to give UConn a 5-0 lead. O'Donnell, who moved into the program's top-10 in career home runs on Saturday, is now tied with Kim Silva (2010-13) for ninth in school history with her 18th round tripper.
Houston 4, USF 2
Houston 2, USF 1
Houston picked up its first two wins in American Athletic Conference play with a two-game sweep over USF Sunday afternoon. The Cougars held on for the win in game one, 4-2, and took game two with a 2-1 victory. The games were originally scheduled for Saturday, March 21, but were moved to Sunday due to inclement weather in the Houston area. With the two wins, the Cougars improved to 16-16 on the year and 2-0 in The American. USF dropped to 28-10 on the season and 0-2 in conference play. The pair of wins marked the first victory over the Bulls since 2005 when both teams were in Conference USA and the first time since 2002 that Houston won the series over USF.
Tulsa 13, Memphis 2 (5)
Shelby Estocado and Julie Kernen each drove in four runs to lead Tulsa to a 13-2 (5 inn.) win over Memphis Sunday afternoon, completing the American Athletic Conference series sweep, at Collins Family Softball Complex. Estocado, who entered the game in the top of the fifth inning, hit a grand slam in the bottom of the frame to end the contest. Kernen picked up two RBIs on a two-run double in the third, and Catherine Horner added a two-run double in the fourth inning. The Tigers scored a pair of runs in the first inning, but left runs on the board by leaving the bases full.