UCF and USF pick up road wins while East Carolina set a new home attendance record during softball action around The American on Wednesday.
No. 17/18 UCF 9, Stetson 2
Sophomore Brittany Solis had a pair of home runs and paced No. 17/18 UCF to a 9-2 win over Stetson Wednesday evening at Patricia Wilson Field in Deland, Fla. The Knights improved to 37-6 with the win while the Hatters fell to 22-11 with the loss. UCF pitcher Shelby Turnier, who was named one of 26 finalists for the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award just before Wednesday’s game, struck out 11 batters in four innings of work. Junior Kalyn Cenal opened the scoring for UCF in the third inning with a double to right center. Solis finished the game with a career high six RBIs and became the third Knight with a six-RBI game, joining Stephanie Best and Dottie Cup. Kahley Novak knocked a pair of hits and scored three runs in the game.
NC State 6, East Carolina 1
East Carolina set a new attendance record in a 6-1 loss to NC State Wednesday evening at ECU Softball Stadium. A stadium-record 861 fans attended the game in Greenville, N.C. The Pirates put up one run, but committed three errors in the loss and fell to 11-29 overall on the season. The Wolfpack improved to 23-15 with the win. The second game of the scheduled doubleheader was cancelled due to lightening in the area. East Carolina took a 1-0 lead into the third inning but NC State responded two runs off of a walk in that stanza. The Wolfpack added to its 2-1 advantage in the fourth as the visitors recorded three consecutive singles to start the inning. Mary-Sloan Bradford, Karlie Smith and Meredith Mitchell each tallied one hit for the Pirates in the loss.
Sam Houston State 2, Houston 0
Houston dropped 2-0 non-conference decision to Sam Houston State (SHSU) Wednesday evening in Huntsville, Texas. The Cougars dropped to 19-20 on the season while the Bearkats improved to 10-24 overall with the win. Sam Houston State took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning off three base hits to the left center gap. Houston held the Bearkats for two shutout innings until senior Hillary Adams, the all-time SHSU leader in home runs, hit her 39th collegiate homer to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore Shelby Miller pitched a complete game allowing two runs and six hits.
USF 6, Florida Gulf Coast 0
Seven starters had a hit for USF and the pitching staff combined to throw a four-hit shutout as the Bulls cruised to a 6-0 win over Florida Gulf Coast Wednesday night at the FGCU Softball Complex in Fort Myers, Fla. Susan Wysocki got the start for USF (32-12, 3-4 The American) and scattered three hits in four innings of work to improve to 8-1 on the year. Lee Ann Spivey got the Bulls on the board first with her ninth home run of the season to make it 1-0 in the top of the second. The solo blast moved Spivey into a tie for sixth with JoJo Medina and current assistant coach Monica Triner on the USF career-home runs list with 23. It was also her 44th RBI this season, moving her into a tie for 10th on the program's single-season list. The Bulls added to its lead in the fourth when Juli Weber came around to score on a passed ball after leading off the inning with an infield single. Weber finished the game with two hits, a run and an RBI.