Follow @American_SB
 

ECU 4, St. John's 0	Box Score	Recap
Memphis 8, Georgetown 3	Box Score	Recap
Wichita State 6, Tennessee Tech 4	Box Score	Recap
RV South Carolina 3, ECU 0	Box Score	Recap
Army 3, UConn 0	Box Score	Recap
Memphis 5, Ball State 1	Box Score	Recap
Houston 4, Texas Tech 1	Box Score	Recap
Lousiville 5, UCF 3	Box Score	Recap
Jacksonville 1, UConn 0	Box Score	Recap
No. 20 Tulsa 9, Virginia 5	Box Score	Recap
No. 6 Texas A&M 5, Houston 4	Box Score	Recap
Wichita State 4, RV Marshall 2	Box Score	Recap
UCF 5, Butler 1	Box Score	Recap
USF 5, Georgia State 4	Box Score	Recap
RV McNeese State 6, No. 20 Tulsa 3	Box Score	Recap

Highlights

ECU 4, St. John's 0
ECU (1-1) softball team split its opening two games of the 2018 campaign Friday at the Felsberg Invitational, blanking Big East Conference preseason favorite St. John's (0-1) 4-0 before falling by a 3-0 scoreline to SEC member South Carolina (1-0). The Pirates emerged victorious in the opener behind a complete-game shutout by freshman RHP Erin Poepping. Tyler King reached on a throwing error at first and advanced to second. Senior infielder Meredith Burroughs then singled to center field to plate King and put ECU ahead 1-0. The Purple and Gold put the game away in the top of the seventh, plating three runs on two hits and another Red Storm error.

Memphis 8, Georgetown 3; Memphis 5, Ball State 1
Memphis (2-0) took game one away from Georgetown (0-1) by a score of 8-3 before defeating Ball State (0-1) by a score of 5-1. The offense was highlighted in game one as the Tigers registered three triples and two doubles en route to the victory. Brooke Lee hit her first collegiate triple in the third inning to score Regan Hadley, who also recorded a triple earlier in the game. Kyler Trosclair Klatt recorded triples in both games to lead Memphis in that category.

Memphis went on to register a pair of extra base hits against the Cardinals, but the game was highlighted by a 15-strikeout effort by senior right-handed pitcher Molly Smith. The 15 strikeouts against Ball State was a career-high for the Yamhill, Ore. native and the third most in a game in program history.

Wichita State 6, Tennessee Tech 4; Wichita State 4, RV Marshall 2
Two home runs from freshman outfielder Bailee Nickerson helped the Wichita State (1-1) softball team earn its first win of the 2018 season, taking down Tennessee Tech (0-1) 6-4 at Jane B. Moore Field on day two of the Plainsman Invite. In the top of the fourth rookies Ryleigh Buck and Morgan Palmer both drew two-out walks before Nickerson crushed her first Shocker home run over center field to give Wichita State a 3-0 lead. In the top of the sixth Palmer got on base again through an error with Nickerson stepping up again and smashing another over center field to give the Shockers a 5-0 lead. Buck put an insurance run on the board in the seventh, knocking a solo home run over center field to put Wichita State up 6-4. 

The Wichita State (2-1) softball team defeated Marshall (0-3) 5-2 at the Auburn City Softball Complex behind strong performances from starting pitcher Bailey Lange and senior Morgan Palmer. Lange threw all seven innings, her first complete game as a Shocker, striking out nine batters to get the win and move to 1-1 on the season. Palmer went 2-for-3 at the plate, driving in Lange twice with a single in the second and a double in the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth Lauri Derrico singled into center field with Ryleigh Buck using a sac bunt to get her to third. Lange walked and again stole second before a pickoff attempt by the catcher on Lange allowed Derrico to get home. Palmer then doubled into the center field to get Lange round and give the Shockers its fourth and final point of the game.

Houston 4, Texas Tech 1
Houston went 1-1 on opening day, downing Texas Tech, 4-1, before falling to No. 6/9 Texas A&M in a 5-4 edge on Friday at Aggie Softball Complex as part of the Aggie Classic. Houston struck first in the top of the second. Junior pitcher Savannah Heebner became the first base runner of the contest after drawing a two-walk. Sophomore third baseman Sarah Queen followed with a single in the infield before Garcia plated Heebner with a base hit to left field. In the fourth, a pair of Texas Tech miscues in the trenches allowed the Cougars to tack on another run. Later in the frame after a two-out walk to Garcia, singles from Brooke Vannoy, Lindsey Stewart (RBI) and Maria Garcia (RBI) allowed Houston to take a 4-0 lead.

UCF 5, Butler 1
UCF (1-1) opened with a tough 5-3 loss to Louisville, but then rebounded with a 5-1 victory over Butler in the nightcap. The Knights started off hot against the Bulldogs, plating four runs in the first inning. The first four players that entered the batter's box all reached base safely. Cassady Brewer led off with a single to left, while Megan Greenwell and Glover followed with singles of their own. Rotten, who hit in the cleanup spot, advanced to first on a walk. Erin Emanuel pounded in the final two runs of the inning with a slow chopper for second, which allowed Glover and Rotton, who was on second, cross home plate. Later in the third, Emanuel drove in her third RBI of the game, scoring Glover for a 5-0 lead.

Tulsa 9, Virginia 5
No. 20/20 Tulsa split a pair of games on the opening day of the 2018 season with a 9-5 victory over Virginia, followed by a 6-3 setback against host McNeese State on Friday at the Cowgirl Classic. In the opener, Tulsa jumped out to a 5-0 lead before holding off a charge from Virginia. The Hurricane scored the season's first run in the top of the first when Julia Hollingsworth walked, stole second and came around to score on Morgan Neal's double to center. The Golden Hurricane then added four runs in the third with four hits and a Cavaliers error. Virginia got four runs back in the bottom of the fourth to pull within one (5-4). Each team put a run on the board in the fifth, with Tulsa's coming on Hollingsworth's double to left-center that plated Sarah Briers, to make it 6-5. TU then put the game out of reach with a pair of runs in the sixth and another in the seventh.

USF 5, Georgia State 4
Junior Samantha Worrell went 3-for-3 with three RBI to give USF crucial runs against Georgia State in a 5-4 victory on the first day of the USF Wilson DeMarini tournament Friday night. The Bulls held the 1-0 advantage after the first inning, when Worrell singled up the middle for an RBI, scoring redshirt freshman Brooke Leistl. Hot Bulls bats highlighted the bottom of the third inning, where a trio of singles and a double would send Amber Atkinson, Astin Donovan and Leistl home, giving USF a 4-2 lead. A single and a wild pitchin the seventh put a runner on second, which later scored with two outs on the board to lift the Bulls 5-4.

Upcoming Schedule


Feb. 10 (Sat.)

Hofstra vs. ECU	9:00 am ET
LIU Brooklyn vs. Memphis	10 am ET
UConn vs. Jacksonville State	10:30 am ET
Boston College vs. Houston	11:00 am ET
St. John’s vs. ECU	11:15 am ET
Ball State vs. Memphis	12:15 pm ET
Providence vs. UCF	1:30 pm ET
Houston Baptist vs. No. 20 Tulsa	1:30 pm ET
UConn vs. Jacksonville	3:30 pm ET
No. 18 Michigan vs. USF	3:45 pm ET
Texas Tech vs. Houston	6:15 pm ET
RV Illinois vs. UCF	6:30 pm ET
UAB vs. USF	8:30 pm ET
No. 20 Tulsa vs. RV McNeese State	8:30 pm ET

Feb. 11 (Sun.)

NC State vs. Memphis	9:00 am ET
Army vs. UConn	10 am ET
Houston Baptist vs. No. 20 Tulsa	11:00 am ET
RV North Carolina vs. UCF	Noon ET
Houston vs. No. 6 Texas A&M	1:15 pm ET
ECU vs. RV FIU	1:30 pm ET
No. 2 Florida vs. USF	4:15 pm ET