Friday, April 30
No. RV USF 5, East Carolina 0
Junior pitcher Georgina Corrick (Sanford, Fla.) came within a hair of recording just the fourth perfect game in program history as the University of South Florida softball team (25-12; 13-3 AAC) recorded a 5-0, no-hit victory over ECU (11-30; 2-15 AAC) to earn head coach Ken Eriksen's 1,000th career win Friday at the USF Softball Stadium.
Corrick, an All-American and two-time AAC Pitcher of the Year, allowed just one base runner, via a walk, in recording her second no-hitter this season and the fourth of her career. She posted nine strikeouts to move her career total to 804 (second all-time at USF) as she faced just one batter over the minimum in dispatching the Pirates in her 30th career shutout (third all-time). It marked Corrick's 19th victory and 11th shutout on the year. She entered the game ranked eighth in wins and third in shutouts nationally.
The dominant pitching display ended in a cooler shower for Eriksen, who became just the 28th NCAA Division-I coach to reach 1,000 wins and just the second to do it entirely in the state of Florida. It also kept the Bulls at the top of the American Athletic Conference standings as the USF seeks its third straight regular season conference title and fourth in the last five seasons.
"I think I glanced up in the fifth and saw the scoreboard," Corrick said. "It's out by out and play by play. You look at Kyndall making these important plays, the pop ups we are making plays on in foul territory. Those are huge momentum changers and I think a no-hitter is all about momentum and you carry it forward as long as you can.
"I knew that this was a really important day for him (Coach Eriksen) and a really important moment, and I think maybe physically I needed to take on a little bit more of that because he means so much to me. The fact that we were able to align the stars like this is incredible and it means everything to me, and I hope it means everything to him that we were able to have this moment together."
The Bulls used a four-run third inning to break the game open. Jordyn Kadlub (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) and Alexis Johns (Sarasota, Fla.) reached base on a walk and a fielder's choice. AnaMarie Bruni (Schwensville, Pa.) loaded the bases after being hit by a pitch. Kyndall Williams (Trenton, Fla.) put the first runs on the board with a two-run double up the middle. Bethaney Keen (Bradenton, Fla.) walked to again load the bases. Josie Foreman (West Palm Beach, Fla.) singled up the middle to score Bruni and Megan Pierro (Lutz, Fla.) scored Williams on a sacrifice fly.
The teams cruised through the fourth before the Bulls added an insurance run with some base running in the fifth. Foreman walked and Brooke Leistl (Valrico, Fla.) pitch ran. Leistl advanced to third on a Pierro single and then scored on a double-steal with Pierro also advancing to second.
Corrick needed just 18 more pitches through the final two innings to deliver the Bulls' 25th victory of the season and another major milestone in a career full of them for Eriksen.
Quotable
Head coach Ken Eriksen on today's game…
"It's been fun to come in here (USF) as a freshman in 1979 and to now see my coaches that were here back then be here to celebrate today. You take a look back and sometimes you will reflect on 'boy, I've come a long way' and 'how did I get here' and there are a lot of people that have that really impactful time and era in my life to make that happen."
"We've graduated every single one of our players, and that is the craziest thing to think about. That's one of those statistics, at an academic school, that people don't realize and then where we have been with grade-point averages, way above the mean and top ten percent of our sport. Where are kids are in the professional field? That's the life that they have gotten and this (the game) is just part of that. Our alumni events are packed, which means it's been a good experience for them. That's what you're trying to do."
Notables
Corrick now has 253 strikeouts on the season, which ranks seventh on USF's single season list just behind her 260 recorded in 2019. Sara Nevins owns the record of 336 set in 2012.
Corrick recorded her 71st career win, which is now just three short of second all-time in the AAC. Alea White (UCF) owns he record with 94.
Corrick's 803 career strikeouts are 100 short of the AAC record of 903. Her 30 shutouts are just one short of the AAC record of 31.
Bruni needs just two stolen bases to set a new USF single-season record. She currently has 32 on the year, one shy of the mark of 33 set by Shelly Riker set in 2002.
Wichita State 11, Tulsa 1 (5)/Wichita State 7, Tulsa 6
Wichita State run-ruled Tulsa in game one of Friday's doubleheader, 11-1, but needed a rally to defeat the Golden Hurricane, 7-6, in the nightcap.
Wichita State (36-9-1, 17-4-1) trailed by four runs in the second game heading into the sixth inning, before combining for six runs in the sixth and seventh to complete the comeback. The Shockers moved ahead of Tulsa in the conference standings after Friday's wins, now just a game back of first place USF.
Game 1
Bailey Lange (18-5) needed only three innings of work to record her 18th victory of the season. She allowed only four hits, allowing no runs and walking none. Erin McDonald pitched the final 2.0 innings in relief. She struck out four batters, while allowing the one run on a sacrifice fly.
Four Shockers had multiple hits in the opener, led by Sydney McKinney (2-for-3), Neleigh Herring (2-for-4) and Ryleigh Buck (2-for-3). Herring doubled twice to go with an RBI, Buck doubled and drove in three runs and McKinney scored three runs. Madison Perrigan delivered her 16th home run of the season and 53rd of her career on a three-run blast in the second. Bailey Urban also homered in the contest with an opposite field solo shot.
Wichita State got off to a fast start, scoring three runs in the top of the first. An RBI double from Herring opened the scoring and then a two-run single from Buck made it 3-0.
The lead quickly grew to 8-0 in the top of the second. Perrigan's three-run home run to left was the big blast in the inning, and then a tough-luck play from Tulsa turned into a two-run triple for Lauren Mills. The Tulsa shortstop briefly made a running catch on a looping hit into shallow left, but lost control and dropped the ball, allowing Mills to make it all the way to third for her first career triple.
Two more runs came in the top of the third, beginning with a leadoff solo home run by Bailey Urban. McKinney then crossed the plate on a passed ball to make it 10-0 with play moving to the bottom of the third.
Buck's third RBI of the game came in the top of the fourth on an RBI double to right-center, scoring Bailee Nickerson from first.
Tulsa scored its lone run in the bottom of the fifth on sacrifice fly.
Game 2
The Shockers used all three of their pitchers in the nightcap. Caitlin Bingham made it through only 2.0 innings after giving up four runs on three hits. McDonald walked two, gave three hits and allowed two runs in 3.1 innings. Lange finished the final 1.2 innings and recorded the win (19-5).
McKinney extended her hit streak to 13 after going 2-for-4 with a home run. Bailee Nickerson was 2-for-3 with a double. Kaylee Huecker drove in three on her game-tying sixth inning home run – fourth of the season.
McKinney sent the very first pitch of the game out of the ballpark to straightaway center field, putting the Shockers on the board, 1-0.
The Hurricane responded with a four-run second inning to jump in front 4-1. An RBI single in the third made it 5-1.
Wichita State struggled for much of the game against Tulsa's pitcher Chenise Delce, but with two outs in the top of the sixth, things changed. Nickerson hit a screaming double off the left field wall. The very next batter, Ryleigh Buck, smoked a double of her own down the third base line, trimming the deficit to 5-2.
Camryn Compton got on after a hit by pitch, setting the stage for Huecker. On an 0-2 pitch, Huecker hit a laser over the left field fence to tie the game at 5-5.
Just when it looked like Wichita State had stolen the momentum, Tulsa struck back. A leadoff single and a one-out walk put runners on first and second. The Shockers turned to Lange to get them out of a jam, but a single up the middle and a bobble in center field allowed the go-ahead run to score from second.
Trailing by one in the top of the seventh, McKinney does what she does best. Her leadoff infield single immediately put the pressure on. Addison Barnard stepped up and hit what could have been a possible double play instead the Tulsa second baseman let the ball go under her glove and into the outfield. McKinney moved all the way to third base, but Barnard was thrown out trying to advance to second.
Wichita State had the tying run on third and one out for Perrigan, but she would ground out to third base, keeping McKinney right where she was. With two outs, Neleigh Herring ripped a triple down the right field line to tie the game at 6-6. She would then score on a wild pitch to put the Shockers on top, 7-6.
The bottom of the seventh would not come without drama either. A leadoff walk followed by an infield single had Tulsa threatening with two on and no out, but on the infield single, Alexis Perry thought she was called out on the bang-bang play at second. She stepped off the base and was tagged out by Huecker for the first out. The next batter would walk, now giving Tulsa runners on first and second with one out.
A fielder's choice and a game-ending strikeout from Lange would strand Tulsa's tying run at third base.
Houston 7, Memphis 6/Memphis 12, Houston 3 (5)
The University of Houston Softball team opened its four-game series with Memphis splitting its two contests on Friday.
Houston (14-29, 5-13 AAC) began the day taking the first game of the series by a score of 7-6, before falling in the second matchup, 12-3, in five innings.
In the Cougars' victory, sophomore Logan Hulon came out of the bullpen and recorded the first save of her career. Her sophomore counterpart Megan Lee pitched more than six innings in relief and issued no walks to earn the win.
With hits in both contests on Friday, junior Bethany Busch has now reached base in 14 consecutive games. Redshirt senior Lindsey Stewart-Vaughn also collected hits in each game, extending her hitting streak to eight games. Senior Rock Benavides went a combined 3-for-6 on the day with two RBIs, and a pair of runs scored.
GAME 1: Houston 7, Memphis 6
KEY INNINGS
1st | Benavides got the offense going with a single in the infield, and following a double from redshirt senior Sarah Queen, Busch singled home both runners to put Houston ahead 2-0. In the bottom of the inning, the Tigers responded with three runs of their own to take a one-run lead.
5th | The Cougars' offense continued put runs on the board, having plated five more runs in the inning. After Benavides put a ball in the play that scored a pair, sophomore Britaney Shaw laced a single down the line to score the third run of the frame for Houston. As senior Aspen Howie reached base on a fielding blunder from Memphis, another two runs were put on the scoreboard to put Houston ahead 7-3. Memphis never backed down though and found another rebuttal in the bottom half with two runs to trim the Houston lead to two.
TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
Sarah Queen | 3-4, 2 R, 2B, SB
Lindsey Stewart-Vaughn | 2-4, R
Rock Benavides | 1-4, 2 RBIs, 2 R
Bethany Busch | 1-4, 2 RBIs, SB
Paige Hulsey | 1-3, R, SB
Aspen Howie | 2 RBIs
PITCHING BREAKDOWN
Rachel Hertenberger | 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB
Megan Lee (W, 3-8) | 6.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Logan Hulon (S, 1) | 0.1 IP, BB
GAME 2: Houston 3, Memphis 12 (5)
KEY INNINGS
1st | The Tigers plated five runs in the bottom of the inning to grab the first lead of the game.
2nd | With a pair of runners on base, sophomore Paige Hulsey tripled home both runners to cut the deficit to three. After Stewart-Vaughn brought around Hulsey, Houston trailed 5-3.
3rd | Another five-run inning from Memphis put the Tigers ahead 12-3, which proved to be the difference in the game.
TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
Rock Benavides | 2-2
Paige Hulsey | 1-2, 2 RBI, 3B
Lindsey Stewart-Vaughn | 1-3, RBI
Bethany Busch | 1-2
Tierrah Williams | 1-2, R
PITCHING BREAKDOWN
Logan Hulon (L, 2-7) | 3.0 IP, 6 H, 10 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Rachel Hertenberger | 1.0 IP, H, 2 ER, 2 BB
No. RV Ole Miss 8, No. 25/24 UCF 2
No. 25 UCF couldn't get it going in the series opener against Ole Miss Friday night, falling 8-2 to the Rebels at the Ole Miss Softball Complex in Oxford, Mississippi.
With the loss, the Knights move to 34-13-1 on the season.
Knights' starter Breanna Vasquez (4-3) lasted just three batters, allowing a walk and two-base hits to fall behind 1-0 before being pulled for Gianna Mancha. Mancha would allow two inherited baserunners to score, putting UCF in a 3-0 hole early, one they would not be able to climb out of as the Rebels went on to outscore the Knights 5-2 over the rest of the night.
In total, the Knights utilized three pitchers in the loss as Mancha went on to toss 4.0 innings, allowing three earned runs while striking out four. She was relieved out of the bullpen by freshman Grace Jewell, who tossed two innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits and two walks while notching a strikeout.
On the other side of the ball, the Rebels used three pitchers as well. The trio combined to allow two UCF runs (one earned) on just six hits.
The majority of the Knights' production came from the bottom of the order as eight-hole hitter Kyra Klarkowski and nine-hole batter Jazmine Esparza were both 2-for-3 with a run scored each.
The Knights will have their chance to rebound against Ole Miss on Saturday as the two sides square off in a doubleheader with games at 2:00 p.m. ET and 5:00 p.m. ET.
Key Moments
The first two Ole Miss batters of the game reached base and an RBI single would put the Rebels up 1-0 in the top of the first.
A bunt single later in the first would drive in a run and extend Ole Miss's lead to 2-0.
With the bases loaded still in the first, UCF pitcher Gianna Mancha hit a batter to allow another run to score, giving Ole Miss the early 3-0 lead.
A solo home run would extend the Rebels' lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the second.
Another solo shot in the third would put Ole Miss up 5-0.
The Rebels would score two more in the fifth following a sacrifice-fly for an RBI and a UCF error, putting them up 7-0.
The Knights took advantage of an Ole Miss wild pitch and error in the top of the fifth to scratch across two runs, cutting their deficit to 7-2.
An RBI single in the bottom of the fifth would extend Ole Miss's lead to 8-2.