Game 1: South Alabama 1, Florida Atlantic 0
The Florida Atlantic softball team fell 1-0 to South Alabama after six scoreless innings on day one of the NCAA Regional.
Junior Gabby Sacco started in the circle for the Owls to record her 23rd appearance of the year. The Owls held the Jaguars to no runs through five innings. To close out the fourth inning, Presley Leebrick made a diving catch in foul territory to get Florida Atlantic through another scoreless inning.
In the bottom of the sixth, South Alabama scored a run to take the lead. Junior Ainsley Lambert went in relief for Sacco and recorded her 35th appearance on the season.
Game 2: FGCU 3, Florida Atlantic 2
The Florida Atlantic softball team fell to FGCU 3-2 in the elimination game on Saturday night at the NCAA Regionals.
After tonight's game, the Owls' season comes to end with a 41-16 record on a year that saw Florida Atlantic return to the NCAA postseason for the first time in eight years.
Graduate Trinity Schlotterbeck started in the circle for the Owls for the 24th time this season and threw her 10th complete game. Florida Atlantic got off to an early start as Sophomore Jesiana Mora singled to right center and scored Kamryn Jackson to take a 1-0 lead. Florida Atlantic maintained their lead until the sixth inning when the Eagles scored a run to tie the game at 1-1. In the top of the seventh inning, FGCU scored twice to take a 3-1 lead.
But FAU was not done. In the bottom of the seventh, three straight Owls reached base before Graduate Becca Jones hit an RBI sacrifice fly to centerfield to cut the deficit to 3-2. Zoey Jones hit a single up the middle before the final out was recorded.
Game 1: Liberty 6, Charlotte 3
Despite scoring runs in each of the final three innings, a late comeback attempt was not enough as the Charlotte softball team fell to Liberty 6-3 in game one of the Athens Regional on Friday afternoon at Jack Turner Stadium. The loss snapped the Niners' program-record 16 game winning streak.
Charlotte starter Sam Gress was able to pitch out of trouble in the first. After two runners reached scoring position, Gress fanned Liberty catcher Savannah Jessee to end the threat. Both sides were retired in order in the ensuing pair of half-innings as the game remained scoreless.
CLT got their first hit with a leadoff single by Cori Hoffler in the second. Makalah Mitchell reached on a fielding error to advance her to second, but Liberty starter Elena Escobar ended the scoring chance with a popup and groundout.
Gress worked more magic in the third, evading a bases-loaded jam. After a double and two walks by the Flames, the righthander induced a groundout to third to strand three more runners.
Liberty would cash in during the fourth inning when they struck for five runs on three hits, aided by a Charlotte error. The Niner bats had a tough time getting things going until Blackwell went yard in the bottom of the fifth.Georgeanna Barefoot relieved her counterpart in the circle, putting out the damage in the fourth with two outs. Though she let up a run in the fifth, she retired the final six batters she faced over the final two frames.
In the bottom of the sixth, Garrett narrowed the deficit with a solo home run of her own. The lead held steady in the seventh when pinch-hitter London Dirks hit a two-out double that scored Mitchell.
Though the Niners got the tying run as close as the on-deck circle, the rally fell short as Escobar retired the final batter on a grounder to finish off the complete game.
Gress took the loss for CLT, going 3 ? innings with five runs, four earned. Escobar was the winner, holding the two-seed Niners to five hits and no walks.
Game 2: Charlotte 5, UNC Wilmington 0
The Charlotte softball team won their first elimination game over UNC Wilmington 5-0 before falling to host Georgia by the same score in game two on Saturday afternoon at Jack Turner Stadium as their season ended in the Athens Regional.
Charlotte staved off elimination in the early afternoon game with a shutout victory over the Seahawks. CLT rode the backs of Barefoot, who pitched six scoreless innings with three strikeouts and no walks.
Charlotte got on the board in the top of the third. After a bunt single by Abigail Knight, Rodi homered to left center for a 2-0 lead. It was her team-leading 22nd homer of the year.Barefoot responded with a three-up, three-down frame in the third that included two strikeouts.
In the sixth, Charlotte added to their advantage with three runs. A single by Cori Hoffler and a pair of throwing errors by UNC Wilmington (33-23) on a fielder's choice allowed Hoffler to score. Makalah Mitchell then singled in another run to make it a 4-0 CLT advantage.
The scoring was capped off by a sacrifice fly off the bat of Rodi, plating Mitchell. Rodi went 1-for-2 with three RBI and a walk in the contest.
Barefoot continued to shove, leaving two runners in scoring position after a throwing error to keep the Seahawks scoreless.
In the bottom of the seventh, freshman Kadie Becker came in to relieve and retired UNCW in order with a pair of groundouts and an infield popup.
The Niners' staff held UNC Wilmington to three hits all day in their ninth shutout of the season.
Game 3: Georgia 5, Charlotte 0
Facing off the host Bulldogs, Charlotte made noise in the first inning by putting two runners on. However, an impressive running catch in center field off the bat off Olivia Williams kept the Niners at bay.
Sam Gress got the ball in the circle and pitched a scoreless first inning, aided by a double play turned by third baseman Ella Chancey.
Georgia (41-17) struck for two runs in the second on three hits and a walk. Gress did strand the bases loaded to keep the deficit at 2-0.
The right-hander settled down after that, retiring 11 Bulldog hitters in a row from the third to the sixth. She faced the minimum in the third, fourth, and fifth innings.
Charlotte had a tough time making noise with the bats as they were limited to just three baserunners all day. A walk by Rodi and hit by pitch to Teagan Ritchie was all the visitors could muster.
The Bulldogs broke the game open in the sixth with three more runs, including a solo homer. Barefoot took over for Gress in the circle, getting two outs to end the sixth before the Niners went down in order in the seventh.