What You May Have Missed in Friday’s NCAA Regional Tournament Action
The 2017 NCAA DI College Softball Tournament is underway at 16 different locations across the country. Here are several things that stood out to us at FPN from Friday’s action.
Making a Statement
The Minnesota Gopher softball team made an opening game statement after defeating Louisiana Tech 11-3 in run-rule fashion at the Tuscaloosa Regional on Friday afternoon. The Gophers who were not seeded high enough by the NCAA Committee, to host a Regional of their own, proved that playing on the road was nothing new. Gopher sophomore Maddie Houlihan and freshmen MaKenna Partain led the offense, both going 6-6 at the plate with eight RBIs in the heart of the order. The maroon and gold moved to 55-3 on the season and will face off against Alabama Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN.
Five No-hitters
Florida Gator senior pitcher Delanie Gourley hurled program’s second ever post-season no-hitter in a 9-0 victory over Florida A&M in the opening round of the NCAA Gainesville Regional. Gourley also threw the program’s first ever no-hitter in the post-season against which was also against Florida A&M back in 2014. The Gator offense came alive in the bottom of the inning as Florida produced seven runs on just five hits. Florida moved to 51-6 on the season after the victory. The Gators will take on Oklahoma State in the winner’s bracket on Saturday, first pitch is scheduled for noon.
The Ragin Cajun’s Alex Stewart pitched the third NCAA postseason no-hitter in program history in a 6-0 win over McNeese on Friday at Tiger Park in the opening round of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional. Stewart (26-3, 1.57 ERA), who pitched shutout softball for the seventh time in the past eight starts, retired the Cowgirls in order four times and struck out six in collecting her first career no-hitter. With the win, Louisiana (46-6) advanced to the 12 p.m. winner’s bracket final contest on Saturday and will face LSU.
The Baylor softball team (44-12) opened play in the NCAA Waco Regional with a dominant 1-0 win over Kent State (32-27), lifted by the program’s first-ever postseason no-hitter, tossed by Gia Rodoni on Friday evening at Getterman Stadium. Rodoni (16-2) notched her first collegiate no-hitter, tossing the 7.0 inning shutout with three strikeouts and retiring the first 15 Golden Flash hitters in order. After getting a runner on base in each of the first four innings, advancing around to third in three of the four, the Baylor bats broke through in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kyla Walker drilled a two-out triple to the wall in right-center, scoring the only run of the game after the throw into third ended up in the Baylor dugout. The little league home run plated the game’s only run, giving the Lady Bears the 1-0 lead. Baylor will face James Madison on Saturday at 1 p.m.
UCLA redshirt freshman Rachel Garcia threw the first no-hitter of her career, the 15th in UCLA postseason history and the 109th for the softball program, as the fifth-seeded Bruins won their NCAA Regional opener on Friday with an 8-0, five-inning victory over Lehigh at Easton Stadium. Garcia (19-7) faced just one batter over the minimum, striking out eight in five innings. Her only baserunner allowed was a leadoff hit by pitch in the top of the second inning, as Garcia fanned three in the first and two each in the second and third. The no-hitter for the Bruins was the first since last year’s Regional opener when Johanna Grauer notched the first of her career against CSU Bakersfield. The Bruins (43-13) advance to the winner’s bracket and will face San Jose State, which defeated Cal State Fullerton 3-0, on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Washington softball’s Taran Alvelo (29-6) threw her first career no-hitter Friday night at Husky Softball Stadium, leading the Huskies to an 8-0 win over Montana in five innings in the team’s first game of the NCAA Regional. The no-hitter marked Washington’s first postseason no-hitter since May 19, 2013, exactly four years ago, when Bryana Walker led the Dawgs to an 8-0 victory in five innings over Hawaii. Washington’s offense scored all eight runs off eight hits, all in the third inning, run-ruling the Grizzlies in their first tournament appearance. The Huskies moved to 44-11 on the season with the win and will face off against Michigan in the regional’s winner’s bracket, Saturday at 2 p.m. PT.
The 12-Inning Marathons
The Illinois softball team opened the Kentucky NCAA Regional with a 3-2 walk-off win over Marshall at John Cropp Stadium on Friday afternoon. Senior pitcher Breanna Wonderly went all 12 innings in the circle for the Illini and classmate Nicole Evans knocked in the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 12th inning. The marathon game lasted three hours and 26 minutes and was the second-longest game in Illinois softball program history. The Illini will now face tournament host Kentucky on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.
Texas State defeated Texas 2-1 in walk-off fashion in 12 innings in the opening game of the 2017 NCAA College Station Regional on Friday. Taylor Webb lofted the walk-off double into the right field corner to score teammate Christiana McDowell. McDowell reached in the 12th on a one-out single to right-center and moved to third as Ariel Ortiz drew a two-out walk, setting the stage for Webb’s heroics. The win improves TXST to 42-15 on the season and marks the Bobcats’ first 1-0 start to Regional play since defeating Northwestern to open the 2009 Waco Regional. The Bobcats advance to Saturday’s winners’ bracket game against top-seeded Texas A&M, first pitch scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
