The second weekend of the 2017 NCAA College Softball season was full of great action. There were upsets and stand-out performances all across the country. Here are ten things that stood out to us at Fastpitch News.
The Minnesota Gophers are off to their best start in program history. The Gophers are 9-0 after two weekends of play. They wrapped up this past weekend at the ACC/B1G Challenge where Senior pitcher Sara Groenewegen dominated the opening game against Notre Dame. Groenewegen recorded a complete game with 15 strikeouts and finished the weekend 3-0 improving to a 5-0 overall record with a 0.72 ERA and 40 strikeouts. The Maroon and Gold will look to keep the momentum going at the Fresno State Tournament next weekend. They will play UC Davis twice and Fresno State, Cal Poly and Idaho State once.
The Arizona State Sun Devils are 9-0 after their 7-1 victory over the Illinois State Red Birds on Friday night. Due to weather, that would be only game ASU played this weekend as both games on Saturday and Sunday were canceled. This has been the best start to a season since 2014 where ASU won 18 games straight. The 2017 success has been led by new head coach Trisha Ford and her staff. Ford had this to say about her squad after Friday night’s victory, “We worked on really staying focused on the little things and playing hard for your teammates. Our energy in the dugout was phenomenal tonight. Those are momentum builders and if we can keep the momentum on our side we’re going to be very successful.”
The Florida State Seminoles improved to 10-0 on the year this weekend. The Seminoles beat Nebraska 8-0 on Sunday afternoon to close out the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The winning streak is tied for the fifth-longest to start a season and the most since 2012 where the team opened the year 16-0. After another one-hitter on Sunday, the Seminole pitching staff lowered its opponent batting average to .147 and its ERA to 0.22 as FSU has only surrendered two earned runs so far this season.
The 17th-ranked Texas A&M softball team concluded the Texas A&M Invitational with a tight 8-7 victory over Stephen F. Austin Sunday at the Aggie Softball Complex. The Aggies concluded the tournament with a seamless 5-0 record and move to 10-0 on the season. The Maroon and White return to action Thursday as they travel to Cathedral City, Calif., to compete in the Mary Nutter Classic.
The Belmont Bruins are off to a program-best 8-0 start to the 2017 season. They won their final game at the WKU Hilltopper Classic against Western Illinois in walk-off fashion. In the 9-8 battle, the Bruins tallied five home runs by five different players. Junior Lexi Rouse went 2-3 in the final game at the plate. Belmont returns to action on Friday, February 24 at E.S. Rose Park. The Bruins host Evansville for a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.
The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns won their series against Alabama this past weekend. The Cajun offense was led by DJ Sanders whose production at the plate resulted in two home runs and a team-high three RBI for the junior shortstop. On the defensive side, freshmen pitcher Alyssa Denham tossed a two-hit shutout and held the Crimson Tide hitless over the final five innings in the 7-0 win and series victory. The two teams had split the Saturday doubleheader, with Alabama winning 3-0 in Game 1 and Louisiana 11-2 (6 innings.) in Game 2, to set the stage for Sunday’s rubber game.
The Florida Gators concluded their stretch of 11 games in 10 days and currently sit 10-1 on the season. Their only loss came from an upset by Maryland who is 1-8 on the season on Saturday at the Aquafina Invitational. At the plate, Kayli Kvistad and Sophia Reynoso both had above .500 batting averages for the Aquafina Invitational. Kvistad finished with nine hits in 16 at-bats and four walks to go along with six RBIs and four runs scored. She also hit her first home run of the season to go with a pair of doubles. On the mound, Kelly Barnhill increased her scoreless inning streak to 24.0 innings pitched. The last run conceded by Barnhill occurred in the third inning of play against Michigan on Feb. 11, 2017, at the USF Wilson-Demarini Tournament.
Evansville pitcher Morgan Florey threw the first no-hitter in 13 years as the University of Evansville softball team finished up the Plainsman Invite with a 3-2 victory over Creighton on Sunday morning. “Today was an awesome way to end the weekend,” Purple Aces head coach Mat Mundell said. “Morgan did an unbelievable job in the circle. With each game this weekend, we got better as a team.” The last recorded no-hitter for the Aces program was back on February 22, 2004, by Katie Markle in a 2-0 win over Tennessee.
Ole Miss finished their weekend tournament 4-1 at the Houston Classic. After combining 24 offensive runs in two run-rule games over Rhode Island, 18-4, and Houston, 12-3, in five innings, the Rebels move to 7-2 on the season. In the four victories this weekend, Ole Miss totaled 54 runs and scored in double digits in four straight games, the first time in school history to score in double figures four games in a row. The four-game output in terms of the run total was also the largest, as the Rebels run-ruled four opponents in a row for the first time ever. Ole Miss heads to Florida next weekend for the Stetson Invitational.
Iowa State (7-3) finished a weekend at the Tiger Classic with a 2-0 victory over Tennessee State (3-6) to end the invitational with a 5-0 mark. ISU’s five-straight wins are now tied for the program’s longest winning streak since the 2014 season. The Cyclones got on the scoreboard first, taking an early lead in all five games played this weekend. Iowa State hits the road again next weekend to play four games at the Samford/UAB Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama.
