5 Things You May Have Missed in College Softball 3-11-17
Perfect Pitching
Arizona’s Michelle Floyd threw the ninth perfect game in Arizona softball history on Saturday in an 18-0 five-inning victory over Hartford before Nancy Bowling tossed a two-hit shutout vs. Cal State Bakersfield in an 8-0, six-inning UA victory. Arizona softball outscored its opponents 28-0 while allowing two total base runners over a doubleheader sweep on Saturday at Matador Diamond at the CSUN/LMU Tournament.
Seminoles Continue Strong Start
Florida State (21-1-1, 5-0 ACC) closed out the series with Virginia Tech (10-10, 2-5 ACC) with a 5-2 win on March 11 at Tech Softball Park. The victory gives Florida State 25 sweeps in the last 35 ACC series, including six of the last seven. The Seminoles are off to their best start in 24 years, and the fourth-best record in program history through the first 24 games of the season.
Another Gourley Gem
Florida (21-1, 1-0 SEC) produced its NCAA-leading 14th shutout of the season on Saturday en route to the victory over Missouri (11-9, 0-1 SEC). In the Saturday showdown, Florida’s Delanie Gourley tossed her third complete game one-hitter, tallying 10 strikeouts with only one walk and one hit against 24 batters faced. Gourley retired the first 15 Missouri batters in consecutive order and didn’t allow a baserunner until the sixth inning of play.
Contagious Hitting
The Minnesota Gophers scored in every inning in a 14-6 team victory against Seattle in six innings on Saturday at the Husky Invite. The Gophers recorded a season-high 15 hits during the game. Seven Gophers had a hit in the game with six players recording multiple hits. The win moves Minnesota to 20-1 on the season. Due to schedule changes, the Gophers play a double header on Sunday first against South Dakota followed by the greatly anticipated rematch against Washington. The Huskies snapped the Gophers perfect season on Friday in a 3-2 battle.
Saturday Sweep for BYU
BYU softball swept its Saturday doubleheader in a pair of back-and-forth thrillers, defeating Sacramento State 9-4 and Fresno State 8-6 in eight innings on the final day of the Fresno State Invitational. “Today we had two great team wins,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin remarked. “Our pitching in both games was exceptional. The Cougars finished 3-1 on the weekend and moved to 14-7 on the season.
