It has been a crazy weekend in college softball across the country. The national rankings have already been jumbled this weekend and there are still games to be played on Sunday. Here are five things you may have missed from Saturday’s action:
The Gritty Gophers
The Undefeated University of Minnesota Gophers came away with back-to-back gritty wins on Saturday, moving to 13-0 on the season. The maroon and gold defeated UC David with a walk-off single in game one. In game two of the day, the Gophers defeated Cal Poly in an eight-inning battle. The Gophers have three walk-off wins and two extra inning victories already this season.
Shutout streak
Auburn defeated another ranked opponent Saturday night. The Tigers shut out James Madison with a 4-0 team victory. Courtney Shea and Kasey Cooper batted in two runs each for the Tigers, and Kaylee Carlson earned the win in the circle striking out eight batters, a new season high. The win secured the Tigers with their 13th straight win of the season and fifth straight shutout. The Tigers head into Sunday 14-1, the loss dropped James Madison to 11-2.
A Perfect Weekend
It was a great day to be an Aggie, well, more like a weekend. The Texas A&M softball team completed its perfect weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, defeating No. 23 BYU, 11-1, and No. 14 Michigan, 3-0, Saturday. The Aggies have won their last 17 games at the Mary Nutter.
The Luck of the Irish
There is nothing lucky about beating two ranked teams in the same weekend. The University of Notre Dame softball defeated the defending National Champions, the Oklahoma Sooners, on Saturday at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. This was their second signature victory of the weekend after the Irish defeated the Georgia Bulldogs on Friday evening. In the final game of the weekend against OU, a pair of late home runs, including a solo blast off the bat of freshman Katie Marino in the seventh inning, was the knockout punch for the Irish to secure the 5-4 win.
Offensive Explosion
Arizona opened Saturday night’s doubleheader with a 21-2, five-inning victory over LIU Brooklyn. The Wildcats scored 21 runs on 20 hits, marking the most hits by a UA team since 1998. Thirteen different Wildcats recorded hits in the game. Leading the offensive explosion was senior Mo Mercado, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles, three RBIs and it was the 13th three-hit game of her career. Oddly their bats fell silent in a 1-0 loss to No. 4 Florida State. Although the Wildcats did out hit the Seminoles 5-to-3.
