5 Things You May Have Missed in College Softball Friday
Conference play for the DI College Softball teams will be wrapping up this weekend and next. Until then, the teams will continue to compete and battle for the top spots in their conference. Below are five things that stood out to us at FPN, that you may have missed from Friday’s play.
Penn State Upsets Minnesota
The Penn State softball team secured a 2-1 extra inning victory over No. 25 Minnesota on Friday, May 4 in the Big Ten Conference series opener. The Nittany Lion win ended the 28-game win streak held by the Golden Gophers at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. Junior Tori Dubois hit a leadoff home run in the top of the eighth inning to give Penn State the advantage, with three outs to play in the bottom of the frame. Dubois reached base twice on two hits during the contest. Senior Jessica Cummings kept the Minnesota batters off balance all game, giving up just six hits and striking out four in the complete game effort. The Nittany Lions and the Golden Gophers will meet for game two of the series Saturday, May 5. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.
Gators Crowned Regular Season SEC Champions
Only the second program in @SEC history to win four-straight Regular Season Championships‼️ pic.twitter.com/5lG8zsU8ir
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 5, 2018
The fifth-ranked Florida softball team claimed its fourth-straight Southeastern Conference Regular Season Championship after defeating Missouri, 4-2, Friday evening at the Mizzou Softball Field. It’s the eighth overall regular season league title for the program. The Gators are only the second program in conference history to have captured four consecutive regular season titles. LSU accomplished the feat with championships in 1999, 2000, 2001 & 2002. Kayli Kvistad led the offense going 2-for-3 and produced three of the teams four RBI on the night. Kelly Barnhill went the distance in the circle for the Gators and earned her 25th win of the season. Florida and Missouri will face off in game two of the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT.
Ole Miss Walks Off Against Georgia
Ole Miss freshman Amanda Roth hit a walk off home run in the seventh inning to give the Rebels the 4-3 win over No. 6 Georgia on Friday night. Roth went 3-for-3 at the plate on the evening and registered three of the four Ole Miss RBI. The Rebels (29-21, 6-16 SEC) picked up a crucial SEC victory to bolster their chances of earning a spot in the SEC Tournament. The win over the fifth-ranked Bulldogs (42-9, 15-7 SEC) will also go a long way in potentially securing a third-consecutive bid to the NCAA Championships for Ole Miss. After surrendering a pair of runs to Georgia in the opening frame, starting pitcher Kaitlin Lee regrouped to hold a prolific Bulldog offense to just three runs on five hits, striking out three in the first game of her final series in Oxford. The Rebels and Bulldogs will face off again Saturday in Oxford at 4 p.m.
https://twitter.com/OleMissVideo/status/992581173724540929
Michigan Clinches Share of B1G Championship
The No. 11 Michigan softball team clinched a share of its 20th Big Ten Conference Championship, and 10th in the past 11 seasons on Friday. The Wolverines earned a portion of the conference title with their 3-2 victory over visiting Ohio State on Friday night, coupled with Indiana’s 3-0 loss at Rutgers in the first game of its doubleheader earlier in the day, and Minnesota’s 2-1 eight-inning loss to Penn State later in the evening. With its win over OSU, Michigan improved to 17-2 in Big Ten play this season and 42-9 overall. The Wolverines continue their three-game home series against Ohio State at 1 p.m. (ET) Saturday and finish the regular season against the Buckeyes at 6 p.m. (ET) Sunday, with both games televised live on BTN. Michigan needs one victory or one Minnesota loss to secure the outright Big Ten Championship.
LSU Defeats Arkansas on Walk Off Home Run
The No. 13 LSU softball team defeated No. 16 Arkansas in walk-off fashion on Friday, after a home run in the seventh inning gave the Tigers the 2-1 victory at Tiger Park. With the win, LSU improves to 38-13 on the year and 11-10 in conference play, while Arkansas falls to 37-12 and 12-10 in the SEC. The game was tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning when Amanda Doyle hit a solo home run to give the Tigers their 11th walk-off win of the season, and her fifth of the year. LSU tallied 10 total hits on the night. Doyle led the charge with three. Senior pitcher Allie Walljasper struck out three and earned her 14th win of the season in her 12th complete game effort. LSU and Arkansas will square off again on Saturday for game two of the series.
Amanda Doyle … BOOM.@LSUsoftball wins it on a WALKOFF HR. pic.twitter.com/p6xrtejN4v
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) May 5, 2018
