College Softball Weekend Recap
South Carolina Sweeps Tennessee
No. 18 South Carolina completed it’s fifth-ever sweep over Tennessee with a commanding 15-5 win in five innings over the No. 2 Lady Volunteers on Sunday at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field. Carolina trailed 5-2 heading to the bottom of the third before posting eight runs, including Alyssa Kumiyama’s three-RBI double, to change the course of the game and give the Gamecocks their first sweep over a top-5 opponent in the SEC era. Carolina had 35 plate appearances and forced Tennessee to use four different pitchers, with the longest outing lasting just two innings. The Gamecocks improved to 28-4 (5-1) with the series sweep of the Lady Volunteers, marking only the third time since 2011 a team has swept Tennessee. Carolina closes its five-game homestand on Wednesday against Furman.
Seminoles Remain Perfect in ACC Play
No. 12 Florida State (26-6, 6-0 ACC) continued its undefeated start to conference play with a 5-4 win over Syracuse (15-11, 4-5 ACC) on Sunday afternoon at JoAnne Graf Field. The victory marks the 32nd ACC win in a row for Florida State, moving the Seminoles into a tie with Fresno State for the eighth-longest conference winning streak in NCAA history, matching the streak the Bulldogs put together in the Mountain West in 2015-16. It also completed the 33rd sweep in the last 43 ACC series for FSU, as the Seminoles improved to 113-10 (.919%) in their previous 123 regular season conference games, dating back to 2012. Up next for Florida State is its first ACC road trip as Georgia Tech (19-10, 6-1 ACC) will host the Seminoles on March 30-April 1.
Oklahoma Earns Series Sweep
The No. 7 Oklahoma softball team matched its 10th-highest run total in program history as it took down Texas Tech 19-1 in five innings on Sunday afternoon at Marita Hynes Field. With the win, the Sooners (28-2, 3-0 Big 12) clinched a series sweep against Texas Tech (20-13, 0-3 Big 12). OU outscored TTU 35-1 on the weekend, earning run-rule victories in all three contests. It marked the first time the Sooners run-ruled an entire conference series since they did so against Iowa State in 2014. The Sooners continue conference play on March 29-31st as they travel to Waco, Texas to take on No. 15 Baylor.
Washington Sweeps Arizona
The No. 1 Huskies earned the series sweep over No. 11 Arizona after a 2-0 victory on Sunday. Taran Alvelo earned her 16th win of the season after tossing another gem. The junior allowed only one hit, a line-drive single in the first inning that was just out of her reach off the bat. Alvelo would retire 20 in a row after that hit, with only six balls leaving the infield all game. Washington will hit the road next week, heading to California for a three-game series with the Stanford Cardinal. Game one of that series is Thursday, March 29 at 6:00 pm.
Georgia Rallied (again) to Win Series Over Mississippi State
For the third-straight game of the series, the No. 4 Georgia softball team (29-3, 7-2) rallied with one out left to extend the game, winning Sunday’s series finale at No. 17 Mississippi State, 3-2. Bulldog pitcher Brittany Gray pitched her 14th complete game en route to her 15th win in the circle. She struck out five batters and had no walks. Georgia and Mississippi State each scattered five hits in Sunday’s finale. Georgia returns to Jack Turner Stadium Wednesday to host Kennesaw State at 6 p.m.
