College Softball News

College Softball Weekend Recap

Courtesy of UCLA Athletics

Another weekend of college softball is in the books. This weekend brought many conference rival series to the playing field. There were new coaching milestones met, record books re-written, standout pitching performances, outstanding offensive numbers, and extra-inning team victories. Below are five things that stood out to us at FPN, that you may have missed in college softball this past weekend.

UCLA Sweeps No. 1 Washington

Senior Selina Ta’amilo and redshirt sophomore Rachel Garcia combined for a three-hit shutout of the top-ranked team in the nation to earn the series sweep in the finale. For the third game in a row, the fourth-ranked Bruins scored a run in the fourth inning, which was the decider in the 1-0 victory over Washington at Easton Stadium on Sunday. The completed the sweep and moved the Bruins to 40-3 overall and 15-3 in Pac-12 play, while the Huskies fell to 41-5 and 12-5 in league. Ta’amilo improved to 10-2 on the season, striking out four in 5 1/3 innings, giving up three hits and two walks. She struck out one apiece in innings two through five, posting 1-2-3 frames in the fourth and fifth, retiring 10 in a row at one point. Garcia came in and retired the last five batters of the game, striking out a pair for her second save of the season. UCLA takes a step out of Pac-12 play next weekend, hosting a round-robin tournament with Oklahoma State and South Dakota next Friday and Saturday at Easton Stadium.

Beaubien No-Hits Maryland to Complete Series Sweep

Freshman left-handed pitcher Meghan Beaubien tossed her third no-hitter of the season to headline the No. 14-ranked University of Michigan softball team’s 8-0, six-inning decision against Maryland on Sunday in front of a season-high crowd of 2,261 at the Wilpon Complex, home of Alumni Field. The Wolverines have won each of their last 14 games. Beaubien (27-2) was just a fifth-inning walk shy of a perfect game, instead settling for an 11-strikeout no-hitter – her third complete-game no-hitter of the season and the Wolverines program-record sixth. It was also Beaubien’s fourth game this year with double-digit strikeouts. Michigan (38-7, 13-1 Big Ten) will hit the road next weekend, traveling to Bloomington, Indiana, for a three-game weekend series against Indiana.

Georgia Earns 40th Win and Series Over Kentucky

A three-run seventh inning lifted the seventh-ranked Georgia softball team (40-7, 13-5) to a 3-1 win over Kentucky (28-15, 5-12) Sunday, securing Georgia’s sixth Southeastern Conference series win of the season. The win secured Georgia’s 16th40-win season as a program, all under head coach Lu Harris-Champer. Sunday’s comeback was Georgia’s fourth win when trailing after six innings this season. Mary Wilson Avant (7-1) pitched the complete game in the circle for Georgia. She finished the week 3-0 with two wins over Kentucky and the other over USC Upstate. She allowed only one run in 18 innings, striking out 12 in three appearances. Georgia hosts Alabama in the final home series of the season at Jack Turner Stadium next weekend.

Trainer Tosses No-Hitter as Indiana Sweeps Penn State

Indiana Softball completed its sweep of Penn State on Sunday, defeating the Nittany Lions in five innings, 8-0. It was the second run-rule win of the weekend for the Hoosiers and the fourth sweep in five series this season. With a 13-2 mark in Big Ten, it’s the best record through 15 games of play since 2011 as the Hoosiers maintain second place in the conference standings with just three series to go. Junior Tara Trainer tossed her second career no-hitter on Sunday to secure the series sweep. Trainer collected six strikeouts and surrendered just two walks in the no-hitter, her first since a no-hit performance during her freshman campaign on March 12, 2016 against Evansville. The Hoosiers return to action on Wednesday as they travel to Purdue for a midweek doubleheader, before hosting Michigan for a three game weekend series.

Tennessee Makes History at Alabama

The No. 10 Tennessee team did something Saturday night that has never been done in program history: win a series on the road against Alabama. That all changed following the Lady Vols’ dominant 13-3 win over the No. 15 Crimson Tide in game two of the doubleheader on Saturday night at Rhoades Stadium. Tennessee (40-8, 10-7 SEC) was led by Chelsea Seggern, who finished the game with four of the team’s 11 RBIs, and Meghan Gregg who was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and scored three runs. Alabama moved to (27-15, 7-10 SEC) with the loss. The Lady Vols will look to complete the three-game sweep over the Crimson Tide for the first time in program history Monday night. The game will be broadcast live on the SEC Network, with Beth Mowins and Michelle Smith calling the action. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

BONUS: Arizona Tops Arizona State for the Territorial Cup

In a thrilling, back-and-forth, eight-inning series finale at ASU’s Farrington Stadium, No. 16 Arizona defeated No. 5 Arizona State 4-2 to earn a huge series victory, its third straight territorial cup series win. Sunday’s victory gave the Wildcats the series win at Arizona State, their first road series victory over a top-10 opponent since defeating Washington two-of-three games in 2012. With the win, Arizona improved to 31-13, 8-10 Pac-12. Arizona State fell to 35-9, 9-6 Pac-12. Taylor McQuillin was dominant in the circle for the Wildcats. She got the victory to improve to 20-9 on the season. McQuillin allowed two runs on six hits in the complete-game effort. She struck out 11 and walked just one. She outdueled ASU’s Juarez, who gave up four runs on eight hits; the four runs she surrendered were the most since opening day. Arizona hosts New Mexico on Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Wednesday to kick off a seven-game home stand.

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