Comebacks, Upsets and Cruising in Day one of Super Regionals
It was a wild day, Texas A&M appeared to be poised to upset No. 1 Florida heading into the seventh inning, but ended up falling 5-4. Kentucky came out firing and didn’t stop, knocking off the No. 2 seed Oregon 9-6 in game one. UCLA cruised to a 7-1 win over Arizona in their opening game. All taking place on Day One of the NCCA Softball Super Regional round.
Florida vs. Texas A&M
The second-seeded Florida softball team took the first game of the Super Regionals, 5-4, against No. 15 seed Texas A&M in dramatic fashion at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium on Thursday night. The Aggies looked great getting to Florida Ace Kelly Barnhill (29-1) early and laying off her high rise balls, for the most part. Barnhill allowed just two hits, walked three while striking out eight. UF found itself in a three-run deficit after the top of the fourth inning, trailing Texas A&M 4-1, but battled back to take the game 5-4. Florida scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to earn the walk-off victory. It was the third true walk-off of the season. The Gator comeback was the 10th of the season and tied the largest deficit Florida has fought back from. Amanda Lorenz was stellar at the plate going 3-for-3 on the night with a double, home run and two RBI. She got things started in the seventh with a solo home run. Trinity Harrington (13-6) took the loss. The Gators and the Aggies will return to action Friday, May 25 at 7 p.m. for the second game of the NCAA Super Regional. The game is set to be aired on ESPN2.
"Amanda Lorenz was born for the postseason."
The junior blasts a solo shot to put the Gators within one of Texas A&M in the bottom of the 7th! #NCAAsoftball pic.twitter.com/dOdZnk4OiS
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 25, 2018
Oregon vs. Kentucky
The No. 16 Kentucky softball team exploded for nine runs on 10 hits against the best pitching staff in the PAC-12 to take game one of the 2018 Eugene Super Regional 9-6 over the No. 1 Oregon Ducks on Thursday night at Jane Sanders Stadium in Eugene. Kentucky scored three runs in the top of the first inning and didn’t look back, scoring nine runs in the game. UK has now scored eight runs or more in all four of its NCAA Tournament games this season, and has plated 37 runs in 23 innings of postseason softball. Abbey Cheek hit two home runs in the game, going 2-for-3 on the night with five RBI, two home runs and a walk. Her home run in the fourth inning was a three-run shot, which was followed by a two-run blast in the top of the sixth. This is Kentucky’s first time ever winning game one of a Super Regional. The Wildcats were 0-5 all-time before that. With the game one win, Kentucky is now just one game away from the 2018 Women’s College World Series. The second game of this best-of-three series will be on Friday night at 11 p.m. ET live on ESPN2.
Another one for @UKsoftball! Abbey Cheek earns her 17th home run of the season to extend Kentucky’s lead 7-3! #NCAASoftball pic.twitter.com/b5UX3QMD1X
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 25, 2018
UCLA vs. Arizona
The third-seeded Bruins hit four home runs in their Super Regional opener on Thursday at Easton Stadium, including two by senior Madeline Jelenicki, as UCLA posted a 7-1 victory over No. 14-seed Arizona. UCLA had 12 hits from eight different players, as Jelenicki, senior Kylee Perez, redshirt sophomore Rachel Garcia and freshman Kinsley Washington all had two-hit contests. In the circle, Garcia (26-3) struck out eight in five shutout innings, giving up only one hit and one walk. She retired the first 10 batters of the game, posting 1-2-3 frames in four of her five innings, while striking out three in the fourth and two in the third. Freshman Holly Azevedo tossed the last two innings, fanning one and giving up an unearned run, with two hits and one walk. Arizona (43-15) scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh on an RBI grounder by Malia Martinez, but Azevedo got a strikeout to end the game. The Bruins improved to 55-5 on the season and are one win away from a fourth-consecutive trip to the Women’s College World Series. Game two of the Los Angeles Super Regional will be at 6 p.m. on Friday and televised on ESPN2.
SHE DOES IT ALL! Rachel Garcia smashes a two-run home run to give the Bruins a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth! #NCAASoftball pic.twitter.com/DoY0vHsBWy
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 25, 2018
