What You May Have Missed in College Softball 3-4-17
Saturday brought another day of college softball games all across the country. A perfect season continues for two DI teams, others battled through extra-innings of play, a few upsets took place, and several teams won in walk-off fashion. See for yourself:
Perfect season continues
Oregon softball moved to 18-0, matching the longest winning streak in program history after run-ruling Butler, 8-0, in five innings on Saturday night at Mizzou Stadium. Freshman Maggie Balint 9-0) was stellar in the circle once again for the Ducks, tossing a five-inning, complete game shutout while surrendering only two hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks.Oregon will go for a program-record 19th win in a row Sunday morning at 8 a.m. PT against Stephen F. Austin.
The University of Minnesota softball team had two stellar pitching performances and timely hitting to pick up wins against FAU and LSU on Saturday. The Gophers topped FAU 4-1 in game one of the day behind senior pitcher Tori Finucane who tossed a one-hitter. The Gophers then went on to beat LSU 3-0 in the nightcap. Senior Sara Groenewegen, who was perfect through six innings, threw a complete game shutout, giving up only three hits and striking out nine Tiger batters. Minnesota now holds the longest win streak in program history sitting at 17-0 on the season.
Extra Innings
The Georgia Bulldogs (18-3) took two wins on Saturday with an 8-2 victory over Central Connecticut State (0-4) before a walk-off 4-3 win against Michigan State (11-3). Dominant pitching against the Blue Devils held CCSU to just two hits, as Brittany Gray and Mary Wilson Avant did a majority of the work, combining for 11 strikeouts. In the second game against the Spartans, the offense came through. With two outs in the final frame, Lacey Sumerlin put a walk-off RBI single in play to score Kendall Burton. The Bulldog Invitational concludes on Sunday with Georgia getting a rematch against Michigan State at 1:30 pm ET.
The Arizona State Softball team found themselves victors of a pair of thrillers Saturday in their final day of play at the 2017 Judi Garman Classic hosted by Cal State Fullerton at Anderson Family Field. The Sun Devils defeated South Carolina, 4-3, in a nine-inning all-around team effort, before getting past Iowa, 5-4, in a ten inning marathon to close out the five-game stand.
Upsets
Mercer softball’s Maxine Rodriguez threw a complete-game shutout and Abby Walsh hit a key three-run home run in the first inning to help Mercer defeat James Madison, 4-0, Saturday afternoon in the D9 Citrus Classic II. Rodriguez scattered six hits while tying a career-high six strikeouts over 113 pitches to hold the nationally-ranked Dukes (15-3) to only their second scoreless contest of the season.
Baylor softball (17-3) continued its hot streak, upsetting Washington (15-3), 3-1, on the second day of competition at the Judi Garman Classic at Anderson Family Field. The win for Baylor is the third-straight win over a top-20 opponent. Baylor also collected wins against ranked Arizona State and Michigan on day one of competition. The Lady Bears also extended an 11-game winning streak, the highest in the Big 12 this season.
Walk-off Fashion
After training 5-3 in the bottom of the 12th inning to Samford, Mississippi State’s Reggie Harrison launched a two-run homer to tie the game at 5-5. Two batters later, Bulldog Caroline Seitz sent a solo shot over the scoreboard to give MSU (17-3) the walk-off victory at the Bulldog Slamboree. The Bulldogs head to the Slamboree Championship game and will take on Central Arkansas at 1:30 pm CT on Sunday.
Arizona Softball’s Katiyana Mauga hit a two-out, two-strike RBI double to right center field to score Mandie Perez to give the Wildcats their first walk-off home win of the 2017 season. The walk-off double propelled Arizona to a 2-1 victory over Texas on Saturday night. The victory secured the series win over the Longhorns for Arizona; The Wildcats are now 17-1 on the season. UA and UT conclude the series on Sunday at noon.
