Mavs Sweep Tournament to Remain Perfect
CHARLESTON, S.C. - In the final game of the Wingate by Wyndham Invitational Sunday, UT Arlington softball beat Delaware State 7-5 to remain undefeated. The Mavericks and two-time defending National Champions Florida are the only two NCAA Division I teams without a loss this year.
"I thought the entire team did a good job of not getting ahead of themselves and really taking this weekend one game at a time," UT Arlington coach Kristie Fox said.
A trio of Mavericks (15-0) recorded multi-hit games to lead UTA. Sandra Mendoza and Rebecca Stokes each had two hits, while Krista Rude was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate.
The Mavs fell behind early, surrendering a run in the top of the first. UTA pushed into the lead with three runs in the second on RBI singles by Stokes and Mendoza. Mendoza's base knock extended her hitting streak to 15 games.
Sam Montes took the mound in relief to start the third, giving up two base hits before inducing the team's seventh double play of the season to erase the threat.
The Mavs scored three in the fifth on an RBI double by Britnea Barilli to score Laura Curry, followed by Rude's RBI single to extend her hit streak to 12 games scoring pinch runner Kayci Moore and Barilli.
Taylor Simmonds replaced Montes in the circle in the fifth and silenced the Delaware State hitters through two innings. However, DSU attempted a comeback in the final inning and pulled within two runs. Samantha Clakley earned her third save of the season as she induced the final out of the game.
"The entire pitching staff really compliments each other and even more important than that they support each other," Fox said. "They have become a small support system within themselves. That creates an environment that breeds success."
The Mavs continue on the road next weekend, playing at Southeastern Louisiana in a three-game series in Hammond, La. March 5-6. UTA returns home for the Maverick Classic, hosting No. 15 Arizona, No. 24 Texas and Samford.
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App State's Comeback Bid Falls Short Against Towson
ROCK HILL, S.C. - Appalachian State University softball trailed Towson 12-4 entering the bottom of the seventh inning before it scored five runs on five hits to pull within three, 12-9. The comeback effort was halted there though as it was too little, too late for the Mountaineers on day three of the Winthrop/Adidas Tournament.
In a game that saw a combined 21 runs on 31 hits, App State fell to 2-13 overall while the Tigers (10-3) ran their winning streak to three amongst four wins in their last five games.
The Black and Gold's offense registred season highs in at-bats (36), runs scored (nine), hits (14), and total bases (20). Eight of Appalachian's nine starters had a base knock and five of them had multi-hit days including Cara Parker's 3-for-4 performance from the five hole.
Towson got on the board with two in the first inning before the Mountaineers scored three in the bottom half and one in the second as well. In the first, Jenny Dodd brought in Tiffany Taynor with a fielder's choice before Parker crushed her second home run in as many games with a two-run shot to left. App State's one run in the second came when Katie Mathewson scored on Megan Walker's groundout to short.
The Tigers seemingly took all of the momentum with one run in the third, four in the fifth and five more in the seventh. It was then, though, that the Mountaineers began to mount their comeback threat.
Dodd singled in Natalie Orcutt and Parker doubled in Heather Josey. With the score at 12-6, Towson made a call to the bullpen for a second time, this time bringing in ace Blakely Thrower. The rally continued, though, as Pepper Butler doubled in both Parker and pinch-runner Mallory Choplin. Eventually, Butler came around to score when pinch-hitter Casey Brescia reached on a fielding error by the second baseman. However, Taynor then grounded out to second and the fury was over.
Annaleise Kennedy (1-2) threw five innings and gave up eight runs, five earned, on 12 hits with one strikeout. Vanessa Ciocatto started the game and lasted one inning while Katherine Johnson threw the final inning in relief of Kennedy.
Next up, App State will play its fourth tournament in as many weekends on March 4-5 as part of Campbell's Camel Stampede in Buies Creek, N.C.
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Sanders and Vincent Fuel Offense, Brown No-Hits Alcorn
LAFAYETTE – DJ Sanders was 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBI and Victoria Brown no-hit Alcorn State as the No. 6-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball team closed out the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational at Lamson Park with a 9-0 win in front of a crowd of 1,449. ?
Sanders reached three RBI for the second straight game and closed out the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational 5-for-6 with six RBI over the final two outings.
Brown struck out a career-high 10 batters in landing her first career no-hitter. The 10 strikeouts tied for the highest output by a Cajuns pitcher in 2016 (Kylee Jo Trahan vs. Rutgers on Feb. 26).
Kelsey Vincent joined Sanders in top RBI honors, collecting three with a sacrifice fly and two-run single. Vincent finished as the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational leader with nine RBI. She also increased her career total to 94 with Sunday's output.
Brown's no-hitter was the Ragin' Cajuns pitching staff's third of the tournament and the shutout was the staff's fourth in as many games. Louisiana's pitchers yielded only three base hits in 21 innings during the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational.
No. 6 Louisiana (14-1) returns to action next weekend in a three-game series in Hattiesburg, Miss., at Southern Miss scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, March 5-6 with 1 p.m. start times both days. The team's next game at Lamson Park is Wednesday, March 9 vs. Longwood, a 6 p.m. single game.
Brown wasted little time in building her strikeout tally, retiring all three Alcorn hitters she faced in the first inning via a strikeout.
Haley Hayden (hit by pitch) and Shellie Landry (single) got aboard the base path in the bottom of the first setting the stage for sacrifice flies from Lexie Elkins and Vincent for a 2-0 lead.
Louisiana added single runs to the lead in the second and third inning, getting an RBI single from Sara Corbello and Sanders, respectively, to increase the advantage to 4-0.
An errant throw by Sanders with one out in the top of the fourth gave the Braves (4-9) their only baserunner of the contest. Brown bounced back with strikeouts of Vanessa Sanders and Montana Holyfield to end the inning.
A bunt single by Kelli Martinez and walks from Landry and Elkins loaded the bases for the Cajuns in the bottom of the fourth. Vincent greeted Alcorn reliever Bianca Benavides with a sharp single back up the middle to score Martinez and Landry and give Louisiana a 6-0 lead.
Aleah Craighton kept the Cajuns attack going with an RBI single up the middle of her own. Benavides then surrendered a two-run single to Sanders, which stretched the lead to 9-0, before being able to close out the inning.
Brown successfully fielded a bunt attempt from Madison Chitwood with two outs in the fifth inning to preserve the no-hitter.
Brown improved to 2-0 with the victory and lowered her ERA to 0.78. She's now held opponents to five hits and struck out 11 in nine innings.
Sanders upped her season RBI total to 15, the third-highest tally on the team trailing only Elkins (26) and Vincent (18).
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Late Inning Rally Falls Short As Northern Illinois Downs Bobcats
PHOENIX, Ariz. – A late rally in the bottom of the sixth inning wasn't enough as the Texas State softball team dropped the final game of the Grand Canyon Invitational to Northern Illinois by a score of 8-6 Sunday afternoon. The Bobcats took a 6-5 lead after six innings but gave up three runs in the seventh as Northern Illinois dropped Texas State to 11-5 overall this season.
The Texas State offense returned Sunday afternoon after struggling Saturday. The Bobcats recorded 10 hits including three each by Kelli Baker and Ariel Ortiz.
Three up, three down in the top of the first for the Northern Illinois brought Texas State up to the plate tied 0-0. With two outs in the bottom half of the first, the Bobcats strung together a single by Ortiz and back-to-back walks by Corrina Liscano and Taylor Webb to load the bases. A ground ball to the shortstop by Kendall Wiley resulted in an interference call on Liscano to end the inning.
A single to lead off the bottom of the second inning by Kimberlin Naivar sparked three total hits in the inning. Naivar moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt by Sara Rupp, but was the second registered out of the inning during the next at bat as she attempted to steal third. With back-to-back singles by Bianca Prado and Baker, the 'Cats had runners on the corners with two outs. Northern Illinois got out of the jam by forcing a ground out to end the inning.
A two-run home run in the top of the third inning for Northern Illinois gave the Huskies a 2-0 lead over Texas State.
The Bobcats got one of those runs back in the bottom of the third with the help of an RBI triple to center field by Baker to score Prado. Prado reached on a fielder's choice prior to scoring on Baker's triple. Baker now has a team-high two triples this season.
Four hits by the Huskies in the top of the fifth inning resulted in three runs to give Northern Illinois a 5-1 advantage over the Bobcats.
A lead-off home run in the bottom of the sixth inning by Kimberlin Naivar ignited a five run inning for Texas State. The Bobcats drew six walks in the inning by the Huskies pitching staff while registering a pair of hits. Baker recorded the other hit in the inning for her third of the day.
The Bobcat lead didn't last for long as Northern Illinois capitalized on back-to-back walks to start the inning. Three hits and two walks resulted in three runs for the Huskies as they took over the lead from Texas State.
Baker and Naivar finished the day leading the team with two RBIs each and the Bobcat line-up drew nine walks by the Northern Illinois pitching staff.
Texas State returns home for a single non-conference game against Texas Wednesday evening. First pitch against the Longhorns is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Bobcat Softball Stadium. Fans are encouraged to wear GOLD as the Bobcats will be wearing gold laces for the Go 4 The Goal, Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer campaign. Help the Bobcats raise donations to help kids with cancer achieve their goals.
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MERCY-RULE WIN CAPS SOUTH ALABAMA INVITATIONAL
MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama softball scored six runs in the third inning and rode Devin Brown's season-high, 12-strikeout performance to cap the 2016 South Alabama Invitational with an 8-0, run-rule win over Dartmouth on Sunday.
The Jaguars (8-6) avenged their 12-7 Saturday loss to the Big Green (1-4) and snapped a two game losing streak, as USA pulled even to 2-2 on the weekend.
South Alabama concludes the tournament portion of its regular-season schedule next weekend when it travels to Gainesville, Fla., to take part in the Aquafina Invitational, hosted by Florida, where it faces Florida A&M, Illinois State, the host Gators and Florida International.
Brown's 12 strikeouts marked the second most she's ever thrown in a game, topping the previous season high of 11 that she's recorded four times this year and in three appearances prior to Sunday. The Mobile, Ala., native scattered four hits on the day, walked only one and fanned six of the final eight batters she faced.
Kaleigh Todd tied her career high in hits after leading USA on 3-for-4 hitting with a pair of RBI and a run scored. Emily Messer was 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, and Alex Breeden drove in a pair of runs. Six Jaguars recorded hits on Sunday, as USA combined for nine total.
USA wasted no time jumping ahead in the contest, with Todd scoring Messer with a double down the left field line to put USA ahead, 1-0, in the first inning.
A six-run explosion in the bottom of the third gave USA a 7-0 lead, keyed by Breeden's two-run double to left field, which scored Haleigh Lane and Kristian Foster. Savanna Mayo scored USA's fourth run on a fielder's choice that allowed Paige Holmes to reach.
Messer's team-leading second triple of the year plated Holmes and Breeden for a 6-0 Jaguar lead, and Todd doubled for a second time to score Messer.
Stephanie Pilkington's RBI double to center field plated Todd, who singled and stole second, in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the mercy rule into effect.
Brown evened her record to 4-4 with the win. The sophomore now has 82 strikeouts in 50 total innings, and the shutout was her third this season in seven starts.
Dartmouth starter Lauren Stone fell to 0-2 on the year after allowing seven runs (all earned) on six hits with three strikeouts and as many walks in 2 2/3 innings. Reliever Breanna Ethridge gave up one run (earned) on three hits with six strikeouts and a walk in 2 1/3 innings.
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Eagles Down Coastal Carolina, 8-4
CONWAY, S.C. –The Georgia Southern softball team scored early and often to wrap up play Sunday at the Coastal Carolina Invitational with an 8-4 win over the host Chanticleers.
The Eagles erupted for six runs in the top of the first inning, chasing CCU's starting pitcher after 36 pitches. Lydia Witkowski reached on an infield single and the flood gates opened from there. Morgan Robinson drew a bases-loaded walk to plate the first run and then Taylor Rogers scored on a passed ball. Hannah Farrell drove in Robinson with a sharp single to right field to make it 3-0 and then Mann cleared the bags with a double to the gap to make it 6-0.
In the seventh inning, A.J. Hamilton singled and did the slow trot home on Mann's monstrous home run to dead center field to make it 8-0. Coastal finally got on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring four runs, but it wasn't enough.
Dixie Raley (W, 6-3) was dominant in the circle. The freshman tossed a complete game, allowing four runs – all in the final inning – on six hits with three walks while striking out a career-high 11 batters.
At the plate, Mann led the way going 3-for-4 to compliment her five RBI. Farrell, Witkowski and Emily Snider all had a two hits while Hamilton had one.
GS (8-7) will host the Eagle Classic next weekend in Statesboro, welcoming Eastern Kentucky, Harvard and North Dakota to town. Play starts on Friday at 2 p.m. with EKU and North Dakota, followed by the Eagles and North Dakota at 4:30 p.m.
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ULM Concludes UCA Invite with 9-1 Win over South Dakota State
CONWAY, Ark. – Junior Melanie Coyne tossed her ninth complete game and three ULM student-athletes finished with multiple RBIs in ULM’s 9-1 victory over South Dakota State Sunday morning at Farris Field.
Coyne gave up one hit, an RBI double, in the top of the first inning and allowed just one more runner to reach base afterwards via a seventh-inning walk.
The Warhawks’ (11-4) offense scored five runs in the first two innings. Junior left fielder Rochelle Roberts reached on a bunt single in the bottom of the first, extending her current hitting streak to 11 games.
Freshman Sydney McKay then walked and the two executed a double steal during a McKinley Marks strikeout to sit in scoring position for senior Amye Barre. Barre drove them in on a two-out double to the gap in right center. Junior Vanessa Garcia then scored Barre on a single to right center to give the Warhawks a 3-1 lead after the first.
ULM added two more runs in the bottom of the second after Roberts plated sophomore catcher Sam Agamaite on a triple to left center. Bohack followed that up by pulling a double to the left-centerfield gap which scored Roberts, extending the gap at 5-1.
A quiet third inning went by before the Warhawks posted four runs in the bottom of the fourth. McKay walked with the bases loaded before Marks pushed a double to left center which scored two more. Garcia then rounded out the scoring with a single through the left side.
Coyne struck out the first two batters in the top of the fifth and ended the game on a fielder’s choice when Jackrabbit (3-12) centerfielder Christian McKone hit into a 6-4 groundout. Coyne retired 11 batters in a row up to SDSU’s two-out walk in the seventh. She fanned five hitters during her shortened five-inning outing.
Roberts ended the day 3-3 with three runs and an RBI. This is Roberts’ third three-hit game of the season. She has multiple hits in nine of 15 games. Roberts ended the weekend batting .769 (10-13) with nine runs, three stolen bases and two triples.
Bohack hit .615 (8-13) with seven RBIs, three doubles and a home run. Barre, Garcia and Marks each recorded multiple RBIs. Garcia and Marks each have four games with multiple RBIs while Barre has three.
The Warhawks head south Tuesday to face No. 5 LSU at Tiger Park on a 6 p.m. first pitch.