The Walk-Off: Arkansas, Stanford take series openers in Top 15 matchups

By
Brady Vernon
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Courtesy of Arkansas Athletics

Top 25 Matchups

No. 14 Florida 9, No. 10 Georgia 1 (F/5)

READ: Tara’s Takeaways: Florida runs away with opener, Rothrock keeps rolling

No. 8 Arkansas 2, No. 11 LSU 1

The Razorbacks keep finding ways to win. Neither offense could earn a run against Morgan Leinstock or Sydney Berzon as the teams traded unearned runs. Berzon ran into trouble in the top of the seventh. The stellar sophomore had gotten out of jams for most of the game, however, she could not in Arkansas’ last at-bat. A single and a walk put runners in scoring position for Hannah Gammill, who hit a chopper up the middle for the go-ahead RBI. LSU threatened in the seventh but Leinstock closed the door to earn the win.

No. 3 Tennessee 5, No. 18 Alabama 0

Credit Payton Gottshall or blame Alabama’s offense, regardless the Tide were shut out again. Gottshall has been the hotter of the two Tennessee arms and limited Alabama to three hits. Kayla Beaver didn’t necessarily have her best stuff, allowing eight hits but didn’t get picked up by her defense that yielded a pair of unearned runs. Kiki Milloy, Zaida Puni and McKenna Gibson combined for six hits and four RBIs at the top of the Lady Vols’ lineup.

No. 7 UCLA 10, No. 21 Arizona 2 (F/5)

Maya Brady didn’t take long to assert her dominance over the Wildcats. The UCLA star has been insanely good against Arizona in her career. Brady had homered and hit a two-RBI single by the second inning. Arizona’s pitching woes continued as UCLA finished the game in five. Megan Grant crushed a home run and Jadelyn Allchin drove in three RBIs.

No. 9 Stanford 3, No. 12 Washington 1

Stanford scored two unearned runs in the first and NiJaree Canady went on a roll. Canady didn’t allow a baserunner until the fifth inning. That clearly sparked Washington’s confidence against her. Giselle Alvarez hit a solo home run to cut the deficit in half. Washington proceeded to load the bases after a lengthy delay that included phone calls and replays. Canady got out of the jam with a groundout and a strikeout. Jade Berry rewarded her with an insurance solo shot against Ruby Meylan to secure the series opener as Canady finished with 11 strikeouts.

Bubble Bursters

Syracuse 2, No. 15 Virignia Tech 1 

The Hokies were on the hosting bubble coming into the weekend but after Friday those chances lowered. The powerful Virginia Tech lineup couldn’t handle the soft, spinny stuff from Lindsey Hendrix. They only managed five hits and Cori McMillan’s solo home run provided the only run. Syracuse had an RPI over 100 before Friday, making it a tough loss for Virginia Tech.

North Texas 4, Wichita State 3 (F/9)
North Texas 1, Wichita State 0 

North Texas is a good team but the metrics don’t love them – RPI north of 70 – so for Wichita State to drop the doubleheader on Friday, the Shockers’ chances are starting to dwindle.

FAU also lost 1-0 in the series opener to USF. The American has been a fun league to follow with a handful of good teams but if Charlotte wins the auto bid there is a good chance they will be the lone bid as the conference keeps beating itself up.

No. 5 Oklahoma State 5, Kansas 2
No. 5 Oklahoma State 6, Kansas 5

The Jayhawks had a chance in both games. An opportunity to really submit their bid to get off the bubble with one Top 15 win. Instead, Kansas couldn’t hold on to either early lead including a 5-0 lead in the second game. Kansas’ spiral down continues and the struggles could keep them out of the NCAA Tournament at this rate.

Michigan 2, Penn State 0 

The Wolverines keep on winning. Lauren Derkowski outdueled Bridget Nemeth making a few fewer mistakes. Derkowski struck out nine in the complete game shutout of the Nittany Lions. Ella McVey had an RBI single in the fifth and Maddie Erickson hit a home run in the sixth.

Oregon State 4, Utah 3

Utah had a great win for its resume earlier in the week against Baylor. The Utes got a three-run lead before giving up four runs, mostly from a three-run blast from Maddy Clark in the first inning. Then it was 11 straight zeroes on the board with no offense after the first as Utah dropped a game it likely can’t afford to lose.

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Brady Vernon

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