The Walk-Off: FSU punches back vs. Duke, Georgia run rules Bama

By
Brady Vernon
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Courtesy of Florida State Athletics

Top 25 Matchups

No. 6 Georgia 11, No. 17 Alabama 3 (F/5)

The Bulldogs were locked in on Jalaa Torrence from the start. Lyndi Rae Davis hit a hard ball up the middle, Sara Mosley lined out to right field and Jayda Kearney hit her 12th homer of the year. Mosley was rewarded for hitting the ball hard in her next at-bat. She lifted a grand slam to push Georgia’s lead to six. Sydney Kuma also homered for Georgia.

Lilli Backes pitched five solid innings and her numbers would’ve looked better if not for a pair of sun balls that got the better of Dallis Goodnight in centerfield. Goodnight put the cap on the game putting the run rule in effect with a two-RBI single.

No. 9 Tennessee 8, No. 11 Missouri 2

Nobody has hit and scored on Missouri’s pitching staff like Tennesee did this weekend. Bella Faw hit her second home run in as many days. Taylor Pannell – the Tennessee one – hit a grand slam, the Lady Vols second of the series. Tennessee’s lineup appears to be rounding out around their stars.

Payton Gottshall had a dominant day against everyone not named Maddie Gallagher. She had a homer and an RBI double, accounting for two of the three Tiger hits. Although Gottshall struck her twice and earned 10 Ks as she worked around seven walks.

No. 5 Stanford 5, No. 19 Cal 2

It wasn’t the prettiest of games. The first five runs were scored via a squeeze play, a homer, an error, a passed ball and a fielder’s choice. Then River Mahler made an incredible play to cut the potential tying run in the bottom of the fifth. The Cardinal padded its lead in the top of the seventh with a Kaitlyn Lim home run and Ava Gall RBI single after Taryn Kern’s triple.

Regan Krause picked up the win. NiJaree Canady earned the save with two hitless innings.

No. 8 Washington 11, No. 21 Arizona 3

The Wildcats got off to a good start but it was all Huskies after that. Washington powered three homes and 14 hits to 11 runs en route to clinch the series with a pair of run-rule wins. Brooke Nelson hit a grand slam and Sydney Stewart went 4-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs.

After Lindsay Lopez gave up a home run to Blaise Biringer in the first, she retired the next 16 batters to end the game.

No. 13 Texas A&M 9, No. 18 Mississippi State 0 (F/5)
No. 13 Texas A&M 8, No. 18 Mississippi State 5

Texas A&M’s fast start is no fluke 

Upsets and Close Calls

Florida State 4, No. 3 Duke 2

The Noles snapped the Blue Devils 21-game win streak. Makenna Reid delivered her best outing of the season. The sophomore lefty technically threw her first career complete game, holding Duke’s high-powered offense in check. Through the first five innings, she had only allowed two baserunners.

Florida State decided to turn to Allison Royalty. That did not last long. The first two batters reached and Reid came back in. Duke got a pair of hits that led to two runs but those were counted to Royalty. Reid recorded every out in her seven innings, allowing three hits and no runs.

Cassidy Curd could not find the third out of the first inning. Kalei Harding, Amaya Ross and Isa Torres had a double, triple, and double in back-to-back-to-back at-bats to go up three in the first inning. Harding had another RBI double in the third.

Kansas 2, No. 14 Baylor 0

Baylor loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh. Kasey Hamilton got to fly out to center. The Jayhawks clinched the series behind Hamilton and Katie Brooks’ combined shutout. Sara Roszak had a two-out single in the fourth against Aliyah Binford to drive in both runs.

Notre Dame 6, No. 25 Georgia Tech 3

When Reese Hunter hit a 3-2, two-out three-run home run off the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning, it sure did seem like the Yellow Jackets found their magic again. The Fighting Irish didn’t leave this one up to faith.

Notre Dame rallied for five runs in the top of the seventh. Karina Gaskins his a two-run, two-RBI double to put her team on top. Then Addison Amaral delivered the knockout blow with a two-run homer to extend the lead and hand Georgia Tech its first ACC loss.

Softball Series Around America

No. 24 Texas State 7, JMU 3

The Bobcats earned the series victory against the Dukes. Jessica Mullins tossed 4.2 scoreless innings as her team raced out to a 7-0 lead. After an RBI double earlier in the game, Sara Vanderford hit a three-run homer in the fourth. Texas State will look for the sweep on Sunday.

No. 20 Arkansas 6, Auburn 1
No. 20 Arkansas 5, Auburn 1

The Bogle Bombers arrived on The Plains. Bri Ellis took Maddie Penta deep in her first at-bat in her return to Auburn. Hannah Gammill homered as well in the first inning and drove in another run later on. Morgan Leinstock tossed a complete game with 10 strikeouts, limiting Auburn to four hits and one run.

Kennedy Miller was the star of the second game of the doubleheader. The freshman catcher homered twice. Cylie Halvorson and Bri Ellis also hit the long ball to clinch the series. Robyn Herron, Hannah Camenzind and Morgan Leinstock split the game limiting Auburn to 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Louisiana 3, South Alabama 2
Louisiana 6, South Alabama 2
Louisiana 15, South Alabama 3 (F/8)

The Ragin’ Cajuns extended their Sun Belt series winning streak to 82. They held on to the resumed game from Friday despite the Jaguars putting the tying run on third in the seventh inning.

A three-run inning in the sixth helped Louisiana seal the second game behind a good outing Sam Landry and Chloe Riassetto.

The third game got weird hence the odd score for an extra inning game. Olivia Lackie shutout Louisiana for 6.2 innings before Jourdyn Campbell hit a two-run tying home run. The Ragin’ Cajuns then scored 13 runs in the eighth to seal the sweep.

Players of the Day

Katie Kistler, Florida

The Gators had their best day at the plate against a Power Five team. That had a lot to do with Kistler. She had a three-run homer against Indiana got back into the game. She finished the day 3-for-4 with five RBIs.

Wendi Hammond, UAlbany 

A pitcher’s win and loss record doesn’t always reflect their performance. Unfortunately for Wendi Hammond, that was the case in a 1-0 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday. Hammond no-hit the Badgers and only allowed three baserunners, two happened to come in the fifth where a walk and an error allowed a run to score. But a seven-inning no-hitter against a Big Ten squad should be praised.

Katie Love, Liberty

Love tossed a no-hitter in a 2-0 win over Jacksonville State. She became the first Liberty freshman since 2016 to throw a no-hitter.

Oklahoma’s First Inning Offense

The Sooners scored 12 runs in the first inning before Texas Tech recorded an out. Ella Parker, Kasidi Pickering and Tiare Jennings each had three RBIs in the 15-2 win over the Red Raiders.

Plays of the Day

 

Milestone Moments

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