The Terrific Ten has you covered on all the best highlights from all the action across college softball on Friday!
*****
1. Walk-off shenanigans in College Station
Arkansas needed a win or an Alabama loss to clinch the outright SEC title… Texas A&M had locked in a spot in the #12 vs. #13 play-in game at the SEC tournament on Tuesday evening, but were going to play for pride if not positioning. The stage was set on so many levels. And Friday night’s series opener delivered.
Both teams scored a pair of runs in the first inning; an RBI groundout from Danielle Gibson and an RBI single from Hannah Gammill were some small-ball efforts that got the Hogs on the board first. Trinity Cannon hit a 2-run shot in the bottom of the frame that evened the score. Things were back and forth from there; Arkansas took the lead again on a Gibson ground-rule double in the second inning, then scored two runs in the fourth inning on a Hannah McEwen home run and a bases-loaded walk.
From the bottom of the fourth onward, the offensive power belonged to the Aggies. Cayden Baker hit a solo home run in the fourth, while Morgan Smith added an RBI groundout that plated an unearned run. Haley Lee tied the game with a solo home run in the sixth inning that knotted the score at 5-all.
After nobody scored in the seventh inning, the game went to extras and in the bottom of the 9th, Alexis Tippit pinch-ran for Lee, tagged up from first on a foulout to left field, then scored on a Katie Dack single to give the Aggies the walk-off victory.
Both Chenise Delce and Mary Haff got fairly hit in the game, with Delce giving up seven hits and four runs and Haff, on in relief, allowing two runs on five hits. The Aggies threw three pitchers in the game, including a middle-relief appearance by Makinzy Herzog, but got the best work from Emiley Kennedy, who threw five innings of 3-hit, shutout ball.
2. It’s the wild, wild… yes, even more wild west
Don’t look now, but the PAC-12 race is getting very, very interesting down the home stretch. Friday’s action was all over the map and full of wild happenings.
With Oregon State on a by-week and sitting out the Week 13 action, everybody else faced off in conference play and not a single matchup disappointed. Let’s start with this little blurb: Winners on the day included Utah, Cal, Stanford, and Arizona State. Losers? Oh, that would be Washington, Arizona, Oregon, and UCLA.
Utah throttled Washington, putting all five runs up against Gabbie Plain and holding the Huskies down for the count. Mariah Lopez threw a gem in the circle for the Utes, allowing four hits and striking out four in a complete-game effort.
Cal also easily handled Arizona, holding the Cats to one run on five hits. Sonia Halajian won the day for the Golden Bears, throwing every pitch in the circle for Cal and collecting six strikeouts while also going 1-2 at the plate with a third-inning 3-run home run and a walk to her credit offensively.
Stanford shut-out Oregon down on the Farm, outhitting the Ducks 5-2 with the teams combining for five defensive errors. Stanford scored their runs off freshman pitcher Stevie Hansen, whlie Alana Vawter threw a gem for the Cardinal, giving up the two hits and no free passes in a complete-game effort.
The piece de resistance in the league, though, was the matchup of the two teams atop the standings: UCLA and ASU. On Friday, the Sun Devils came away with a dominant victory, outhitting the Bruins 10-6 and recording the 6-1 win on their own home turf.
3. Rain, rain, go away
A lot of games were put on hold in the Northeast and along the East coast on Friday due to weather, while others were delayed before being completed. Still others suffered delays that ultimately pushed final results to another day. Most imperative in the latter category were Florida State vs. NC State and Kentucky vs. South Carolina; both games were suspended mid-inning and will be restarted on Saturday as part of somewhat-convoluted doubleheaders.
FSU/NC State in Raleigh was paused in the sixth inning and will resume at 1 pm on Saturday with Florida State leading 3-0 and still batting in the top of the sixth. In a similar situation are Kentucky and South Carolina; that SEC opener was paused in the top of the fifth inning and will resume at 12:30 pm on Saturday with the Wildcats batting and two runners on base, down 5-2, in the fifth.
Tennessee and Auburn never got their series opener started on Friday, and will now play an unplanned doubleheader on Saturday to get caught up.
4. Early-rising Hatters get the upset
A 9:30 am first pitch between Stetson and Liberty got Friday’s action started early, and Stetson made the most of their regular-season finale, handing conference champs Liberty their first loss in ASun play and providing some dramatics to start the day off on an impressive foot.
With the Hatters still seeking a spot in the ASun tournament next week, super senior shortstop Lizzie Shubert put her team on her back in her final regular-season game. Accounting for six RBIs in her team’s 7-6 win, Shubert hit a 2-run home run in the top of the first inning that got the scoring started and handed her team an early 2-0 lead. Later, in the top of the seventh inning with her team down 6-3, Shubert hit a grand slam home run that gave her Hatters a 7-6 lead that would ultimately prove to be the final score.
The grand slam was the third of Shubert’s career, making her one of three players in program history to hit three or more 4-run longballs. The pair of home runs raised her season’s total to a team-leading nine on the year.
5. Dueling no-nos
Sacramento State’s Marissa Bertuccio, San Diego State’s Maggie Balint, and Central Arkansas’ Jordan Johnson all belonged to the no-hit club on Friday, as each pitcher showed her dominance in the circle en route to record a no-no in the scorebook.
Bertuccio helped guide her team to a series sweep over Southern Utah on Friday afternoon, striking out thirteen batters and allowing just two balls to leave the infield the entire game. She gave up a pair of walks in the game – the only SUU runners to reach base – and threw exactly 100 pitches en route to the impressive achievement.
Balint continued her season-long impressive work in the circle, also notching twelve strikeouts in a victory over Utah State. It was the first career no-hitter for Balint, who began her career at Oregon before transferring to lead the Aztec staff. Balint recorded at least one strikeout in every inning on the day, including ten swinging Ks.
Johnson helped guide her team to a doubleheader sweep of their own, as well an ASun divisional crown, on Friday. The veteran hurler collected five strikeouts en route to the 5-inning no-hitter as her team secured a statement win by run-rule.
