The Terrific Ten has you covered on all the best highlights from all the action across college softball on Wednesday!
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1. UTA hosts, beats Oklahoma State
Upsets were in the air on Wednesday night, and perhaps none was bigger than UT Arlington’s win over Oklahoma State. UTA hosted the Cowgirls and the Mavs took home the victory in quality fashion. A 2-run home run by Meagan Smith in the second inning proved to be all the Mavs needed, as Jessica Adams held OSU scoreless in a complete-game outing. OSU’s Brianna Evans hit a solo home run in the third inning and UTA scored an insurance run on a fielding error in the fourth, but Smith’s second-inning longball ultimately proved to be the deciding blow.
UTA moved to 8-11 on the season with the win, while Oklahoma State dropped their sixth game of the year.
2. Florida State and Alabama lives up to the hype
FSU and Alabama, a single midweek game at the Rhoads House in Tuscaloosa, definitely had a postseason feel about it. Two teams that are fairly consensus top-5 programs in the nation meeting in a one-off, mid-season affair – quality softball was at the top of the list of probabilities, and quality softball was delivered.
After Alabama hit a 3-run home run in the first inning, Danielle Watson got out of the inning and FSU turned to Kathryn Sandercock the rest of the way. Sandercock was excellent in the circle, limiting Alabama to five hits and two runs, while collecting five strikeouts in six innings of work.
A 4-1 game heading into the sixth inning, a 3-run home run by FSU’s Michaela Edenfield – now possibly the greatest under-pressure threat that the Noles have – tied the ballgame late. In the 7th inning, Florida State put two runners on base and, in their classic way, simply put the ball in play to force the defense to make plays to get outs.
The defense didn’t. Tide third baseman Ashley Prange made two errors in the seventh, one that went on the scoreboard and another of an inexplicable mental nature, and Florida State scored twice. The mental error wound up being very important, after Alabama scored one run in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t match the score with another and FSU ultimately took home the W.
It was Florida State’s sixth consecutive win over the Crimson Tide, and the loss was Alabama’s third in the last five games.
3. More upsets: Miami over Kentucky… also at home
Power 5 teams on the road against non-Power 5 opponents did not have a good Wednesday. Those ranks include Kentucky, who visited Miami Ohio and lost to the Redhawks on a 7-5 final score.
Miami scored twice in the first inning and three times in the second for an early 5-0 lead, before Kentucky came back and tied the game on a Miranda Stoddard grand slam in the fourth inning. Miami scored again in the fifth inning, plating two runs that proved to be the difference in the game. Miami ace Courtney Vierstra went four innings and gave up all five Kentucky runs before Brianna Pratt came on in relief with three innings of shutout, 4-hit ball that earned her the win.
4. Quite a Bobcat comeback
Down 7-1 entering the bottom of the sixth inning at home, Ohio had quite a hill to climb. Two innings, they reached the summit and took home a win, to boot.
In the game’s early-goings, it was all Marshall’s offense, as the Herd scored five runs in the first five innings. An RBI triple got Ohio on the board in the bottom of the fifth, but Marshall turned around and scored two more runs in answer. From then on, it was Ohio’s turn. Two home runs in the sixth, including a solo shot and a 3-run longball, got the Bobcats back in the game before a 2-run error and an RBI groundout tied the game and gave Ohio the walk-off victory. It was the Bobcats’ sixth win of the year.
5. Texas takes two in Cajunland
Texas traveled to the Bayou State just for a Wednesday doubleheader, to take on the Ragin Cajuns. It proved to be a worthwhile trip for the Longhorns, who swept the DH in a pair of largely-tight ballgames. A tie ballgame in the day’s opener was broken open by a 7-run Texas sixth inning as the Horns took a 10-2 win in game one, before returning and securing a 3-2 victory to end the day.
For the first time in what seems like a while, Texas’ pitching was solid. Estelle Czech, on in relief in game one, threw 5.1 innings, allowing just three hits and one Cajun run while striking out seven. In game two, it was Hailey Dolcini who entered in relief, throwing 5.2 innings of work and allowing five hits, two runs, and notching eight strikeouts. Both Czech and Dolcini deserved game balls for their efforts, particularly in relief of struggling starters.
Janae Jefferson also notched her 300th career hit on Wednesday, adding to her program-record total in that category.
