RANKINGS
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I COMMITTED
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ABOUT
The Terrific Ten has you covered on all the best highlights from all the action across college softball on Friday!
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1. Before Friday, Hannah Meshnick had never started a collegiate game; her first-ever trip to the circle to start a college game would come against Weber State, a team that appeared in the NCAA tournament as a regional 3-seed one year ago. Meshnick delivered in a big way. She threw the 14th no-hitter in ISU program history, buoying her team from the circle while the offense picked her up on the other side of the ball. The only blemishes on Meshnick’s record were two walks, both of which were erased by double plays as she faced the minimum number of batters in the impressive showing. She also collected three strikeouts in the game.
2. Virginia Tech’s offense was about as impressive as they come, putting up 9 runs against Oklahoma State and 6 runs against Nebraska en route to a 1-1 showing in Clearwater. The Hokies battled back in the game against OSU, including a hearty offensive showing against Lexi Kilfoyl and a couple of solo home runs off Kyra Aycock in relief that tied the game. Even after suffering a walk-off loss, the Hokies’ offense turned around a few hours later and put a 6-spot on Nebraska, good enough for the win over the Huskers. Known as a hard-hitting team, the Hokies’ batting order looks even better than advertised.
3. Payton Tidd made things happen with her arm and with her bat in Notre Dame’s win over Ohio State. Leading the Fighting Irish on both sides of the ball, Tidd started the game in the circle and threw a complete game, striking out six and allowing just four hits and two runs. She shut down the Buckeye offense, then added a 3-run home run to help buoy her own team’s offense. It was the fourth time in Tidd’s Irish career that she threw a complete game and hit a home run in the same outing.
4. It was a reunion, of sorts, for UT-Arlington head coach Kara Dill, whose first game as head coach against a Top 25 team came against her alma mater, the Kentucky Wildcat. Dill’s Mavericks jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the game and ultimately took home the win by a 4-2 final score. It was an impressive victory, one not even soured by a later loss to North Texas. The win over UK marked UTA’s second victory over a P5 opponent this season.
5. Clemson put a hurtin’ on Northwestern, absolutely shellacking the Wildcats en route to a 15-2 run-rule win. The Tigers scored four runs in the first inning, five in the 2nd, four in the 3rd, and two in the 4th before the game ended after 4.5 innings. Northwestern used four pitchers in total, all of whom got shelled, including ace Danielle Williams, who allowed four earned runs in 0.2 innings of work on the day. Seven different players recorded RBIs for Clemson in the game.