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 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. A hard-hitting, high-scoring affair against Minnesota saw Northwestern lose a lead, then come back to tie the ballgame. Headed into extra innings in the conference opener for both teams, it was Hannah Cady whose 9th-inning home run gave the Cats a walk-off win to open Big Ten play. Skyler Shellmyer was stellar in the leadoff spot throughout the game, hitting three RBI singles and notching four RBIs on the day; the walk-off solo shot was Cady’s second hit of the day and the only home run for Northwestern in the game.
2. Hannah Gammill came alive at the plate on Friday, clubbing a pair of home runs and leading the Arkansas offense in a 6-2 win over Florida in Fayetteville. An All-American in 2022, Gammill had hit just one home run this season before Friday, but drove a pair of longballs right down the left field line. First off Elizabeth Hightower, then off Rylee Trlicek, it was just the second multi-home run game of Gammill’s career and helped vault the Hog offense in the matchup.
3. In a matchup of highly-touted ACC foes in Durham, Florida State took a 4-1 win over Duke. Kathryn Sandercock allowed just one hit in five innings of work, while Makenna Reid gave up a run on two hits in a relief appearance. An early Michaela Edenfield 2-run home run proved the difference in the game, though the Noles also added RBI singles by Mack Leonard and Katie Dack for late insurance. Duke didn’t score until the sixth inning.
4. Baylor started hot, with a five-run second inning boosting the Bears to a 5-0 early lead over Oklahoma State. The Cowgirls came storming back, though, and ultimately earned a walk-off win in the 11th inning. The game was not televised and included some controversy in the fourth inning when an RBI double by Baylor was overturned after a player apparently failed to touch a base en route to scoring. Details of the incident, for those not present, were hazy at best, but OSU finished off the affair thanks to a Megan Bloodworth walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th.
5. Tennessee dominated Alabama in the series opener between the two clubs, with Ashley Rogers handling the Bama offense while the Lady Vols tacked five runs onto Montana Fouts’ season’s ERA. The Lady Vols got a pair of home runs, from Lair Beautae and McKenna Gibson, and controlled the game from start to finish. Fouts threw a complete game, allowing seven hits and five earned runs with a walk and six strikeouts to her credit. Rogers, for her part, allowed three hits and one run and also posted a walk and six strikeouts.
6. Alexis Laudenslager threw her second no-hitter in as many weeks, dominating the Brown offense in a 1-0 win over the Ivy League foe. She collected ten strikeouts in the game, her ninth career double-digit strikeout showing. The fourth no-hitter of her Tiger career saw her give up five free passes, including four walks and a hit batter, but never allow a hit or a run to score. She is now tied for the Princeton program record for most career solo no-hitters.
7. Tight early in the game, Stanford’s offense came alive in the later innings against Oregon State, scoring seven unanswered runs and clinching a run-rule-shortened 9-1 victory. Alana Vawter was stellar in the circle, allowing one run on six hits with a pair of strikeouts, and also contributed with the bat, hitting a home run while earning two walks and contributing three RBIs. After OSU scored a run in the third inning on a solo home run, the Cardinal responded with five runs in the bottom of that frame, then added two more in the fourth to move the game into run-rule territory.
8. Virginia Tech’s offense was flat for much of their game against Chattanooga, but the Hokies rode a program-record FIFTEEN walks to a 12-7 win over the visiting Mocs. The first game of a three-game series, the Hokies were actually out-hit in the affair, giving up 12 base knocks while only collecting 7 of their own in an odd palindrome of a box score. Eight of the Hokies’ offensive starters earned at least one walk in the game, with catcher Kylie Aldridge picking up a quartet of free passes all on her own. A trio of bases-loaded walks contributed to a 7-run fourth inning for the Hokies.
9. It didn’t happen until the 7th inning, but South Alabama finally managed to get ahead of Jessica Mullins and the Jags were rewarded with a victory over Texas State and their ace hurler. Victoria Ortiz hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 7th inning to vault the visiting Jags to a 2-1 victory over the Bobcats. Mullins had thrown six no-hit innings before taking the hard-luck loss in the seventh, while the clutch longball backed up a stellar performance in the circle by Olivia Lackie that included allowing six hits and one run with five strikeouts.
10. You don’t see triple plays too often, but here’s one from Central Arkansas’ win over North Alabama on Friday.
How about this triple play from @UCASoftball 🤯#NCAASoftball x 🎥 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/EDXRKKuQL3
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) March 25, 2023
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