The Terrific Ten has you covered on all the best highlights from all the action across college softball on Thursday!
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1. A battle royale between the Sooners and the Flames
What will undoubtedly be one of the top pitching matchups of the entire season happened on Opening Day. Liberty’s Karlie Keeney and Oklahoma’s Nicole May combined for an absolute gem in the circle, a 1-0 ball game that went into extra innings. Both Keeney and May were effective in the circle, including getting out of jams left and right. What are normally two hard-hitting, frequent-scoring offenses combined to leave a total of __ runners on base. The winning run that made Keeney and Liberty the hard-luck losers came in the eighth inning; with a runner on second due to the international tiebreaker, the Sooners scored on a walk-off bunt and subsequent throwing error.
2. Charlotte piles on
Charlotte head coach Ashley Chastain has made a habit of besting her alma mater on the field, but until Thursday, she had not done so in the fashion that her Niners beat the Gamecocks on Thursday. In what was the season opener for both teams, Charlotte run-ruled their SEC foe, a 9-1 win that came on the back of three home runs and some excellent pitching. Twice-reigning conference Player of the Year Boo Vannoy did not waste time hitting her first home run of the season and South Carolina never scored after hitting a home run in the first inning. Georgeanna Barefoot was excellent in her debut as a Niner.
3. Coming through in the clutch seems like an understatement
Entering the 7th inning, UTSA led Sam Houston 6-4 on Thursday night. That seventh inning, though, was a busy one. The two teams combined for ten hits and eleven runs and the game ended with a 3-run walkoff home run from SHSU’s Kylie Hobbs. The Bearkats were down to their final out before a 2-run home run by a 2-run home by Tricia Yarotsky brought her squad within two. Three batters later, Hobbs’ 3-run shot gave the Bearkats the walk-off win.
4. A new star in the circle for Cal Baptist
It doesn’t get much better than Cal Baptist’s pitching on opening day of their own season. The Lancers played twice, both against Power Five opponents, and were among the biggest winners of the day, despite going 1-1 in the games. First, in a matchup against North Carolina, the Lancers fell by a slim margin in a 3-2 final score. In the second game of the day, freshman Presley Hosick made her collegiate debut and did so in impressive fashion. Hosick no-hit Big 10-opponent Wisconsin. Hosick allowed just five base runners, all of them free passes, but allowed no hits in a true dominance of the Badger offense. The youngster was excellent in the circle, throwing just 48 pitches and collecting five strikeouts. It was about as excellent a career debut as possible and set the bar high for the remainder of her career.
5. USF’s next act and Michigan’s Derkowski factor
Down in Tampa, the annual face-off of South Florida and Michigan took place on Thursday night. It was the single game for Michigan in the tournament, and it was another pitching duel as South Florida redshirt freshman Payton Dixon showed out in the circle and matched up well with Michigan budding ace Lauren Derkowski. Derkowski, for her part, collected nine strikeouts on the day and both pitchers fairly dominated opposing offenses. The game went to extras as a 1-1 tie, then a sacrifice bunt and a Derkowski wild pitch in the bottom of the 8th proved to be the difference in South Florida’s 2-1 win. Whether or not Dixon will be Georgina Corrick’s heir apparent in the circle remains to be seen, but she certainly showed flashes of that level of ability on Thursday night.
