It was a great week of softball from coast to coast, with big offensive showings; record-setting performances; stellar pitching; and winning streaks that continued. Here are our picks for the happenings and performances that you don’t want to miss from week nine of the regular season.
South Carolina Gamecocks
After finishing on the losing end of a lopsided 9-1 result in the series opener, the Gamecocks rebounded with a 5-1 win on national television Saturday night before finishing off the series win with a 2-0 shutout win in the series finale. It was the first series win in SEC play for the Gamecocks in 2019, coming on a weekend when the program also retired the jersey of all-time great Trinity Johnson. The Gamecocks hit three home runs on the weekend, including a two-run shot by Jana Johns in game three that provided the only scoring for either team. In addition to the on-field result, the Gamecocks packed out their stadium, bringing in more than 5,700 fans on the weekend and averaging 1,923 fans per game in the three-game set.
Leanna Johnson, Troy
The Troy freshman recorded the first no-hitter of her career in the series finale against Georgia State, coming just a walk and hit-by-pitch shy of a perfect game. Johnson not only kept the Panthers out of the hits column, she recorded nine strikeouts and faced just two batters above the minimum. In an interesting note, Johnson’s no-hitter was the first for a Trojans pitcher since 2014, when current Troy pitching coach Jaycee Affeldt threw one against Tennessee State. The victory pushed the Trojans’ winning streak to eleven games overall, including nine straight in Sun Belt play.
Sacramento State Hornets
After a decisive 9-1 win in the series opener, a game that saw a 2-hit, 11-strikeout performance from ace pitcher Savanna Corr, the Hornets played a sort-of doubleheader on Saturday, continuing a game that had been halted due to darkness the day before and playing a full second game, with both ending in nearly identical 10th-inning walk-off finishes. The previously-postponed game had been halted with a tie in the 9th inning, and the Hornets broke out in the 10th with a double and single that were followed by a 3-run walk-off home run by senior Sydnee Strong. In the regularly-scheduled full game, the teams again took a tie into the 10th inning when another senior, Krystal Aubert, cranked a two-run home run to give the Hornets their second walk-off home run of the day.
Tannon Snow, Auburn
Traveling to Knoxville to take on Tennessee on their home turf, Auburn earned a decisive 10-5 win in the series opener, later taking the series with a 3-0 shutout win in game two against the Lady Vols. The Tigers were buoyed in each of their wins by junior infielder Tannon Snow, who went a perfect 4-4 in game one, including a pair of home runs, a triple, and seven RBIs. In the series’ middle game, Snow hit her third home run of the weekend and recorded her eighth RBI, getting the Tigers’ scoring started and providing what proved to be the game-deciding run.
Arizona Wildcats
In a conference series against Utah over the weekend, the Wildcats offense performed to levels even impressive by their own standards, setting a program record with forty-eight runs scored in the series. The mark was the first-ever in a PAC-12 series for the Wildcats, and included a 22-run onslaught in the series’ middle game. The Cats hit nine home runs on the weekend, including a pair of longballs from Jessie Harper and Dejah Mulipola, while a home run by junior Malia Martinez gave Arizona the distinction of being the only team in the nation with four players in double-digits in home runs this season.
Bailey Allender, Seton Hall
A sophomore infielder, Allender played a hearty role in her team’s doubleheader sweep over conference foe Butler on Saturday, posting a trio of home runs and helping her team to a pair of victories on the day. In the opening game of the day, Allendar contributed to a 12-run offensive onslaught, going 2-3 with a pair of home runs and three RBIs. Following that performance, it was Allender’s solo home run to lead off the bottom of the 8th inning that gave the Pirates the doubleheader sweep.
UC Davis Aggies
Victory in the series opener against UC Santa Barbara set a new record for the Aggies program at the Division I level, marking the 28th win on the season for Erin Thorpe’s club. The 3-0 final score in the opener also set a program record for shutouts in a single season, as the 13th time the program’s pitching staff have held an opponent scoreless. The eventual series win for the Aggies put the team at 29-7 on the year and was marked by another program single-season record, as senior Meghan Bradbury also broke the single-season home run mark during the program’s time as a D1 team.
Courtney Coppersmith, UMBC
As her team traded shutouts with the Maine Black Bears in a matchup of two teams who should be in the thick of the conference championship race, Coppersmith’s left arm was a major catalyst for the Retrievers’ recording the series win. An 11-strikeout performance in relief in the series’ middle game was bookended by a pair of complete-game victories for the freshman, who threw a no-hitter to open the series and struck out thirty batters in the two wins. Including a midweek doubleheader against Norfolk State, Coppersmith recorded fifty-one strikeouts and allowed just six hits in 25.1 innings of work. At the plate, the young breakout star went 9-17 on the week, recording a grand slam against Norfolk State and finishing the week with six RBI and four runs scored.
North Dakota State Bison
Posting a perfect 4-0 record on the weekend, the Bison swept through their tournament slate in Seattle, twice besting hosts Seattle U along the way. The Bison outscored their opponents 28-10 and ran their winning streak to eighteen games, a run that dates back to March 10th. The Bison hit seven home runs on the weekend, including a pair of longballs each from Cara Beatty and Montana DeCamp. During their winning streak, the Bison have outscored their opponents 113-36; the team’s pitching staff has recorded six shutouts during that time and has held the opposing team to a single run in an additional five games, including three times this weekend.
Ali Dubois, Boston
Dubois didn’t allow an earned run in a weekend series against Lehigh, helping her team to the series win over the conference foe, and adding to her streak of consecutive innings without allowing an earned run; that number now sits at 29.1, dating back to a midweek game in late March. Pitching in each of her team’s four games this week and starting three, including a midweek against Boston College, Dubois allowed just nine hits in 21.2 innings on the week, recording seventeen strikeouts.
Bowling Green Falcons
Traveling to face Ball State, the preseason favorites for the conference title, on their own home turf, the Falcons departed with a series win over the Cardinals, relying on big innings to post back-to-back wins to open the series, by scores of 4-1 and 5-4. A 4-run second inning in the series opener was all of the offense that the Falcons needed, as the pitching of Meredith Miller kept Ball State in check. In game two of the series, the Falcons again got a 4-run inning and withstood a comeback attempt by the Cardinals to record the series win. Even in a series finale that they ultimately dropped in an eighth-inning walk-off, BGSU outhit their opponents in the eventual one-run loss.
Sidney McKay (ULM), Emma Lee (Providence), and Damali Young (Morgan St.)
A trio of seniors that etched their name into their respective program’s record books, each of the three upperclassmen set a new record for career hits for their team. A pair of hits in a midweek game gave McKay the 249th of her career as a Warhawk, an all-time best for the Sun Belt team and a number that the star senior rounded off to 250 in her team’s weekend series. A single to lead off her team’s conference doubleheader gave Lee her record-setting 215th career hit, while a bunt single gave Young hit #172 of her career with the Bears.
