There were plenty of headlining-act performances across the nation in what was week five of the Division I season, including back-to-back no-hitters by Washington’s Gabbie Plain; a series sweep by Oklahoma State over Oregon; and a dominant series win by Tennessee in Gainesville. But in the midst of the hubbub, here are seven highlights and headlines that you might miss, but shouldn’t.
1. Sacramento State’s record-setters
It was quite the weekend for Hornet fans. A 3-2 weekend showing included quite the highlight despite the pair of losses. Junior star Suzy Brookshire hit a solo home run in a win over Pacific on Friday, marking the 36th longball of her career, which set a new Hornets program record. Brookshire hit the home run in the 360th at-bat of her career, averaging out to a clean average of a home run every ten at-bats. Not to be outdone by her offense, senior pitcher Savanna Corr threw a 7-inning perfect game against Fairleigh Dickinson, recording eight strikeouts and throwing just eighty-nine pitches en route to the first perfect game of her career and just the second such outing in the program’s Division I history.
2. Kentucky sweeps by South Carolina
South Carolina got off to a quietly stellar start this season, while Kentucky struggled early against fair and good competition alike. The storyline changed in Columbia this weekend, though, when the Gamecocks and Wildcats met to open their conference seasons. UK dominated on both sides of the ball, scoring twenty-one runs through the three games and allowing just three Gamecocks to cross the plate. Junior Alex Martens led the way, reaching base safely in each of the three games, and recording a triple, home run, and six RBI.
3. Wichita State also pulls out the brooms
An understated three-game series that saw the Huskers visit Wichita for a weekend set that included a Sunday doubleheader, Kristi Bredbenner’s Shockers squad swept by the Big Ten’s Cornhuskers, tacking twenty-three runs against the Huskers pitching staff and allowing just eight, five of them in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. A 6th-inning grand slam by Asea Webber put the Shockers ahead for good in that finale, while Erin McDonald earned two wins and a save, pitching in all three games and recording a 7-inning no-hitter in a game where she relieved Caitlin Bingham with nobody out in the first inning and kept the Huskers off the scoreboard.
4. Ohio stays red-hot
After an 8-0 run-rule loss to Marshall that ended the month of February, the Ohio Bobcats have gotten hot through the month of March, sitting at 8-2 this month. The Bobcats earned a victory over Mississippi State during last week’s tournament before going 4-1 this week. After beginning the week with a loss to BYU, the Bobcats swept through the remainder of the week’s action, taking four straight victories in dominant fashion and recording wins over Long Beach State and Liberty. The squad now sits at 15-8 on the year.
5. Kelsey Horton, record setter
Kelsey Horton’s career at New Mexico State has been illustrious, to say the least. A Hall of Fame honor is not a far-fetched idea in the least after the five-year waiting period has passed after her career’s end. Horton etched her name a little deeper into the program’s record book this weekend, setting a new career mark for total bases. Fittingly, she did so with a pair of home runs, giving her 452 career total bases, a mark that passed another program legend in Hoku Nohara. Horton sits second all-time in program history with sixty-two home runs following the pair of longballs.
6. More than just an arm, Miranda Elish can swing it
The power in Miranda Elish’s right arm is well-documented and yet still occasionally underrated, but as good as her pitching is, don’t look past the effectiveness of her presence at the plate. A career .284 hitter at Oregon (21-74), Elish has already almost matched her career totals in both hits and at-bats, starting her first year with the Longhorns 20-56, good enough for a .357 batting average. Starting in right field and at designated player in games that she didn’t pitch, Elish recorded two doubles, scored twice, and drove in a pair of runs during the Horns’ week of games. She showed an adeptness at the plate and on the basepaths, scoring on a pair of wild pitches to break a shutout in the 7th inning of an eventual loss to Minnesota.
7. Norfolk State gets no-hit… and wins?
Yes, you read that right. The Norfolk State Spartans recorded a win on Friday that saw the team post a W without having a single batter reach base via a base hit. Facing Albany, the Spartans took advantage of a pair of walks from the Great Danes starter and manufactured a run via a sacrifice and a groundout. That run was the only score of the game, and so Albany starter Skylar Swain gets the unique distinction of recording a no-hitter and a loss in the same box score.
