Only two unbeaten teams remain after USC-Upstate lost their first game of the season over the weekend in Tucson, Arizona. Now just two PAC-12 teams, UCLA and Washington, sport goose eggs in the “L” column. The Bruins went 5-0 on the weekend, with four consecutive run-rule wins and tight 6-5 victory over Long Beach State. For their part, the Huskies posted a 4-0 record, with victories over UNLV, DePaul, and New Mexico State twice, including a ten-inning game on Saturday.
Florida, LSU, Texas A&M, and Tennessee all earned sweeps in their first SEC conference series’ of the year, over Kentucky; Auburn; Ole Miss; and Missouri, respectively. Arizona State swept a three-game set with Minnesota, giving up only one run to the Gophers during their visit to Tempe.
Now, let’s get to the headlines and highlights of the week…
NEWS
- Nebraska head coach Rhonda Revelle earned the 950th win of her career.
- Charleston-Southern head coach Shane Winkler earned the 250th win of his career.
- Texas A&M senior Tori Vidales set the Aggies’ career RBI record.
- Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy earned the 1,000th win as the Crimson Tide head coach.
- The Oregon softball team are participating in a fundraiser for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and childhood cancer research. If she raises $10,000 for the cause, senior catcher Gwen Svekis has pledged to shave her head.
- Youngstown State head coach Brian Campbell earned his 208th win with the Penguins, putting him in sole possession of first place on the program’s all-time wins list.
- Gardner-Webb’s Katie Prebble set the program’s single-season home run mark with her 13th of the year.
- Belmont’s Lexi Rouse set the NCAA record for most home runs in consecutive at-bats with five straight home runs in five straight at-bats.
- Florida State head coach Lonni Alameda earned the 600th win of her career.
- Western Kentucky head coach Amy Tudor earned the 350th win of her career.
- Saint Francis head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift earned the 200th win as the Red Flash head coach.
- Cal State Fullerton speedster Ari Williams set the program’s career stolen base record.
- Wichita State’s Paige Luellen set the Shockers’ career RBI record.
- Lehigh’s Nicole Yozzo set the program’s all-time record for stolen bases with the 72nd of her career.
- George Mason junior pitcher Marina Vitalich set the program’s career record for pitching strikeouts.
- D2: Former Central Washington star and coach Mallory Holtman has been selected for induction into the school’s Hall of Fame.
- Congratulations to the pitchers who recorded no-hitters and perfect games this weekend:
- Kaylin VanDomelen, North Dakota (vs. Santa Clara, 7.0 IP, 14 SO, PERFECT GAME)
- Alexa Romero, Syracuse (vs. Virginia Tech, 7.0 IP, 9 SO)
- Kelly Barnhill, Florida (vs. Kentucky, 7.0 IP, 13 SO)
- Alexis Osorio, Alabama (vs. Boston College, 7.0 IP, 11 SO)
- Molly Smith, Memphis (vs. Butler, 5.0 IP, 9 SO)
- Emily Oestreich, Illinois (vs. UMass-Lowell, 6.0 IP, 8 SO)
- Megan Kleist, Oregon (vs. Montana, 7.0 IP, 12 SO)
- Alexis Holloway, Notre Dame (vs. North Carolina State, 5.0 IP, 5 SO)
- Kelly Schmidt, ETSU (vs. Jackson State, 5.0 IP, 7 SO)
FACT CHECK
After a 21-strikeout performance by Alabama pitcher Alexis Osorio on Saturday, some outlets – including ESPN – quoted Osorio as being the second pitcher in NCAA history to record the feat in a seven-inning game. While the statistic would be correct if limited to only Division 1 history, the number is inaccurate as it pertains to the NCAA as a whole, including lower divisions.
Under those guidelines, Osorio was actually the fifth pitcher in NCAA history to record the feat, following Michele Granger (Cal, D1); Morgan Foley (UIndy, D2); Jennifer Martinez (St. Joseph’s, D3); and Lindsey Thayer (St. John Fisher, D3).
WORTH WATCHING
After her team enjoyed a walk-off win over Duke, North Carolina junior Destiny DeBerry had another surprise in store… as you’ll see in the video, she said “yes” to her now-fiancee, Connor.
Beat Duke ✅
Get engaged ✅Congratulations @DestinyDeBerry_ and Connor! 💍💕🎉 pic.twitter.com/WM1atd8I5E
— Carolina Softball (@UNCSoftball) March 10, 2018
WHO’S HOT, WHO’S NOT
HOT: Memphis
The Bluff City’s Tigers are riding a nine-game winning streak, with their last loss on February 25th in eleven innings against Louisiana-Lafayette in Cajunville. Freshmen Baylee Smith and Delaney Smith have made huge impacts on the Tigers, as Baylee’s .520 batting average and Delaney’s sixteen stolen bases both lead the team. Senior Kyler Trosclair Klatt owns seven triples on the year, a mark that leads the nation. In the pitching circle, Molly Smith holds a 0.93 ERA and is averaging better than a strikeout per inning. The team ERA is a miniscule 1.06, as the Tigers have allowed just twenty-one earned runs on the season.
NOT: Minnesota
The Golden Gophers traveled to Tempe, Arizona for a split three-game set against the Sun Devils of Arizona State; interspersed around a two-game interlude of the GCU Invitational, the Gophers lost all three matchups to the Devils and were outscored 19-1, losing via the run rule in the only game when they actually scored. Pitcher Amber Fiser has been impressive and sports a respectable 2.31 ERA on the year, but star sophomore catcher Kendyl Lindaman has been fairly quiet on the offensive side of the ball, batting just .290 on the year thus-far. The Gophers are now just four games above .500 and unranked, less than ten months after they assumed the #1 ranking last May.
PERFORMANCES OF THE WEEK
>>> Alexis Osorio, Alabama — The Crimson Tide’s senior hurler continued her record-breaking career by tying an NCAA all-divisions record with twenty-one strikeouts in a seven-inning game. Against only the fifth pitcher, at any NCAA level, to accomplish the feat, only one player in the Fordham lineup did not strike out against Osorio, while eight players struck out at least twice in the game. In a dominant performance, despite what the 7-2 final score might indicate, Osorio gave up just two hits and two walks in the game.
>>> Savannah McHellon, Fresno State — McHellon helped the Bulldogs go 4-1 on the weekend. She hit two walk-off home runs, both of which put an early end to run-rule victories for her ‘Dogs. Against Cleveland State, it was McHellon’s fifth-inning, three-run home run that gave the Bulldogs the victory. It was part of a 2-4, 4 RBI game for the senior. Later in the day, again as part of a 2-4 performance, McHellon’s two-run shot in the sixth inning ended the Bulldogs’ 8-0 victory over UC-Santa Barbara. In addition to her hitting prowess against UCSB, McHellon threw all six innings from the pitching circle, limiting the Gauchos to just one hit and no runs in the game. She struck out three batters and earned her first win of the season.
>>> Giselle Juarez, Arizona State — The Sun Devils pitching staff has been one of the team’s hallmarks on their hot start to the 2018 season, and Juarez was on fire over the weekend. In eighteen innings over three outings, Juarez pitched three shutouts, including two against defending Big Ten champions Minnesota. She recorded 28 strikeouts on the week and was named the PAC-12 pitcher of the week for her efforts.
