Wednesday, April 8, 2009
North Texas 6, Texas Tech 1
LUBBOCK, Texas – The North Texas softball team continued its winning ways against Texas Tech with a 6-1 victory on Wednesday afternoon at Rocky Johnson Field. The Mean Green has won the last three meetings against the Red Raiders, including two on the road.
The Mean Green improves to 21-18 overall, while the Red Raiders fall to 13-19. North Texas takes a 3-2 lead in the series against Texas Tech. NT also improves to 4-5 this season against Big XII teams.
The Mean Green took an early 3-0 lead, and Mariza Martinez sealed the win with a three-run homer in the fourth. Kayla Lawson picked up her sixth win of the season, pitching a complete game. She gave up one run off six hits. The junior has won three of her last four starts.
The Mean Green took a 3-0 lead in the second inning off two hits and a Red Raiders error. Caitlin Grimes brought home the first runner with a bases-loaded walk. She came in as a pinch hitter. Kadie Platt followed with an RBI single, scoring Jennifer Smith who reached base with a single. Megan Rupp knocked in the third run with a sacrifice fly. Rupp posted two hits in the game.
Texas Tech responded in the bottom of the second inning with a solo home run. With runners on first and second, North Texas ended the inning with a double play.
The Mean Green added three more runs in the fourth. Courtney Bradshaw led off the inning with a base hit. With two outs, Rupp singled. Martinez knocked everyone home with her team-leading seventh home run of the season.
The Mean Green outhit the Red Raiders, 8-6.
Mississippi State 5, South Alabama 2
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Errors proved costly as the University of South Alabama softball team (19-19-1) fell 5-2 to Mississippi State (18-20) Wednesday afternoon MSU Softball Field.
Carolina Mendoza started a two-out USA rally in the first with a single up the middle. Tara Donaldson followed by putting the Jags in an early 2-0 lead when she homered to right center to bring home Mendoza. Donaldson’s home run was her fourth of the season as she went 1-for-2 at
the plate with two RBI.
The Bulldogs closed the gap to 2-1 the bottom of the inning when Chelsea Bramlett came home unearned on a Ka’ili Smith hit.
Smith went 2-for-3, with one RBI and one run scored.
Mississippi State tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of fourth when Smith came in on a Jaguar error in the outfield. Four batters later Courtney Nesbit put the Bulldogs up 4-2 on a single to left field that brought home Jessie Bailey and Brittany Bell.
Beth Pilgrim came in for Katy Neal (8-4) to get the final out of the fourth, as Neal left the game after 3.2 innings of work. Nesbit scored in the next at-bat on a Jag error to get the final run of the game as the Bulldogs outlasted USA.
FIU 4, FAU 3
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Freshman Jennifer Gniadek got her eighth win of the season and hit her first career home run as the FIU softball team beat Florida Atlantic 4-3 in eight innings.
The Golden Panthers (21-22, 5-8 SBC) pounded out 10 hits, their ninth game reaching double digit hits. Freshman Jenny Welch was 2-for-3 with two doubles. Freshman Ashley McClain and senior Jessica Landau each went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Junior Lauren Spiers was 1-for-4 and drove in the winning run in the eighth inning.
McClain was the starting pitcher for FIU and gave up two runs over 2.2 innings pitched before Gniadek (8-9) entered the game and struck out six in 5.1 innings.
FIU scored first, starting with Welch’s lead-off double in the second inning. McClain drove her in with a double of her own to score the game’s first run, 1-0.
After a hit-by-pitch, a single and a sac bunt, the Owls had runners at second and third with one out in the bottom of the second inning. Christine Houghtaling hit a single to center field to tie the game 1-1.
In the bottom of the third inning, FAU’s lead-off hitter reached base for the third straight time and scored on Kerri Croney’s double down the left field line. That run gave the Owls a 2-1 lead and ended McClain’s start in the circle.
In the top of the fourth inning, senior Jessica Landau singled to drive home Lauren Spiers to tie the game 2-2. The Golden Panthers had the bases loaded and one out, but were unable to score the go-ahead run.
In the top of the sixth inning, in her 15th plate appearance of the season, Gniadek hit a line drive home run to give FIU a 3-2 lead.
Back came FAU in the bottom of the sixth inning as Becky Brandies tied the game with an RBI single.
Welch led off the top of the eighth inning with her second double of the game and scored on a single by Spiers to take the lead 4-3. Gniadek held FAU scoreless in the eighth to win and improve FIU’s road record to 8-5.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Louisiana-Lafayette 8, McNeese State 0
LAFAYETTE-Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns softball team pounded out eight hits en route to eight runs, as they blanked McNeese State in mercy-rule fashion, 8-0, in six innings on Tuesday night at Alfred and Helen Lamson Ragin’ Cajuns Softball Park.
Louisiana received a nearly perfect pitching effort from sophomore Donna Bourgeois. She tied a career-high with 14 strikeouts in the game. Bourgeois scattered three hits in six innings of work without allowing a walk. Her double-digit strikeout effort marked the ninth time this season she has fanned 10 or more batters in a game. During one stretch, Bourgeois retired eight batters in a row by strikeout.
Bourgeois was helped by an offense that scored eight runs on eight hits including a grand slam. Six different Cajuns collected hits on the night.
Melissa Verde finished the game 2-for-2 with two runs scored and four RBI. The junior belted her fourth home run of the season and her second grand slam of the year. She reached base all four times she stepped to the plate, drawing two walks including on intentional walk.
Vallie Gaspard also had a pair of hits in the game, scoring once.
Heidi Pizer entered the game to pinch hit in the bottom of the sixth inning and made her lone at bat count as she collected an RBI single that clinched the mercy rule.
Florida State 8, Troy 0
Florida State 1, Troy 0
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Troy was run-ruled in game one and dropped a heart breaker in game two as they fell twice to Florida State in softball action at Graf Field on Tuesday night.
FSU 8, Troy 0
The Seminoles took game one of the double-header, 8-0.
Allison Moore (8-4) started on the mound for the Trojans. Moore struck out seven batters and allowed seven hits and six runs.
The Seminoles got on the board in the second inning scoring two runs. FSU added two more in the third, one in the fourth, one in the fifth, and the final two came in the sixth inning. Michelle Snyder led the home team Noles with three RBI's.
The game ended by run-rule in the sixth inning. Felicia Hammer led the Trojans at the plate going two-for-two with a double and a single. Kala Moore was two-for-three, and Sarah Shields added a hit.
FSU 1, Troy 0
The Trojans (30-11) and Seminoles were locked into a pitcher’s duel in game two. Ashlyn Williams for the Trojans and Terese Gober of the Seminoles did their part to shut down both offenses, as they traded scoreless frames until the bottom of the ninth.
The eighth inning started with the agreed international tie-breaker rule in effect. The rule didn’t have much effect on this game until the bottom of the ninth inning. The Trojans couldn’t get a run across the plate in their half of the inning, and the Seminoles finished things up in the bottom portion.
FSU started the inning with Carly Wynn placed on the second for the tie-breaker rule. The first Seminole batter reached on an error. The second batter was intentionally walked, and the third batter, Ashley Stager pushed a sacrifice fly out to center field to score Wynn for the win.
Ashlyn Williams (22-7) tossed all nine innings, and allowed just two hits while striking out eight batters. The Trojans managed just three hits against Gober.
WKU 8, UAB 2
UAB 5, WKU 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The WKU softball team (18-12) returned to action on Tuesday night splitting a doubleheader with UAB. In game one, the Lady Toppers slammed UAB winning the contest 8-2 in seven innings before falling to UAB 5-2 in game two. In game one, WKU scored a run in every inning except the eighth to win their 19th game of the season.
In the first inning, the Lady Toppers took a 1-0 lead after junior Brooke Reed scored WKU’s first urn of the day after reaching base after a single to center field.
WKU extended their lead to two in the second inning scoring another run off two hits and one UAB error. This time it was senior Terri Ellingsworth who scored after reaching base following a walk, a Rebecca Horesky single and a Jamie Hennis single.
But, the Lady Toppers didn’t stop there adding another run in the third inning and three more runs in the fourth inning. Finally, WKU scored two more runs, one in the fifth inning and one in the seventh to secure the victory. UAB scored both of their runs in the fourth inning.
Senior Ryan Rogge picked up the win for the Lady Toppers after pitching seven innings and giving up just six hits and two runs while also striking out six.
In game two, WKU could only post two runs off eight total hits. Senior Jennifer Kempf took the loss and fell to 4-7 on the season.
Down 2-0 heading into the fourth inning, the Lady Toppers scored their first run of the game, a Ellingsworth homerun to left field, her fourth of the season. After giving up three more runs to UAB in the fifth inning, WKU tried to rally back in the top of the seventh posting one more run before ultimately falling in game two. In the inning, it was sophomore Elizabeth Ferrell who scored the run after pinch running for Horesky, who walked to start the inning. Ferrell scored following a Brittney Perry sacrifice hit, a passed ball and a sacrifice fly by junior Rachelle Boucher.
Courtesy: School Files
