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TUESDAY
South Carolina 5, North Carolina 0: The Gamecocks won their rivalry battle with the Tar Heels, shutting UNC out 5-0. Mackenzie Boesel and Krystan White starred with a RBI apiece, but it was infielder Jana Johns who really showed out. Johns picked up three RBI after going 3-3 at the plate, including a two-RBI double in the sixth.
Dixie Raley moved to 3-0 on the season after shutting the Tar Heel bats down in her four innings of work. She allowed just two hits while striking out four with just one base on balls. Cayla Drotar shut the door with three additional shutout innings. Drotar allowed four hits but kept the runners at bay. She also struck out two while walking none.
Mississippi State 3, SE Louisiana 2 (8 inn.): Mississippi State earned another victory, but did so in extra innings. State won 3-2 over SE Louisiana on Tuesday night in eight innings, needing some dramatics to pick up the dub. Morgan Bell played the role of hero, as Bell’s single in the eighth inning led to the walk-off W for State.
State had jumped out two a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to the bat of Mia Davidson. Davidson’s 2-run double kept them in control up until the sixth. That was when Mahalia Gibson tagged Candace Denis with a 2-run double of her own to tie the game. Holly Ward, who earned the win, came in and helped shut the door as she allowed only two hits in the ensuing 2.2 innings she threw.
WEDNESDAY
Florida sweeps doubleheader vs. Oakland: The top-ranked Florida Gators swept the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in a two-game doubleheader on Wednesday. In the first game, the Gators defeated the Golden Grizzlies 6-2. They then followed that up with a 10-0 rout, needing only five innings to win the game.
As is so often the case, Kelly Barnhill dominated. Barnhill threw 15 strikeouts in the first part of the doubleheader, shutting down the Golden Grizzlies in the process. Katie Chronister and Natalie Lugo followed it up with five shutout innings, in which they combined to allow just two hits. They tossed seven combined strikeouts and issued just three walks.
Nicole DeWitt shined brightly in the doubleheader. DeWitt went a combined 3-5 with two runs scored and an RBI along with a walk. Jordan Matthews also performed well. The Florida rightfielder hit 3-6 at the plate, as she also drove in two runs, one in each game.
Auburn 6, Cal State Northridge 0: Before they began their stint in the Mary Nutter Classic, Auburn first had to go through Cal State Northridge. The Tigers did exactly that, winning 8-0 over the Matadors.
Courtney Shea excelled at the plate, as the senior catcher went 3-3 at the dish. She drove in a run, hit a double and also scored a run, too. Casey McCrackin provided a big blow, as she smacked her first home run of the season. So did freshman Jenna Olzewski, who blasted the first homer of her career. Alyssa Rivera was also terrific, as she hit a double and another base hit as well.
Kaylee Carlson, Makayla Martin, Chardonnay Harris, Ashlee Swindle and Kara Bilodeau saw action in the circle and all of them were able to shut down the Matador batters.
THURSDAY
Auburn splits doubleheader with Notre Dame and Wisconsin: The sixth-ranked Tigers went 1-1 on Thursday in the Mary Nutter Classic. Auburn started things off with a 6-2 win over 25th-ranked Notre Dame, but then slipped to unranked Wisconsin, 3-2.
Tennessee sweeps doubleheader with BYU and Bethune-Cookman: Tennessee manhandled BYU and Bethune-Cookman by the combined score of 20-1 on Thursday. The Volunteers were excellent in their first two games of the Mary Nutter Classic, showing off their highly potent offense in the process.
Missouri splits their doubleheader against BYU and Arizona: Mizzou, like Auburn, had a split in their first day of the Mary Nutter Classic. They began play against BYU, winning 8-6, but soon fell to 12th-ranked Arkansas, 9-4.
Mississippi State splits doubleheader with ASU, Nebraska: The Mississippi State Bulldogs, much like the rest of the conference on Thursday with the exception of LSU, began play in the Mary Nutter Classic. State fell 3-1 to 15th-ranked Arizona State, but then rebounded with a 9-0 victory in the final game of the day against Nebraska.
LSU sweeps their doubleheader vs. San Jose State, Pacific: LSU’s run through the Libby Matson Tournament (believe it or not, there ARE teams in the SEC not playing in the Mary Nutter Classic) started with a sweep against SJSU and Pacific. The Tigers won 4-0 against the Spartans and then followed it up with a 9-0 win over the other Tigers.
Texas A&M doubleheader against Notre Dame, Nebraska: The Aggies began THEIR run in the Mary Nutter Classic (as things are sounding repetitive here) with a split of their doubleheader against Notre Dame and Nebraska. A&M won 5-3 over the Irish, but then lost 6-2 to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.