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NCAA Softball Regionals action began on Friday afternoon! Let’s examine what’s happened thus far.
Kentucky 3, Northwestern 2
Kentucky started the day with a 3-2 win over Northwestern. The Wildcats had to battle back against the other pair of Wildcats, who got on the board first thanks to a homer by Maeve Nelson. Rylea Smith drove both Renee Abernathy and Autumn Humes in to score, the latter coming through a catcher’s interference ruling. UK tacked another run after Kayla Kowalik reached on a fielder’s choice, which allowed Smith to trot in for the third run. Northwestern made a late charge, but their efforts were ultimately denied.
Florida 1, USF 0
Florida won a battle of wit with in-state foe USF. The Gators shut the Bulls out 1-0 in a game that was tight from end to end. The Gators walked off as winners in the seventh, scoring the game’s only run off a double from the bat of Hannah Adams. This was certainly one of the most contentious games of the day, as neither team was willing to flinch for a majority of the game. Ultimately, the Gators can celebrate this win in Gainesville before pivoting to Saturday’s action.
UCF 5, Auburn 4
Auburn fell in Tallahassee to UCF, putting them on the brink of elimination. Although Alyssa Rivera and Sydney Cox went a combined 5-for-7 at the plate, the rest of the team could only muster three hits up in the game. Shelby Lowe was stifled by UCF, as she let up five hits and four earned runs in the first inning, her only inning of work. Auburn will hope for better luck on Saturday, or their stint in the NCAA Softball Tournament will be a quick one.
Arkansas 8, Manhattan 0
Arkansas made very quick work of the Manhattan Jaspers on Friday. The Razorbacks defeated the visitors from The Big Apple 8-0 in a five-inning affair. The Hogs put up five runs in the final inning, beginning their first game of Regionals with a run-rule victory. Linnie Malkin starred with a two-hit day with a double, a walk, and drove in two of the Razorbacks’ eight runs. Hannah McEwen socked two doubles out of the leadoff spot, meanwhile, as she remains one of the biggest threats in the SEC with the bat in her hand. Elsewhere, Mary Haff struck out five batters and allowed just one walk in her five innings of work.
LSU 10, McNeese 2
Like Arkansas, LSU had no trouble in their first game of Regionals. The Tigers defeated McNeese 10-2 in six innings, run-ruling them too. Slugger Amanda Doyle crushed two homers on the afternoon, as did Shelbi Sunseri. They put up a six-spot in the sixth inning to finish them off, and advance into the next day of play with plenty of leverage on their end.
Tennessee 8, Eastern Kentucky 1
Tennessee nearly got a run-rule win, defeating EKU 8-1 on Friday. The Volunteers didn’t waste time, scoring in the first inning thanks to an Ally Shipman single. Amanda Ayala would score off that single, and she later starred with RBI singles in the fifth and the sixth innings. Ivy Davis got in on the fun too, as Davis clobbered a three-run home run in the sixth, too. Kaitlin Parsons and Madison Webber were also credited with RBI on the afternoon, as plenty got in on the action in the Volunteer victory.
Mississippi State 3, Boston U 1
Out in Stillwater, Mississippi State edged BU 3-1 in first-round action. After being faced with a 1-0 deficit, State struck back in the bottom of the second inning. Madisyn Kennedy laced a double into left-centerfield, which brought Jackie McKenna around to score. In the bottom of the fifth, Mia Davidson reached on a fielder’s choice, which brought Chloe Malau’ulu in to score the go-ahead run. Montana Davidson tacked on another run with her RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, scoring Christian Quinn. Annie Willis let up eight hits, but struck out six and kept Terrier runners off the board apart from the one run allowed.
Ole Miss 5, Villanova 1
Alabama 9, Alabama State 0
Wichita State 9, Texas A&M 7
Mizzou 8, UIC 0
Saturday Results
Alabama 6, Clemson 0
Georgia 1, Duke 0
Notre Dame 12, Kentucky 3
James Madison 3, Tennessee 1
Oklahoma State 9, Mississippi State 3
Florida 10, South Alabama 0
Arkansas 4, South Dakota State 0
Missouri 4, Northern Iowa 0
LSU 10, Louisiana 3
Kennesaw State 1, Auburn 0
Arizona 12, Ole Miss 6
Kentucky 7, Northwestern 2
Liberty 6, Tennessee 4
Texas A&M 10, Morgan State 3
Mississippi State 12, Campbell 0
Wichita State 9, Texas A&M 6
Ole Miss 6, Villanova 2
Sunday Results
Georgia 10, Duke 9
Florida 8, USF 0
Kentucky 7, Notre Dame 0
Louisiana 2, LSU 0
Alabama 5, Clemson 0
Oklahoma State 10, Mississippi State 2
Mizzou 5, Iowa State 0
Kentucky 4, Notre Dame 0
Arkansas 7, Stanford 3
LSU 8, Louisiana 5
Arizona 12, Ole Miss 6
Seven teams from the SEC have made their way into the Super Regionals. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, and Mizzou find themselves in the mix with the WCWS steadfast approaching. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Mizzou all went through Regionals without a blemish. Kentucky and LSU had to fight back, and were savvy enough to do it and to tumble into the Supers. We will be in for quite a show when all this goes down this weekend.