College Softball Weekly Recap: OU Survives Scare; Pac-12 And SEC Heat Up

College Softball Weekly Recap: OU Survives Scare; Pac-12 And SEC Heat Up

There was a ton of great conference action over the weekend in the SEC and Pac-12, but that wasn’t the only softball worth watching.

Apr 16, 2018 by Allie Martinez
On The Field With Oklahoma

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By Lincoln Shryack


There was a ton of great in-conference matchups over the weekend in the SEC and Pac-12, which is the standard this time of year, but that wasn’t the only softball worth watching. Here are the highlights from an action-packed slate.

Dartmouth smacks back-to-back-to-back-to-back homers

The Dartmouth quartet of Micah Schroder, Morgan Martinelli, Schae Nelson, and Taylor Ward tied NCAA softball history on Saturday in the opening game of their home doubleheader against Cornell by launching four consecutive homers in the bottom of the third inning. South Dakota State was the last team to accomplish the remarkable feat back in 2016.

Dartmouth went on to beat Cornell 8-4 in game one and finished the sweep with a 7-2 victory in game two.

Check out this home run derby:


#2 Oklahoma mounts massive comeback to beat Wichita State, keeps win streak alive

When the Sooners went down by six runs against Wichita State on Wednesday, it sure looked like the nation’s longest win streak was about to end at 25 games. Then the bottom of the sixth happened.

The OU bats—plus five timely walks—created the magic to keep the streak intact with a 7-6 win, but certainly, credit also goes to Mariah Lopez and Paige Lowary for quieting the Shockers bats that had put them in the early hole. Lopez and Lowary combined to pitch 4 1/3 innings of scoreless softball to pick up starter Paige Parker.

With a sweep over the weekend against Kansas in Norman, OK, the Sooners' streak now stands at 29 games.


Mizzou takes two from #8 Auburn

It was just their first SEC series win of the season, but the Mizzou Tigers made it a big one by winning twice against Auburn on Saturday in Columbia, Missouri. Sunday’s contest was canceled due to weather with no make-up game scheduled.

Missouri's 5-4 victory in game one on Saturday brought the fireworks, as the home team entered the final frame down 4-1. A Trenity Edwards three-run bomb tied things up before Cayla Kessinger came to bat with two outs and smashed the game-winner. Mizzou beat Auburn 5-1 in game two.


#6 Florida sweeps #11 South Carolina behind walk-off dinger

A walk-off three-run dinger by senior Nicole DeWitt on Saturday provided the exclamation point on Florida’s three-game sweep of SEC rival South Carolina (3-1, 7-0, 3-0) in Gainesville, Florida.

The Saturday doubleheader featured ace-level outings from both Aleshia Ocasio and Kelly Barnhill for the Gators, as the pair combined to strike out 18 Gamecocks batters while allowing only three hits over two games.


More SEC brooms—#10 Tennessee sweeps #14 LSU in dramatic fashion

Much in the same way Florida took down South Carolina in its series finale, Tennessee swept 14th-ranked LSU (4-2, 3-2, 6-4) by smashing a game-winning homer to end the three-game set. Haley Bearden’s two-run rocket in the bottom of the eighth on Saturday in Knoxville, TN, sent the Volunteers home happy. It was the junior Bearden’s first career home run.


#4 UCLA sweeps #12 Arizona in Tucson

You couldn’t ask for a better tuneup ahead of their much-anticipated series against top-ranked Washington this upcoming weekend, as the fourth-ranked Bruins took care of business by sweeping Arizona (7-6, 7-3, 10-3) in Tucson, Arizona.

Aside from a comeback victory on Friday, there wasn’t much drama for UCLA against the Wildcats. The Bruins dominated by smacking 30 combined hits in the three games, and, of course, their pitching and defense came to play as well:


Mercer upsets Georgia in Athens

The unranked Mercer Bears took down their fifth-ranked in-state rival on Saturday in Athens, Georgia, marking their first win over a ranked opponent in 2018. Despite committing four errors, Mercer scored three times in the top of the eighth—all with two outs—to topple the mighty Bulldogs 5-2. 

It was just Georgia’s third loss at home this season.