No. 9 Nebraska 2, Sam Houston State 0
HOUSTON, Texas -- Emily Lockman tossed her second consecutive shutout to lead No. 9 Nebraska to a 2-0 victory against Sam Houston State on Saturday.
Lockman, a sophomore right-hander from Corona, Calif., picked up her third shutout overall in four starts this season. She stretched her scoreless streak to 19.1 innings while improving to 3-1 on the year. In a four-hit effort, Lockman allowed only four base runners, and the Bearkats got only one runner to third base in the game.
Offensively, freshman MJ Knighten went 2-for-3 and scored one of Nebraska's two runs. Sophomore Hailey Decker was 1-for-2 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. The Huskers (6-2), produced seven hits in the victory. Senior Taylor Edwards singled to extend her hitting streak to 11 games, dating back to the 2013 season.
No. 1 Tennessee 10, Illinois 0
TAMPA, Fla. -- Annie Aldrete's four-RBI seventh inning and Ellen Renfroe's 12 strikeouts helped Tennessee beat previously-undefeated Illinois 10-0 late Saturday night in the USF Tournament.
The Lady Vols (8-0) scored one in the first, one in the sixth and eight in the seventh en route to a win against Illinois (8-1). The game did not start until 10:40 p.m. ET and it finished at 1:05 a.m. ET. UT improved to 4-0 in its all-time series with Illinois.
Tennessee is 8-0 for just the sixth time in program history. UT's best starts to the season include opening 12-0 in 2013, 8-0 in 2008, 23-0 in 2007, 24-0 in 2006 and 16-0 in 2005.
Aldrete lead the team offensively going 3-for-3 with four RBIs and a home run, the first of her career. Haley Tobler went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Lexi Overstreet added a solo home run in the sixth that help bolster Tennessee's lead to 2-0 at the time. Megan Geer was 2-for-5 with one RBI and two runs. Hannah Akamine drove in two.
Renfroe (4-0) fanned 12 in seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits. Illinois' Shelese Arnold (3-1) allowed 13 hits and 10 runs over seven innings.
No. 2 Florida 19, Ohio State 2
No. 2 Florida 6, Cal State Northridge 0
LAS VEGAS -- The Gators earned two more wins at the Easton Desert Classic on Saturday, defeating Ohio State 19-2 (5 innings) and beating Cal State Northridge 6-0.
Florida (10-0) capitalized on its opportunities from the start against the Buckeyes as three first-inning hits combined with a walk to give the Gators an early 2-0 lead. The Orange and Blue erupted in the second for 15 runs on nine hits, and benefited from two Buckeye errors in the frame.
Against Cal State Northridge, the Gators were held scoreless for two innings before Stewart tripled in the third to score McLean, who had reached on an error. Merritt brought Stewart home on a sacrifice fly to put Florida ahead 2-0.
Haeger and Taylor Schwarz added solo home runs in the fifth and sixth innings, and Tofft drove in two runs with a double in the 7th. The six-run cushion was more than enough for senior Hannah Rogers (4-0), who pitched a four-hit shutout with one walk and three strikeouts to earn her 101st career victory and run Florida’s season-opening win streak to 10 games.
No. 3 Washington 17, SIU-Edwardsville 0
No. 3 Washington 8, Michigan State 0
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Bryana Walker allowed just two hits in 9.0 dominant innings in two games, as she led the Huskies to two wins Saturday night at the Littlewood Classic.
The Huskies defeated the SIU-Edwardsville 17-0 in game one and downed Michigan State 8-0 in the nightcap. Both games went five innings, as the Huskies (9-0) won their fourth and fifth consecutive run-rule shortened games.
The Huskies connected for three home runs in the 1st inning against SIUE, and sent 18 batters to the plate in the inning to jump out to a 12-0 lead before the Cougars (1-7) even had a chance to bat. Washington’s lead was never threatened as Walker tossed 5.0 shutout innings of one-hit ball while striking out seven.
After Walker (5-0) shutout the Cougars, she got the ball again about 30 minutes later, as the Huskies played the second game of a doubleheader against Michigan State. Walker picked up the win in each game, as she held the Spartans (2-4) to one hit over 4.0 innings.
No. 4 Alabama 9, New Mexico 1
No. 24 Arizona 3, No. 4 Alabama 0
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Alabama softball split its two contests on day two of the Hillenbrand Invitational, defeating New Mexico 9-1 in the opener before suffering its first loss of the season to No. 24 Arizona 3-0.
Alabama (8-1) made quick work of New Mexico (1-7) in Saturday's opener, earning its fifth run-rule win of the season with a five-inning victory against the Lobos. No. 24 Arizona (7-0) gave the Tide all it could handle, with a combination of good pitching and timely hitting ultimately serving Alabama its first loss of the season. Kaila Hunt and Danielle Richard led the Tide at the plate Saturday, each earning a pair of hits between the two games. Kallie Case led the team with three RBI, making the most of her only hit of the day by launching a three-run homer, the first long-ball of her career.
No. 5 Arizona State 4, Illinois State 2
No. 5 Arizona State 7, San Jose State 4
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Good teams still find a way to win, even when they don’t have their best stuff going and No. 5 Arizona State exemplified that on Saturday afternoon as the squad wrapped up the Littlewood Classic.
The Sun Devils rallied from behind to beat Illinois State 4-2 before capping the doubleheader with a 7-4 victory against San Jose State in a contest where the team had to hold off a vicious Spartan rally. With the effort, ASU finished the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record along with the non-tournament victory against Tennessee State on Thursday to compile a 5-0 record over three days.
Bethany Kemp was the star of the weekend on offense, finishing the five games in the last three days with five hits, five runs and four home runs for a wicked 1.417 slugging percentage while accounting for 17 total bases.
In two appearances, pitcher Dallas Escobedo allowed just two hits and two runs while striking out 23 batters in two complete games. Escobedo thwarted the defending NCAA champions in No. 11 Oklahoma in a one-hit performance that saw the Sun Devils post a 7-0 victory.
No. 6 Michigan 7, Central Arkansas 0
No. 6 Michigan 15, Louisiana-Lafayette 1
LAFAYETTE, La. -- Michigan earned a pair of commanding victories against Central Arkansas (7-0) and Louisiana-Lafayette (15-1) on Saturday at the Ragin' Cajun Invitational played at Lamson Park. The Wolverines pounded out 22 hits and scored 22 runs in the two games while allowing just six hits and one run by the opposition.
Against 20th-ranked Louisiana-Lafeyette, U-M scored 14 runs in the first three innings en route to a five-inning mercy ruling. The Wolverines had 13 hits in the contest after falling just short in their comeback bid last night against the Ragin' Cajuns.
Against Central Arkansas, Michigan jumped out to an early 4-0 lead as sophomore leftfielder Sierra Lawrence hit a first-inning grand slam for the second consecutive day. Senior centerfielder Lyndsay Doyle reached on an error to start the game and stole second base. She advanced to third on a bunt single by senior right fielder Nicole Sappingfield. Sophomore shortstop Sierra Romero walked to load the bases with no outs. After senior first baseman Caitlin Blanchard fouled out to third base, Lawrence homered to left field.
No. 7 Kentucky 2, IPFW 1
No. 7 Kentucky 6, Louisiana Tech 3
AUSTIN, Texas -- Senior Emily Jolly and junior Griffin Joiner each blasted solo home runs, while freshmen pitchers Meagan Prince and Shannon Smith combined to throw six strong innings with sophomore pitcher Kelsey Nunley throwing a scoreless seventh inning for the save, Kentucky took down IPFW 2-1 on Saturday in the Texas Classic at McCombs Field.
Seniors Emily Jolly and Krystal Smith posted multiple-RBI games, while junior Griffin Joiner blasted her sixth home run of the season as Kentucky advanced to the championship of the 2014 Texas Classic with a 6-3 win against Louisiana Tech on Saturday night at Red and Charline McCombs Field in Austin, Texas.
The win advances Kentucky (9-0) to the championship game of the Texas Classic, where it will face Texas on Sunday.
No. 8 Texas A&M 11, McNeese State 3
No. 8 Texas A&M 5, Oregon State 4
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The eighth-ranked Aggies (9-1) avenged a Friday loss to McNeese State (4-5) with an 11-3 run-rule victory before taking a 5-4 walk-off win against Oregon State (3-7), Saturday in the Aggie Classic.
The Cowgirls handed the Aggies their first loss of the season on Friday, but Texas A&M responded with a resounding five-inning run-rule victory Saturday. Seniors Cassie Tysarczyk and Amber Garza each had three RBI and a home run on the game, and sophomore Cali Lanphear joined in with her first home run of the season.
No. 10 Oregon 9, Ohio State 0
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Cheridan Hawkins posted the third no-hitter of her career and the 22nd in program history as No. 10 Oregon run-ruled Ohio State 9-0 on Saturday afternoon at the Easton Desert Classic.
The Ducks (8-1) won their eighth consecutive game, outscoring opponents 62-17 in that span. Oregon has shut out three foes already this season.
Hawkins, who broke her own school record on Friday night with 18 strikeouts in a 3-1 win against UNLV, shined yet again for the Ducks in her young career.
