No. 7 Michigan 7, Kent State 1
No. 7 Michigan 9, Pittsburgh 0
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Michigan outscored its opponents 16-1 Friday and received back-to-back games of stellar pitching to take convincing victories of 7-1 against Kent State and 9-0 against Pittsburgh at the FAU Invitational.
The Wolverines started the day with a pair of runs in the home half of the first against Kent State and kept piling them on in bunches all day. U-M took advantage of a Golden Flashes miscue in the field in the first and combined it with base hits from sophomores Sierra Romero and Sierra Lawrence to open the scoring. Lawrence would go on to tally three hits in four at-bats and drove in three runs.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Michigan did all of its offensive damage in the first two innings, including a seven-run second inning.
U-M put up a pair in the first inning on a double from senior Caitlin Blanchard and a Lawrence sacrifice fly.
The big blow of the game came off the bat of senior outfielder Nicole Sappingfield in the third, a three-run homer that extended Michigan's lead to 5-0. It is the second home run of Sappingfield's career and the first since March 28, 2012.
No. 3 Washington 3, Texas 2
Northwestern 4, No. 3 Washington 2
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- The Huskies earned one victory in two close games Friday at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Playing under clear blue skies with temperatures in the 80s, the Huskies (12-2) defeated Texas 3-2 in their first game before falling to Northwestern 4-2.
Kaitlin Inglesby made the start vs. the Longhorns (7-8), and earned the victory, tossing 7.0 innings while allowing two earned runs and striking out seven. For Inglesby (4-1), it was her 60th career complete-game and her fourth this season.
The Longhorns cut the Huskies lead to one, with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning. But Inglesby kept Texas from scoring the rest of the way to preserve the Huskies win.
Bryana Walker made the start in Game 2 against Northwestern and took the loss, as she gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits. Walker (7-1) struck out eight batters.
No. 4 Arizona State 12, Seton Hall 1
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Cheyenne Coyle hit a three-run home run - one of two long balls on the night - and Arizona State scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning, which was more than enough insurance for pitcher Alexis Cooper who pitched a one-hit complete game in 12-1 victory against Seton Hall on Friday.
The Sun Devils (13-0) had a season high four home runs in the game, three of which came in the fourth inning as the squad had their most potent offensive performance of the season. Seven Sun Devils logged a hit while nine reached base in the contest.
Cooper (1-0) retired the side in the first inning with only four pitches. She built off that momentum, going on to pitch a complete game five innings of one-hit ball, giving up one unearned run while striking out one.
No. 5 Kentucky 5, Penn State 0
No. 5 Kentucky 7, Florida Atlantic 1
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Sophomore infielder Nikki Sagermann hit a three-run homer and a two-run double in Game 2, while senior pitcher Lauren Cumbess and sophomore pitcher Kelsey Nunley combined to throw 14 innings on the day with only one run scored as the No. 5 Kentucky defeated Penn State 5-0 and Florida Atlantic 7-1 on Day 1 of the FAU Invitational.
Nunley was the star for Kentucky in its Game 1 win vs. Penn State, throwing seven scoreless innings, allowing only two hits with four strikeouts. She moved to 5-0 on the year with the win. Cumbess gave Nunley the support she needed at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored. Senior Emily Gaines went 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit single, while outfielders Sylver Samuel, Darington Richardson and Emily Jolly each posted singles.
In UK's Game 2 win against FAU, Cumbess delievered a strong performance in the circle, throwing seven innings, allowing one run on five hits with a season-high nine strikeouts. The nine strikeouts for Cumbess were just one off her career best. She went 1-for-3 in the game with a double and run scored, while Sagermann was the star at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a three-run home runs - her first of the season - and a two-run opposite field double. Sagermann's five RBI were just one off her career best for a game.
No. 6 Oregon 4, No. 23 LSU 1
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- Sixth-ranked Oregon extended its win streak to 10 on Friday night after the Ducks downed No. 23 LSU 4-1 in their opening game of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The Ducks’ top four batters went 7-for-12 at the plate while Cheridan Hawkins threw her fourth complete game in the win, giving up one run on six hits while fanning 12 batters. It is the third time she has recorded 10-plus strikeouts in a game this season.
Oregon improved to 10-1. LSU dropped to 10-5.
No. 8 UCLA 3, No. 13 Oklahoma 2
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- Freshman Delaney Spaulding extended her hitting streak to 10 games in dramatic fashion, recording a walk-off single with one out in the bottom of the seventh to send eighth-ranked UCLA to a 3-2 victory against No. 13 Oklahoma on Friday at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
The Bruins improved to 12-0, while the Sooners fell to 9-5.
Junior Ally Carda earned her sixth win of the season, striking out 10 for her third double-figure strikeout game of the year, allowing two unearned runs, five hits and two walks. She struck out at least one in every inning, with a pair in the first, third and fifth frames. Carda retired the last eight of the game, setting down the side in order in the sixth and seventh. At the plate, the Bruins had five different players record their five hits.
No. 9 Alabama 8, Virginia Tech 0
No. 9 Alabama 8, Central Florida 3
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama opened its weekend at the Easton Bama Bash with a pair of wins, defeating Virginia Tech 8-0 in five innings before earning a comeback 8-3 victory against Central Florida in the nightcap.
Alabama (10-2) was strong on both sides of the ball, hitting .415 as a team while allowing just three runs, two earned, in the circle. Kallie Case, Haylie McCleney and Danielle Richard each earned four hits on the day, with Richard hitting three doubles and McCleney hitting her first career grand slam. With hits in both games, Richard extends her career-best hitting streak to 10 games while McCleney has reached base safely in every game so far this season.
The Tide limited Virginia Tech (6-3) and Central Florida (8-2) to a combined .143 average with just six hits.
No. 10 Florida State 6, Charleston Southern 2
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State opened the Unconquered Classic with a 6-2 win against Charleston Southern on JoAnne Graf Field. The Seminoles extend their winning streak to 12 and have now won eight consecutive at home.
Florida State scored in the first inning for the ninth time this season as Tiffani Brown led off the game with a walk and stole second base. A throwing error by the catcher allowed her to score on the play.
Courtney Senas would then draw a walk, one of a career-high three walks on the evening, to set the table for Maddie O'Brien's sixth home run of the season that cleared the fence in centerfield. Her home run was the 24th of her career which ties her for fourth in FSU history with Tiffany Daniels (1986-89).
O'Brien would add RBIs in her next two at bats with a sac-fly to center in the second and a fielder's choice groundout in the fourth. Her four RBIs on the night would give her 25 for the season and 115 for her career which ties her with teammate Senas for eighth all-time.
