BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Michigan freshman pitcher Megan Betsa tossed a 1-0 complete-game shutout against Florida Atlantic on Sunday, extending the scoreless innings streak thrown by U-M pitchers to 32. The Wolverines went 5-0 at the FAU Invitational held at FAU Softball Stadium.
The Maize and Blue has shut out its past four opponents, including back-to-back 1-0 wins versus Kent State on Saturday.
Betsa was stingy in the circle against the Owls, striking out 11. That marks the second double-digit strikeout tally for the righty in her five starts (13 versus Central Arkansas, Feb. 15). She opened the game by striking out the side in the first and the second and then closed the game with a pair of punchouts in the seventh.
Betsa scattered three singles, only one of which went into the outfield.
The two infield hits led to a FAU scoring opportunity in the bottom of the third. FAU's nine hitter Lindsey Shell on a hit, then moved to third on a sacrifice and another base hit. With two outs, she was pegged at the plate on a 1-5-2 putout to preserve the scorelees tie.
The Maize and Blue took an unconventional route to break the scoreless tie in the sixth. Following a two-out double into right center gap by sophomore Sierra Lawrence, sophomore Sierra Romero came off the bench for her first career pinch-hitting opportunity. The Owls intentionally walked the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year and then FAU pitcher Kylee Hanson hit pinch hitter senior Taylor Hasselbach on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases.
Junior Lauren Sweet then watched four pitches go by, taking a walk to force in the game's deciding run.
No. 1 Florida, Coastal Carolina (Rainout)
No. 1 Florida, Georgia Southern (Rainout)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Due to heavy rain, all four games that were scheduled to be played on Day 3 of the Florida Lipton Invitational have been canceled.
No. 2 Tennessee 3, No. 13 Stanford 1
No. 2 Tennessee 5, Fresno St. 4
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- Megan Geer's solo blast and RBIs from Annie Aldrete and Cheyanne Tarango gave Tennessee the edge versus Stanford on Sunday night in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
Tennessee (12-0) scored one run in the first and added two more in the fifth. Stanford (14-3) tied the game 1-1 in the fifth on an RBI single from Tylyn Wells.
Geer recorded her first home run of her career and went 1-for-4 at the plate. Melissa Davin and Rainey Gaffin both hit 1-for-2 and scored one run apiece. Annie Aldrete recorded an RBI, also finishing the day 1-for-2.
Ellen Renfroe (6-0) was exceptional in the circle, allowing three hits, one run and striking out seven Stanford batters.
Madi Schreyer (11-2) took the loss for Stanford, giving up three runs on five hits and a home run.
Against Fresno State, the Vols notched their fourth win of the tournament in come-from-behind fashion. Tennessee (13-0) and Fresno State (10-5) each scored one run in the first before the Bulldogs added two in the second and another in the third to take an early lead. UT surged back, adding one run each in the third, fourth and fifth innings to tie the game. With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Vols won the game when Hannah Akamine reached on an error at third base and Tarango scored from third base.
Madison Shipman led the way offensively for UT, going 2-for-2 with a pair of solo homers, three RBIs and two runs scored. Taylor Koenig added an RBI and hit 2-for-3 overall. Tarango, Tobler, and Burroughs each scored one run.
Tarango started the game in the circle, pitching 1.2 innings and allowing three runs on four hits. She was replaced by Erin Gabriel in the second, who pitched 1.2 innings and allowed one run on two hits before UT made another pitching change in the fourth, bringing Rainey Gaffin in to the circle. She got the Lady Vols out of a jam in the fourth and struck out one batter. Ellen Renfroe (7-0) pitched the final three innings, shutting down the Bulldogs.
No. 4 Arizona State 9, Drake 1
No. 4 Arizona State 13, Idaho State 1
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona State finished up its third home tournament in as many weeks with a doubleheader sweep against Drake and Idaho State to close out the 2014 Diamond Devil Invitational.
ASU didn’t need seven inning for either team, knocking off the Bulldogs in six with a 9-1 victory before putting up a season-high 13 runs against the Bengals in five-inning 13-1 win.
With the effort, the Sun Devils improved to 17-0 on the season after outscoring their opposition 56-7 during the course of the six games in four days while giving up just three earned runs in that process.
The dynamic duo of Dallas Escobedo and Mackenize Popescue again remained exceptional as Escobedo gave up zero earned runs in 14 innings pitched on the weekend -- striking out 26 in the process to just two walks. Popescue had an ERA of just 0.70 with two victories. Alexis Cooper also picked up her first two wins of the seasons as she allowed a team-low opponent batting average of .125 in her two appearances.
The Sun Devil bats came alive on the weekend as the team combined for 14 long balls in the six games played -- notable after the team entered the weekend with 15 home runs on the season.
Alix Johnson led the way with three home runs on the weekend -- including a grand slam in the final game -- while Jenn Soria, Cheyenne Coyle Chelsea Gonzales and Katee Aguirre each had two on the weekend.
Amber Freeman was phenomenal at the plate, finishing the weekend with 11 hits on 15 at bats for a whopping .733 batting average. Soria led the way with nine RBI for the Sun Devils.
No. 5 Kentucky 8, Penn State 1
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Senior pitcher Lauren Cumbess picked up her fourth win of the season and went 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs, while senior outfielder Emily Jolly belted her fourth home run of the season, leading Kentucky to a 8-1 victory against Penn State on Sunday in the final day of the FAU Invitational.
The FAU Invitational completes a 15-game road swing to start the year for Kentucky.
Cumbess was impressive in the circle and at the plate in the win. She threw seven strong innings for the Wildcats, allowing one unearned run on four hits with five strikeouts. Cumbess went 2-0 on the weekend to improve her record to 4-0 this season with a 1.80 ERA. Cumbess also performed well at the plate Sunday, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs. On the weekend, Cumbess hit .462 (6-for-13) with three doubles and five RBIs.
Seven other Wildcats recorded hits in the win with Jolly going 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and senior infielder Krystal Smith going 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Senior outfielder Ginny Carroll, junior catcher Griffin Joiner and sophomores Sylver Samuel, Christian Stokes and Nikki Sagermann each recorded hits in the game.
No. 6 Oregon 8, UC Davis 0
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- Oregon won its 14th consecutive game and swept through the Mary Nutter Classic with a six-inning win, 8-0 against UC Davis on Sunday afternoon.
The Ducks' 14-game win streak is the longest for UO under head coach Mike White.
Oregon (14-1) posted eight runs on 11 hits with no errors in six innings while the Aggies (4-13) tallied just three hits and also did not make an error.
UO starting pitcher Karissa Hovinga improved to 6-0 after giving up just three hits in the complete game. She struck out two batters and walked one.
Alyssa Gillespie, Janie Takeda and Nikki Udria each had two hits to pace the Ducks.
It was scoreless until the Ducks broke through on a sacrifice fly by Alexa Peterson, which scored Takeda.
No. 6 Oregon 2, No. 23 Notre Dame 0 (nine innings)
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- Oregon needed extra innings to beat Notre Dame 3-2 in nine innings in the thrilling rubber match Sunday morning at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The win gave the Ducks their 13 consecutive win of the season, tying last year’s 13-game win streak, also tying the longest win streak under head coach Mike White.
Cheridan Hawkins pitched her sixth complete game of the season, fanning 14 batters in nine innings of work, scattering three hits to record her fourth shutout of the year. It was her fourth shutout of the year.
With international tie-breaking rules in effect, Oregon had a runner on second to start the top of the ninth. Janie Takeda hit a bloop single over the shortstop’s head and then stole second to put runners on second and third for Courtney Ceo with no outs. Ceo scored Nikki Udria on a single to short and advanced to second after she caught the Irish defense sleeping. Alexa Peterson scored Takeda on a sac-fly deep into center field, advancing Ceo to third in the process.
No. 8 UCLA 13, New Mexico 0
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- Senior Alyssa Tiumalu had three singles with three runs batted in, while sophomore Brittany Moeai recorded a career-best four RBIs, as UCLAs completed a 5-0 weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic with a 13-0, five-inning win against New Mexico on Sunday.
The Bruins improve to 16-0 on the season, the team’s best start since the national championship campaign of 2004 (25-0).
UCLA had seven hits and was also patient at the plate with a dozen walks. Junior Ally Carda drove in two runs, while junior Tara Mueller tallied the first two RBIs of her career with a pair of bases-loaded walks.
In the circle, senior Jessica Hall improved to 5-0 on the year, striking out two and giving up just three hits and a walk. Hall, who has still not allowed an earned run this year in 27 innings, had 1-2-3 frames in the first and third.
No. 8 UCLA 6, No. 11 Nebraska 2
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- Senior Alyssa Tiumalu, junior Tara Mueller and sophomore Mysha Sataraka each had two-hit games, while junior Ally Carda struck out seven for her ninth victory of the season, as UCLA defeated Nebraska 6-2 on Sunday at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
The Bruins had 10 hits as a team, with seven different players recording at least one. Sataraka and Tiumalu each drove in a pair.
Carda struck out seven in six innings, allowing two runs (her first earned runs given up in 43.1 innings), four hits and one walk. She had 1-2-3 innings in the first, third, fifth and seventh, striking out three in the fourth and one in every other frame but the sixth. Sophomore Paige McDuffee finished up the victory with a 1-2-3 seventh inning, striking out one.
The Bruins scored without the benefit of a hit in the first inning. Carda was hit by the first pitch of the frame and moved to second on a sacrifice by freshman Delaney Spaulding. One out later, Sataraka grounded a ball to second, but Hailey Decker threw wide to first. Carda, with two outs, never stopped running after rounding third and scored to put the Bruins up 1-0.
UCLA added three in the fourth. Junior Stephany LaRosa singled up the middle and was pinch-run for by junior Jessica Amaral, who moved to second on a Sataraka single up the middle. A sacrifice bunt by sophomore Brittany Moeai advanced both runners, and one out later, Tiumalu tripled over the left fielder's head to score Amaral and Sataraka to make it 3-0. Junior Gracie Goulder followed with a single through the right side to drive in Tiumalu with the Bruins' fourth run.
McNeese State 5, No. 9 Alabama 3
TUSCALOOSA, Ala -- McNeese has a reputation of defeating nationally ranked teams and that was the case again Sunday as the Cowgirls defeated Alabama 5-3 in their final game of the Easton Bama Bash. The win is the third win against a nationally ranked team this season and the first against Alabama in program history.
McNeese jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Katie Roux led the inning off with a single to left center. Roux scored the first run of the game when she crossed the plate on a double to left center by Tori Yanitor for a 1-0 Cowgirl lead. A sacrifice bunt by Emily Vincent sent pinch-runner Brittany Calbert to third. Calbert gave McNeese a 2-0 lead after scoring on a pass ball.
Alabama cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run by Leona Lafaele.
A squeeze bunt by Yanitor in the fourth inning scored Modzelewski from third to give McNeese a 3-1 lead. After Yanitor stole second, McNeese took a 4-1 lead on a RBI single up the middle by Kim Kennedy.
The Tide scored a run in the bottom of the fifth on their second solo home run of the game, this one coming from Kaila Hunt.
McNeese extended its lead to 5-2 in the sixth on a double to right by Vincent, scoring Yanitor from second. Yanitor reached base on a single to right center then went to second on her second stolen base of the game.
Alabama added another run in the bottom of the seventh with a RBI double by Danielle Richard that scored Hunt.
With two outs and the tying run at the plate who happened to be All-American pitcher Jaclyn Traina, sophomore Jamie Allred struck out Traina for the second time in the game to end the game and handed the Tide their third loss of the season.
No. 10 Florida State, Wichita State (Rainout)
No. 10 Florida State, Northern Iowa (Rainout)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Unconquered Classic came to a close due to rain forecast to continue throughout the day on Sunday. The games against Wichita State and Northern Iowa will not be rescheduled.
