Top Performances From College Softball April 6

Nicole Newman

The senior righty threw her second perfect game in the past week and finished a combined no-hitter on a spectacular day for the Drake pitching staff in a doubleheader sweep of Valparaiso in Valparaiso, Ind. Newman retired all 19 batters she saw on the day. She struck out 12 of the 15 Crusaders she faced in the 10-0, five-inning opener. Sophomore righty Nicole Timmons allowed three walks but nothing else in her G2 start, giving way to Newman with two outs in the sixth in a scoreless tie. Newman got the final four outs with three more strikeouts and the Bulldog offense got the only run they needed in the top of the seventh for a 1-0 win.

Tannon Snow

The junior third baseman went 4-for-4 and drove in seven runs as No. 24 Auburn rallied from a three-run deficit to knock off No. 6 Tennessee 10-5 in Knoxville. Each of her final three hits went for extra bases, with her second homer of the game giving the Tigers the lead for good in the fifth, and then her first triple of the season padding the lead in the seventh. Snow's seven RBI easily broke her previous career-high of four and are the most by an Auburn player since Kasey Cooper had seven against Arkansas on April 17, 2016. The win broke a six-game losing streak in Knoxville for the Tigers, dating back to 2011.

South Carolina

The No. 17 Gamecocks celebrated the jersey retirement of Trinity Johnson in style, knocking off No. 4 Alabama 5-1 to even the series in Columbia, S.C. Senior Dixie Raley allowed five hits in a complete-game effort, holding the Crimson Tide off the scoreboard until Bailey Hemphill hit a solo homer in the sixth. Junior second baseman Mackenzie Boesel had a pair of hits including a two-run homer, while junior center fielder Lauren Stewart drove in a pair of runs with a double and a single.

Danielle Watson

The sophomore righty out-dueled Seminole ace Meghan King, throwing a one-hit shutout as Louisville split a twinbill with No. 3 Florida State in Louisville, Ky. She got all the run support she needed very early, as senior right fielder Megan Hensley took King deep for a two-run homer in the bottom of the first. A second-inning single from Zoe Casas was the only hit for FSU. It's the second one-hitter of Watson's career but the first one to last a full seven innings, as she gave up one hit in a 9-0 five-inning shutout at Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 8, 2019.

Baylee Allender

The sophomore first baseman nearly doubled her career home run total in one day, blasting three including a walk-off bomb as Seton Hall swept two games from Butler in South Orange, N.J. Her first career multi-homer game helped lead the Pirates to a 12-2 win in five innings in game one. She then broke a 1-1 tie in game two with her third long ball of the day, securing a 2-1 win in eight innings to clinch SHU's first-ever series win over the Bulldogs, who they have played yearly since BU joined the Big East in 2014.

Central Michigan

The Chippewas won twice to finish off a stunning sweep of defending MAC regular-season and tournament champ Ohio in Mount Pleasant, Mich. Freshman designated player Shannon Stein broke out of a slump with a 4-for-5 day, driving in five of CMU's seven runs in the 7-4 win in game one. Sophomore Samantha Howell and freshman Kaitlyn Bean held the conference's top offense to just four total earned runs as they each earned complete-game wins.

Virginia Tech

Junior Carrie Eberle and sophomore Keely Rochard cooled off the sizzling Blue Devils, each earning a complete-game shutout as No. 19 Virginia Tech won 3-0 and 6-0 to clinch a three-game set against Duke in Durham, N.C. Senior left fielder Emma Strouth had five hits to lead the Hokie offense, while sophomore center fielder Darby Trull added four hits and drove in three runs. Eberle (18 wins) and Rochard (14 wins) are the only pair of teammates in the country with at least 14 wins each so far in 2019.

Caitie Ladd

The sophomore shortstop finished a single short of the cycle as Michigan State rallied from an early four-run deficit for a wild 8-7 eight-inning win over Maryland in East Lansing, Mich. Ladd's final two hits each brought MSU back into a tie game: her two-run jack in the third tied it at 5, then a clutch RBI double evened the score at 7-7 in the sixth. That helped set the stage for right fielder Kelly Zackrison, who secured the win on her Senior Day with a walk-off sac fly in the eighth.

Arizona

Softballs and records were smashed as No. 5 Arizona pounded Utah 22-1 in five innings in Salt Lake City, Utah. Junior catcher Dejah Mulipola hit two of Arizona's five long balls, recording her fifth multi-homer game of the season. Junior shortstop Jessie Harper hit a grand slam in the second for her NCAA-leading 21st homer of the season. The 21-run margin of victory is the largest ever for the Wildcats on the road. Arizona has now hit 76 home runs this season; their pitchers have allowed a total of 71 runs.

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