This weekend's softball action among the nation's leading teams can only be described by one word: Comeback!
No. 1 Michigan rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh today to edge Iowa, 3-2, and salvage a split of the teams' series. The Hawkeyes won 4-2 on Saturday, holding the Wolverines scoreless for the final four innings. Adding these innings to the initial six today in which Michigan failed to score yields a streak of 10 consecutive scoreless frames for the Maize 'n Blue offense.
No. 2 Arizona State swept a three-game series from archrival University of Arizona in Tucson, with the most noteworthy win coming in Friday's Game 2. Trailing 9-1 after two innings, the Sun Devils scored 2 in the fourth, 1 in the fifth, and 3 in the sixth (with UA scoring 1 in its half of the fifth), sending ASU to its at-bats in the top of the seventh trailing 10-7. A six-run outburst, culminating in a grand-slam by Kaylyn Castillo, gave the Devils a 13-10 lead, which ended up being the final score (box score).
No. 3/4 Alabama, after winning Friday at No. 8/9 Florida on a 5-0 shutout, was on the wrong side of comebacks in the final two games of the series. On Saturday, the Tide led 5-3 as the Gators came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh, but Bama gave up a walk-off three-run homer to UF's Kelsey Bruder for a 6-5 Gator victory. Today, in a game that was scoreless through the regulation seven innings, Florida came up in the bottom of the eighth trailing 2-0, but scored 2 in the eighth to tie the game and 1 in the ninth to win, 3-2.
Finally, No. 6/5 Texas needed a little bit of a comeback to secure a two-game sweep over Texas Tech. Friday night's affair was a 15-2 run-rule-shortened romp for the Longhorns. On Saturday, however, the Red Raiders held a 5-1 lead after two, only to have the Horns score the final 8 runs of the game (a 1-run inning, two 2-run innings, and a 3-run frame) for a 9-5 victory.
No. 1 Michigan rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh today to edge Iowa, 3-2, and salvage a split of the teams' series. The Hawkeyes won 4-2 on Saturday, holding the Wolverines scoreless for the final four innings. Adding these innings to the initial six today in which Michigan failed to score yields a streak of 10 consecutive scoreless frames for the Maize 'n Blue offense.
No. 2 Arizona State swept a three-game series from archrival University of Arizona in Tucson, with the most noteworthy win coming in Friday's Game 2. Trailing 9-1 after two innings, the Sun Devils scored 2 in the fourth, 1 in the fifth, and 3 in the sixth (with UA scoring 1 in its half of the fifth), sending ASU to its at-bats in the top of the seventh trailing 10-7. A six-run outburst, culminating in a grand-slam by Kaylyn Castillo, gave the Devils a 13-10 lead, which ended up being the final score (box score).
No. 3/4 Alabama, after winning Friday at No. 8/9 Florida on a 5-0 shutout, was on the wrong side of comebacks in the final two games of the series. On Saturday, the Tide led 5-3 as the Gators came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh, but Bama gave up a walk-off three-run homer to UF's Kelsey Bruder for a 6-5 Gator victory. Today, in a game that was scoreless through the regulation seven innings, Florida came up in the bottom of the eighth trailing 2-0, but scored 2 in the eighth to tie the game and 1 in the ninth to win, 3-2.
Finally, No. 6/5 Texas needed a little bit of a comeback to secure a two-game sweep over Texas Tech. Friday night's affair was a 15-2 run-rule-shortened romp for the Longhorns. On Saturday, however, the Red Raiders held a 5-1 lead after two, only to have the Horns score the final 8 runs of the game (a 1-run inning, two 2-run innings, and a 3-run frame) for a 9-5 victory.