Texas Tech had the weekend off for the seventh week of Big 12 softball. But that doesn’t mean the action stopped elsewhere. Two series were matchups of Top 25 teams. One other series may prove critical for tournament seeding. A seventh teams reached 30 overall wins for the season. But everything helped Texas Tech. The Red Raiders (42-4, 16-2 in Big 12) now have a four-game lead in the conference standings with two more league series remaining. Tech could clinch the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament as early as next weekend.
The race for the No. 2 seed between Arizona, Oklahoma State, Kansas and UCF got much tighter.
Here’s a wrap of Week 7 of Big 12 softball play.
Series Recaps
No. 16 Arizona (31-13, 12-6) at No. 21 Oklahoma State (30-12, 11-7)
Game 1: Oklahoma State 8, Arizona 7 (10 innings)
Game 2: Arizona 9, Oklahoma State 1
Game 3: Oklahoma State 7, Arizona 5
A series win over a Top 25 is one of those things that helps when it comes to NCAA Tournament time. The Cowgirls secured the series win in the finale as Audrey Schneidmiller’s two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning broke a tie and helped give Rudy Meylan her 20th win in the circle. OSU has now beaten three Top 25 teams in its last four games, including its mid-week Bedlam victory over No. 1 Oklahoma.
Arizona did a number on Oklahoma State in the second game, run-ruling the Cowgirls thanks to two doubles by Tayler Biehl and a double by Regan Shockey. Six different Arizona players drove in runs and Jalen Adams nailed down her 18th win in the circle as the game ended after five innings.
The series funneled most of the dramatics into Game 1. Tied at six after seven innings, each team scored a run in the eighth, was shut out in the ninth and OSU’s Tia Warsop gave the Cowgirls the walk-off win with an RBI single. The game lasted four hours and 40 minutes, in part due to weather delays.
Arizona’s Sydney Stewart, Emma Kavanaugh and Biehl, along with OSU’s Amanda Halser and Claire Timm, each had a home run in the game.
Oklahoma State pulled within a game of Arizona for second place.
No. 24 Kansas (30-15, 11-7) at No. 20 UCF 35-12-1 (12-8-1)
Game 1: UCF 6, Kansas 3
Game 2: UCF 9, Kansas 2
Game 3: Kansas 4, UCF 2
Kansas walked away feeling good about its win on Sunday, but UCF walked away with the series win.
The Jayhawks reached 30 wins for the first time since 2016 on Sunday, as Hailey Cripe’s three-run home run gave KU a 4-0 lead it didn’t give up. Lila Partridge claimed her fifth win of the season in the circle.
UCF chased down its own milestone in Saturday’s win, as it reached 35 overall wins for the first time as a member of the Big 12. It also assured the Knights would have a winning season in Big 12 action. UCF scored four runs in two different innings and Aubrey Evans hit her ninth home run of the season.
The Knights walked off Friday’s opener with Kendall Yarnell’s walk-off home run in the eighth inning. The Olathe, Kan., native set off a wild celebration at home plate.
Kansas is now a game back of Arizona for second place, while UCF is less than three games back because of the tie on its record.
No. 25 Arizona State (35-13, 8-10) at Houston (20-28, 3-18)
Game 1: Arizona State 5, Houston 2
Game 2: Arizona State 16, Houston 8
Game 3: Arizona State 10, Houston 0
Given where Houston is in the standings, Arizona State didn’t want to squander a chance at a sweep. ASU swept its first road conference series in a year by outscoring the Cougars, 31-10.
The Sun Devils pushed past 80 home runs for the season in the finale, thanks to a pair from Katie Chester and one each from Brooklyn Ulrich and Sydney Saenz.
In Game 2 of the series, Samantha Swan (5) and Katie Chester (5) combined to drive in 10 Sun Devil runs. Chester also hit a car.
Yes, that ball landed at a gas station. I think I’ve stopped at that Chevron before.
Arizona State had to rally in the opener to beat Houston, scoring three runs in the seventh with Emily Schepp’s groundout putting ASU ahead for good.
Houston did the bulk of its offensive damage in Game 2, with home runs from Maddie Hartley, Ariel Redmond and Makenna Mitchell. Even with the struggles this season, the Cougars are closing in on setting a new single-season home run record for the program, which is 73, set in 2008.
Iowa State (27-18, 7-11) at BYU (16-28, 6-12)
Game 1: Iowa State 14, BYU 10
Game 2: BYU 6, Iowa State 5
Game 3: Iowa State 9, BYU 6
Iowa State could have used a sweep, and the Cyclones were two runs away from getting one. But they’ll take a road series win, just their second series win overall in Big 12 action. Iowa State spread out the offense in Sunday’s finale, as McKenna Andrews was the only Cyclone to notch multiple hits, including a home run. The balance, along with 4.1 solid innings from ISU starter Ava Mullen, helped overcome three home runs by BYU’s Maddie Udall-Woolley, Rita Tavita and Hailey Shuler.
BYU won its only game of the series on a walk-off home run by Udall-Woolley, which was the first walk-off of her career and just her second home run of the season. It was part of a 3-for-4 game. That helped seal a win for BYU pitcher Giana Mares.
Game one was a slugfest as the two teams combined for 24 runs. They also combined for seven home runs. ISU got homers from Karlee Ford (who had two), Kadence Shepherd and Reagan Bartholomew. The Cyclones set their single-season home run record in the game. BYU’s Hailey Shuler hit two home runs while Bre Townsend hit one.
Utah (30-17-1, 6-11-1) at Baylor (26-20, 9-9)
Game 1: Baylor 9, Utah 1
Game 2: Utah 8, Baylor 2
Game 3: Baylor 3, Utah 2
Baylor walked off the win in the finale on Sunday, with the Bears rallying with two outs. Gianna Gusman singled and Brooklyn Carter struck out, but reached first base on an error. The Bears won the game after Utah misplayed a Sa’Mya Jones hit that allowed both runs to score.
The other two games were blowouts. Utah easily closed out Game 2 with home runs from Kennedy Proctor, Payton Crank and Mia Gomez. Baylor run-rule Utah in Game 1 with five different Bears driving in runs.
