Saturday, May 14
Denton, TX
12:00 PM
University of North Texas
35-14
9
vs
0
Western Kentucky University
38-13
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
WKU
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
North Texas
3
2
1
3
X
9
11
0
Softball Wins First CUSA Tournament
5/14/2022 3:34:00 PM | Softball
DENTON - North Texas softball run-ruled Western Kentucky 9-0 in five innings Saturday afternoon at Lovelace Stadium to win its first conference tournament championship in program history and earn its first bid to the NCAA Softball Championship.
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"This is the next step for sure," head coach Rodney Delong said. "Now that we got here, we can set our sights even higher. That's what I want to do. I want to continue to elevate them. I knew this place had this potential. We've had some success and I think we're just going to continue to have success."
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The Mean Green earned their third consecutive conference championship after securing the 2019 and 2021 regular season titles. The 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19.
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UNT (35-14) increased its program-record home run total to 69 with four more on Saturday.Â
Kailey Gamble's three-run blast in the fourth inning was the final blow for UNT as it increased its lead to 9-0. Molly Rainey, Lexi Cobb, and Saleen Donohoe each added home runs. Â
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Gamble added three more RBI to give her 52 on the season.  The program record is 53 by Susan Waters in 2006.
Rainey was named the tournament's MVP and to the all-tournament team after batting .667 (6-for-9) with five runs, two homers and eight RBI. Cobb and Ashley Peters were both also named to the all-tournament team.
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Peters (19-6) pitched a one-hit shutout gem and finished with three strikeouts. It was her seventh complete game of the season.
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North Texas finished the weekend outscoring their three opponents 26-4 to win the conference tournament title and advance to the NCAA Softball Championship. UNT will find out its regional destination during the selection show on Sunday, May 15 at 6 pm CT. The show will be televised on ESPN2.
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"This is the next step for sure," head coach Rodney Delong said. "Now that we got here, we can set our sights even higher. That's what I want to do. I want to continue to elevate them. I knew this place had this potential. We've had some success and I think we're just going to continue to have success."
Â
The Mean Green earned their third consecutive conference championship after securing the 2019 and 2021 regular season titles. The 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Â
UNT (35-14) increased its program-record home run total to 69 with four more on Saturday.Â
Kailey Gamble's three-run blast in the fourth inning was the final blow for UNT as it increased its lead to 9-0. Molly Rainey, Lexi Cobb, and Saleen Donohoe each added home runs. Â
Â
Gamble added three more RBI to give her 52 on the season.  The program record is 53 by Susan Waters in 2006.
Rainey was named the tournament's MVP and to the all-tournament team after batting .667 (6-for-9) with five runs, two homers and eight RBI. Cobb and Ashley Peters were both also named to the all-tournament team.
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Peters (19-6) pitched a one-hit shutout gem and finished with three strikeouts. It was her seventh complete game of the season.
Â
North Texas finished the weekend outscoring their three opponents 26-4 to win the conference tournament title and advance to the NCAA Softball Championship. UNT will find out its regional destination during the selection show on Sunday, May 15 at 6 pm CT. The show will be televised on ESPN2.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Peters, Ashley (19-6)
L: Shelby NUNN (23-7)
Base Running:
SB: Brylee HAGE 1
Batting:
2B: Cobb, Lexi 1 ; Christensen, Kalei 1
HR: Rainey, Molly 1 ; Evans, Tayla 1 ; Gamble, Kailey 1 ; Donohoe, Saleen 1
RBI: Rainey, Molly 3 ; Evans, Tayla 2 ; Gamble, Kailey 3 ; Donohoe, Saleen 1
SF: Evans, Tayla 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cobb, Lexi 3 ; Rainey, Molly 2 ; Evans, Tayla 1 ; Gamble, Kailey 1 ; Donohoe, Saleen 1 ; Simon, Cierra 1
SB: Smith, Mikayla 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
3
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
IF
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
LHP
/ SoftballOF
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