Friday, April 14
Denton, Texas
6 PM CT
University of North Texas
24-17, 0
3
vs
4
Charlotte
25-15, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Charlotte
0
0
0
3
1
0
0
4
6
1
North Texas
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
3
6
1
Softball Falls in Series Opener
4/14/2023 10:17:00 PM | Softball
DENTON – UNT softball dropped a 4-3 nailbiter to Charlotte on Friday night at Lovelace Stadium. Eight of the previous 10 meetings between the two programs have ended with a margin of three or fewer runs.
The Mean Green (24-17, 9-7) collected a pair of home runs from Mikayla Smith and Molly Rainey but fell in a tight Conference USA battle. North Texas forced the 49ers (25-15, 12-3) to strand 13 runners and limited its opponents to 0-for-5 with the bases loaded.
Smith hit her eighth home run of the season with a solo shot in the second inning to give UNT an early one-run lead.
Rainey led the team with two hits including a solo home run in the first pitch of the fifth inning. She scored two runs and secured a run-saving catch in right field to end a bases loaded threat in the top of the seventh inning.
McKenzie Wagoner (L, 9-5) started in the circle and made her third consecutive appearance at the top of the Mean Green batting order. She recorded 4 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and allowed three earned runs on five hits and five walks. Wagoner finished 1-for-4 at the plate with an RBI single off the second base bag in the third inning.
UP NEXT
North Texas plays the second game of the series against Charlotte on Saturday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+ at Lovelace Stadium. Fans can purchase tickets HERE.
The Mean Green (24-17, 9-7) collected a pair of home runs from Mikayla Smith and Molly Rainey but fell in a tight Conference USA battle. North Texas forced the 49ers (25-15, 12-3) to strand 13 runners and limited its opponents to 0-for-5 with the bases loaded.
Smith hit her eighth home run of the season with a solo shot in the second inning to give UNT an early one-run lead.
Rainey led the team with two hits including a solo home run in the first pitch of the fifth inning. She scored two runs and secured a run-saving catch in right field to end a bases loaded threat in the top of the seventh inning.
McKenzie Wagoner (L, 9-5) started in the circle and made her third consecutive appearance at the top of the Mean Green batting order. She recorded 4 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and allowed three earned runs on five hits and five walks. Wagoner finished 1-for-4 at the plate with an RBI single off the second base bag in the third inning.
UP NEXT
North Texas plays the second game of the series against Charlotte on Saturday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+ at Lovelace Stadium. Fans can purchase tickets HERE.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gress, Sam (15-7)
L: Wagoner, McKenzie (9-5)
Batting:
RBI: Washington, Ashleigh 1 ; Hoffler, Cori 1
SH: Devereaux, Anna 1 ; Wagner, Lexi 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Washington, Ashleigh 1 ; Chancey, Ella 1 ; Nguyen, Savanna 2
CS: Hoffler, Cori 1
HBP: Krupit, Kassidy 1 ; Nguyen, Savanna 1
Batting:
2B: Simon, Cierra 1
HR: Smith, Mikayla 1 ; Rainey, Molly 1
RBI: Wagoner, McKenzie 1 ; Smith, Mikayla 1 ; Rainey, Molly 1
SH: Nicholson, Rylee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Smith, Mikayla 1 ; Rainey, Molly 2
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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