University of North Texas
23-18, 12-6
Florida Atlantic
33-11, 13-5
Softball Takes AAC Series from RV Florida Atlantic
4/14/2024 4:39:00 PM | Softball
The Mean Green moved into three-way tie for second place in The American
DENTON, Texas – UNT softball defeated RV Florida Atlantic 4-1 on Sunday afternoon at Lovelace Stadium to clinch the series win over the first-place team in the American Athletic Conference.
"It was a stressful win," head coach Rodney DeLong said. "But, at the end of the day, we win a series against the team that is leading our conference, and it keeps us in the race. Ultimately, that is what we needed to do this weekend so I'm proud of their effort, proud of their fight and we got it done."
North Texas (23-18, 12-6) won its fifth-consecutive home conference series despite stranding 11 runners on base, nine of which were in scoring position. The Mean Green handed FAU (33-11, 13-5) its first conference series loss of the season, but the Owls still hold a one-game lead on second place which is currently a three-way tie between UNT, Charlotte and Tulsa.
UNT holds the tiebreaker over Tulsa after a sweep at Lovelace Stadium on March 24 and are set to meet Charlotte for a three-game road series to close the season beginning on May 3.
McKenzie Wagoner (W, 9-5) recorded her sixth complete game of the season with seven innings pitched and zero walks. She tallied one strikeout and allowed one earned run on six hits. The lone blemish was a solo home run in the seventh inning.
Morgan Medford set a new season-high mark of three hits and reached base in all four of her plate appearances. She drove in Molly Rainey in the fourth inning for the first run of the game. Medford was left stranded on base three times in the game, all three in scoring position.
"[This win] feels awesome," Medford said. "They are a really great team, and they are at the top of our conference. It just feels good to get this one."
The Mean Green broke the game open when Kailey Gamble launched a three-run home run in the sixth inning to score Medford and Cierra Simon. The home run was the 40th of her career and she also moved into sole possession of first place in UNT history with career walk No. 105 in the fifth inning.
Center fielder Rylee Nicholson tied her career high with five putouts including a pair of highlight reel catches for key outs in the first and fourth innings.
LEGEND!! @nicholson_rylee makes her claim for the #SCTop10 with this diving grab!#GMG 🟢🦅 x ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/z7rXgMM8rT
— North Texas Softball (@MeanGreenSB) April 14, 2024
Middle infielders Mikayla Smith and Cierra Simon finished 2-for-4 and currently lead the team with 11 and seven multi-hit games, respectively.
UP NEXT
The Mean Green hit the road for a Tuesday doubleheader at Texas A&M-Commerce beginning at 5 p.m. with game two scheduled for 7 p.m. from John Cain Family Softball Complex.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wagoner, McKenzie (9-5)
L: Martinez, Jaden (3-3)
Batting:
HR: Schlotterbeck, Trini 1
RBI: Schlotterbeck, Trini 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Schlotterbeck, Trini 1
HBP: Jackson, Kamryn 2
Batting:
2B: Smith, Mikayla 1 ; Nicholson, Rylee 1
HR: Gamble, Kailey 1
RBI: Medford, Morgan 1 ; Gamble, Kailey 3
SH: Moffitt, Elizabeth 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Medford, Morgan 1 ; Simon, Cierra 1 ; Gamble, Kailey 1 ; Rainey, Molly 1
SB: Medford, Morgan 1 ; Nicholson, Rylee 1
HBP: Sparks, Tatum 1 ; Nicholson, Rylee 1
