University of North Texas
Wichita State
Softball Claims Series Over Wichita State
4/26/2024 11:46:00 PM | Softball
DENTON, Texas – UNT softball collected a 4-3 ninth inning, walk-off win in game one and a 1-0 shutout in game two over American Athletic Conference rivals Wichita State at Lovelace Stadium on Friday.
Head coach Rodney DeLong praised his team's fight in the victories.
"When we needed hits the most and we needed to make plays, we made plays and got hits when we needed them," DeLong added. "Hats off to them for grinding through that and getting two wins."
The Mean Green (30-19, 17-6) moved into sole possession of first place in the conference, with a half of a game lead on both Florida Atlantic and Charlotte. Over the doubleheader, the Shockers (21-21, 12-11) collected 16 hits but stranded 19 base runners, including 14 in game two.
With the doubleheader sweep, DeLong clinched his fourth consecutive 30-win season and moved into first place with 82 home victories at UNT. Before his arrival in 2019, the Mean Green had posted one 30-plus win season with a 31-22 mark in 2014 under former head coach Tracey Kee.
In game one, North Texas fought back from a 3-2 sixth inning deficit with Kailey Gamble hitting a game-tying solo home run in the bottom of the seventh. The blast marked her eighth of the season and 43rd of her storied career.
The winning run came from Molly Rainey with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to mark her second walk-off shot of the season. She lifted a leadoff home run in the bottom of the eighth inning against Tulsa on March 22.
"I'm just really thankful that I got the opportunity," Rainey said. "I just really wanted to trust myself in that at bat and just went with it. It was awesome that it [happened] on senior night because that made it even better."
Starter McKenzie Wagoner (ND) spun 6 1/3 innings with one strikeout before Skylar Savage (W, 8-8) finished the final 2 2/3 innings of scoreless work for the victory.
In game two, Savage (W, 9-8) was called to start in the circle and the Shockers took advantage of its familiarity with the junior right-handed pitcher. Wichita State loaded the bases in the first three innings but were held scoreless by Savage and the Mean Green defense.
Opposing starter Chloe Barber (L, 6-5) was perfect through 4 2/3 innings with 12 strikeouts before senior Mikayla Smith stepped into the box with two outs in the fifth.
Smith sat on an off-speed pitch from Barber and drove it over the wall in right field to break the scoreless tie. The home run marked the 10th of the season for Smith and 25th of her career, now tied for 10th-most career home runs in UNT history.
Savage threw six scoreless innings with four strikeouts before Wagoner (SV, 2) closed the door with a perfect seventh inning. The Mean Green set a new program record with its 13th shutout of the season, topping the mark of 12 from the 2021 season.
North Texas honored 10 players in a senior ceremony after game two.
UP NEXT
UNT will meet Wichita State at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday for its home season finale at Lovelace Stadium on ESPN+. Fans can purchase tickets HERE.
