University of North Texas
32-24
Charlotte
37-16
Softball Falls to Charlotte in AAC Semifinal
5/10/2024 4:42:00 PM | Softball
WICHITA, Kan. – UNT softball's season ended in the American Athletic Conference Championship semifinal with a 3-0 loss to Charlotte on Friday at Wilkins Stadium.
"I thought Skylar [Savage] threw a really good game by holding [Charlotte] to three runs," head coach Rodney DeLong said. "If you would've told me that before the game, I would've liked our chances."
North Texas (32-23) capped its season in the conference tournament semifinals for the fifth consecutive season and tallied its third loss in such games. Charlotte (36-16) held the Mean Green scoreless on one hit, the second one-hit performance of the season.
Speaking about the senior class, DeLong expressed gratitude and appreciation for the 10-player group.
"They mean everything," DeLong added. "They set a standard of winning and created an expectation for the future [players] that come in. It is a group that I am going to miss very badly."
Senior Morgan Medford collected the lone base hit with a single past 49ers' starting pitcher Georgeanna Barefoot (W, 13-2) in the third inning. The hit marked the 220th of her collegiate career.
The biggest chance of the day came in the fourth inning. With a two-run deficit, senior Kailey Gamble collected her 38th walk of the year to mark a new single-season program record. Tatum Sparks and Kalei Christensen helped load the bases by reaching on a walk and an error, respectively.
Rylee Nicholson drove a fly ball to deep center field that was roughly one foot short of clearing the outfield wall for the final out of the inning.
Skylar Savage (L, 10-10) suffered her second career postseason loss after she allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk with three strikeouts. In eight career postseason appearances, Savage owns a 1.71 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 32 2/3 innings pitched.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: G. Barefoot (13-2)
L: Savage, Skylar (10-10)
S: S. Gress (3)
Batting:
2B: A. Rodi 1 ; C. Hoffler 1
HR: A.Washington 1
RBI: K. Garrett 1 ; A.Washington 1
SH: R. Blackwell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: S. Nguyen 1 ; A.Washington 1 ; T. Ritchie 1
CS: A. Knight 1
