Softball Defeats Wichita State, Advances to AAC Semifinals

TAMPA, Fla. – UNT softball defeated Wichita State 8-4 in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship on Thursday at USF Softball Stadium. With the win, the No. 4-seeded Mean Green advanced to the conference semifinals against No. 1 Florida Atlantic.

"We really locked in the whole game from pitch one," head coach Rodney DeLong said. "[We got] off to a fast start, which was huge … So, I'm proud of them and proud of how they handled it and now we're on to the next one."

North Texas (35-20) built a six-run lead in the first inning as freshman Ausha Moore capped the frame with a three-run home run to left field. The Shockers (29-25-1) outhit the Mean Green 10-9 but stranded nine runners on base in the season-ending loss.

Senior Skylar Savage (W, 16-8) tossed five relief innings and captured the victory with three strikeouts. She now has 48 career wins which is tied for the third-best mark in UNT history with Kristina Fowler (2005-08).

Despite the Shockers cutting the lead to 6-4 in the fifth inning, the Mean Green added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth as Tatum Sparks ripped an RBI single to left field before Moore collected her career high fourth RBI on a sacrifice bunt.

Sparks matched her career-high mark of three hits for her 22nd multi-hit game of the season, tied for the third-most in UNT history.

Senior Cierra Simon broke the single-season program record with her 23rd stolen base of the year after she led off the game with a single. For the game, she reached base three times as she matched her career high with two walks along with the first-inning single.

UP NEXT

UNT meets RV Florida Atlantic in the American Athletic Conference Championship semifinals on Friday at noon CT on ESPNU. The Mean Green are the only team in The American to win a series over the Owls this season.

For more information about the 2025 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship, click HERE.

Calendar

Upcoming Events