Wild Late Night Game Goes Washington's Way

Saturday, February 15

Clearwater, FL

5:00 PM

University of Washington

9-1

South Carolina

5-3

South Carolina

Washington

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

February 15, 2020 | Softball

Box Score Box Score

CLEARWATER, Fla. – A wild late-night game saw the #1 Washington Huskies rally late again and win 5-4 over the South Carolina Gamecocks. After a 20-minute delay when the stadium lights shut off, Washington scored three unanswered runs and retired all six South Carolina batters to rally from a 4-2 deficit.

It was a committee approach in the circle by Washington that baffled the opposition. Kelley Lynch, Brooke Nelson, and Pat Moore all pitched multiple innings: that trio combined for 11 strikeouts and just five hits allowed in the game.

Moore would get the win, allowing one baserunner in her 2.1 innings of work. Nelson would strike out five consecutive batters at one point and retired the first eight batters she faced. Lynch did not allow a hit in her two innings of work to start the game.

Washington put the leadoff batter on base via walk for three straight innings beginning in the fourth. In that time, the Huskies scored all five of their runs.

It was the bottom half of the lineup that did the heavy lifting today: Washington's 7-8-9 hitters of Emma Helm, Lynch, and Livy Schiele drove in all five runs in the game. SilentRain Espinoza, Megan Vandegrift, and Jadelyn Allchin, who would fill the fifth and sixth spots in the lineup throughout the game, scored three times and had three hits between them.

C L U T C H#MightyAreTheWomen pic.twitter.com/Dbf1y7SmTh
— Washington Softball (@UWSoftball) February 16, 2020

		SCORING
Fourth Inning: On a full-count pitch with two runners in scoring position and two out, Helm made the difference: the junior ripped a single to the right-center gap, allowing both runners to score easily. Fifth Inning: After going hitless through the first four innings, five straight hits by South Carolina gave the Gamecocks the lead at 4-2. Sixth Inning: Lynch got around on an inside pitch and dropped it into leftfield, bringing in two runs with two outs to tie the game. Schiele beat out an infield hit to give the Huskies the lead that would hold.

		NOTES
Lynch (1x3, 2B, 2 RBI, 2.0 IP, 0 R, 3 K) has ten RBI in her last five games. Every one of Lynch's hits this season have gone for extra bases. As a starter this year, Schiele (1x1, RBI, 2 BB) is hitting .500 with a .714 OBP. Vandegrift (R) has scored four runs in her six pinch-running appearances.

Washington finishes its east-coast trip tomorrow with two games. The Huskies will play #17 Texas Tech at 7:00 am PT on ESPNU. The Clearwater Invitational will end with an exhibition game against Team USA at 9:30 am PT on ESPN3.

Make sure to follow Husky Softball on Twitter with the username @UWSoftball and on Instagram at uwsoftball.