Lynch's Walkoff Homer Wins It 5-3

Friday, February 21

Cathedral, CA

6:00 PM

University of Washington

11-1

Wisconsin

6-4

Wisconsin

Washington

February 21, 2020 | Softball

Box Score Box Score

CATHEDRAL CITY, Ca. – It was another dramatic one for the #2 Washington Huskies, who beat the Wisconsin Badgers 5-3 in their first game of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Washington trailed as late as the sixth inning before Morganne Flores tied the game with a home run. Kelley Lynch won it with a two-run, walkoff blast in the bottom of the seventh on the first pitch she faced.

Gabbie Plain recorded her 16^th career double-digit strikeout game in the circle, holding Wisconsin scoreless in six of seven innings. She struck out the side twice in the game and came up big in the toughest spots: with two runners in scoring position and the game tied in the seventh, Plain got her 15^th strikeout, tying a career high set last year against Northern Illinois.

Three different Dawgs had multiple hits in the game. Flores and Lynch each had two hits and two RBI, while Sami Reynolds went 2-for-3 while manning the leadoff spot for the Huskies. For Lynch, it was her first walkoff hit in her collegiate career and the second walkoff win of the season for the Dawgs: Sis Bates had a walkoff single earlier this year, against UAB. Washington is now 11-1 this season.

WALK IT OFF!@FloSoftball
??https://t.co/QCwtKa7dg0 #MightyAreTheWomen pic.twitter.com/sIId2vQd0z
— Washington Softball (@UWSoftball) February 22, 2020

		SCORING
Fourth Inning: A controversial call on a dropped third strike galvanized Wisconsin's offense. The Badgers scored three times after that play to take the game's first lead. Fifth Inning: Lynch and Emma Helm found gaps in the right side in back-to-back at-bats, with Lynch scoring after an overthrow to third on Helm's single. Sixth Inning: Washington's third leadoff on of the game made the difference. With Reynolds starting the rally with her single, Flores tied the game with a moonshot over the rightfield wall, making it 3-3. Seventh Inning: Lynch ended the game with a home run to left-center, the fourth homer of her young career and eighth extra-base hit.

		NOTES
Flores (2x3, HR, 2 RBI) has not gone more than three consecutive games without homering since the beginning of May, 2019. Plain (7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 15 K) has a 1.13 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 31 innings at the Mary Nutter Classic. Reynolds (2x3, R) has hit .500 as the leadoff hitter, scoring four runs in two games. Lynch (2x3, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI) has 11 RBI in her last five games, with five extra-base hits in that span. Lynch has hits in eight of her last nine games and each of her last five.

Washington plays twice tomorrow, first against #3 Oklahoma at 12:30 pm, then against Nebraska at 5:00 pm.

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