AAC Softball Tournament Game Recap: Wichita State 12 – FAU 2
After an 8-1 record to finish off the season, the FAU Owls were soaring with momentum heading into the semi-finals round of the AAC tournament against Wichita State, but unfortunately for the Owls they got shocked by a shockers squad who is playing with a whole different level of momentum.The Shockers carried the energy they got from their ferocious comeback win over Tulsa just a night ago into this one, defeating FAU 12-2 in 5 innings behind consistent offense which included a 7 run inning.
FAU will now wait on the NCAA decision as to if they will receive an at-large bid to an NCAA regional, however with 40+ wins on the year, and a top 40 RPI, FAU coach Jordan Clark believes her team shouldn’t be judged by one outcome.
“One game doesn’t define you, it doesn’t define what your whole season has been. To have 41 wins in a season and win your conference outright, to beat Charlotte in a series, who is going to have an At-Large bid should mean something and unfortunately the tournament is just a little glimpse of what the year brings. You are playing at Wichita State on your home field, and their bats are hot. I hope the committee takes a chance on us, I know these girls deserve it, they’ve put everything into it and done some amazing things. Now we kind of have to wait and see, this is a team that teams don’t want to see in postseason as a 3 seed or a 4 seed because they know it’s going to be a good game. I hope it goes our way, and if it doesn’t, we’re going to celebrate this year like these seniors deserve and be loud and proud for winning the first American title for our school this year,” Coach Clark said.
For Wichita State, Addison Barnard continued her incredible stretch of play, as she entered the day currently 6/7 with 5 home runs and 11 RBIs and she kept on going in this one, sending a 2-run shot over the fence to get things going in the first inning and put the shockers up 2-0.
In the second, the shockers plated 2 more as CC Wong slapped an RBI single up the middle and a few batters later Jessica Garcia scored on a SAC fly, and it was 4-0 just 2 innings into the game.
The middle of the order rakes for FAU and they did their best to force a comeback in this one, as in the bottom half of the second Kam Jackson doubled, Trinity Schlotterbeck walked, and Kiley Channell singled up the middle to score Jackson which made it 4-1 heading into the 3rd.
Trinity Schlotterbeck was finished after the second for FAU, and unfortunately for the Owls, in the top of the 3rd, Wichita State found a way to crack the extremely difficult Ainsley Lambert, something many teams have been unable to do. The bases were quickly loaded following a single, a fielding error, and a hit by pitch, and the next batter Jessica Garcia hit a sac fly to center to make it 5-1, and still left 2 on with 1 out. Krystin Nelson stepped up next and sent a 3 run home run over the wall, to open the game up and make it 8-1 in just the 3rd inning. Wong and Barnard drew a walk, and after a strikeout Bailey Urban sent her own 3 run home run over the wall, making it 11-1 and setting the Shockers up for a chance at the run rule.
The Owls continued to do what they do and grind out at bats, as in the bottom half of the inning Presley Leebrick led off with a walk and a few batters later Trinity Schlotterbeck cashed in with a RBI double, scoring her and making it 11-2.
Unfortunately for FAU, it was just not their day, as in the top of the 4th Wichita State got that run back on a Jessica Garcia RBI double making it 12-2. That was the score they would go on to win by just an inning later, as the game was called due to the run rule.
For Wichita State they set up tomorrow with a chance to win 4 games in 4 days against Charlotte, who was the other double bye team, and they will be looking to turn their share of the AAC title into a championship.
FAU will be at the whim of the NCAA committee, as they will wait on a potential at-large bid decision on the NCAA selection show, which will be 7 PM on Sunday. Regardless, it has been a season to be proud of for FAU, as they finished with their most regular season wins since 2016 and set a foundation for more winning in paradise to continue in the future, if not this season.