Softball extends winning streak to 11 games with sweep over ECU

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Mia Hennen

Sophomore Addison Barnard is greeted by her teammates during WSU’s game against Memphis on April 23 at Wilkins Stadium.

After another record breaking weekend, Shocker softball picked up its third consecutive sweep against East Carolina. 

The Shockers beat the Pirates 24-1 on Friday in game one, after WSU hit an NCAA record seven home runs hit in a single inning. The previous record was held by Oklahoma vs. ECU in 2015. 

School records for number of runs (24), hits (23) and total bases (57) in a single game were broken as well. Sophomore Addison Barnard remained the nation’s top home run and RBI leader after hitting three home runs and seven RBIs.

Junior Sydney McKinney went 3-4 at the plate and added to her total career hits of 252, which is a school record. WSU also tallied 23 hits and 10 homers in the win, both school records.

The Shockers clinched the series in game two on Saturday with a 6-4 win. Despite a strong offensive performance in game one, WSU remained scoreless until the sixth. In the seventh, the Shockers added five runs in the seventh. 

Sophomore Lauren Lucas recorded the Shockers sixth grand slam of the season, after Addison Barnard was intentionally walked the batter before. ECU cut into the lead in the seventh with a three-run homer. 

Senior Caitlin Bingham collected her 12th win in the circle, after allowing only one run in 6.0 innings. She had four strikeouts. 

On Sunday, the Shockers beat the Pirates 8-1 in the series finale. WSU also broke the school home run record with 109 total this season. The previous record was set a year ago. 

Junior Zoe Jones launched two more homers on Sunday, giving her four on the series.. Jones also went 2-4 at the plate and had four RBI. 

Barnard reached 30 home runs by Sunday and is now the 14th player in NCAA history to hit 30 in a single season. 

Freshman pitcher Alison Cooper pitched a complete game. She allowed one run on six hits. The Grandbury, Texas native struck out seven and walked one. 

The Shockers will play for the AAC regular season championship this weekend, in a series with Central Florida. UCF sits in first place in the conference standings with a 14-1 conference record. The Shockers trail by one game with a 13-2 record in conference play. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. for Friday’s series opener.