WICHITA, Kan. – Two Charlotte pitchers combined to register a one-hit shutout as the 49ers took a 3-0 win against North Texas in the semifinal round of the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship Friday at Wilkins Stadium.
The No. 2-seeded 49ers (37-16), who extended their winning streak to a school-record 15 games, advance to the championship final, where they will face either No. 4-seeded Wichita State or No. 1-seeded Florida Atlantic Saturday at noon ET/11 a.m. CT. The championship final will be televised on ESPN2.
Charlotte starter Georgeanna Barefoot, the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, allowed only a two-out single in the top of the third and struck out three with three walks in four innings to improve to 13-2. Sam Gress came on to work three perfect innings in relief with two strikeouts for her third save.
Charlotte scratched across single runs in the second and third innings before adding an insurance run on Ashleigh Washington’s solo home run in the bottom of the sixth.
The 49ers took a 1-0 lead in the second when Teagan Ritchie crossed the plate on the front end of a double steal and made it 2-0 on Kiyah Garrett’s base hit up the middle, which brought home pinch runner Savanna Nguyen.
The Mean Green, who had won their first two games as the tournament’s No. 3 seed, threatened to take the lead in the top of the fourth inning, working the bases loaded with two walks and a fielding error. Rylee Nicholson followed with a deep shot to center, but Makalah Mitchell made a leaping catch at the wall to end the inning.
Ashleigh Washington added a pinch hit home run to right in the bottom of the sixth to make it 3-0.
The 49ers finished with seven hits, three for extra bases, as seven players had one hit each.
Charlotte will be playing for its first conference tournament title in Saturday’s American Championship final. The 49ers, who tied for The American’s regular-season crown, had previously won regular season championships in 2023 (in Conference USA) and 2006 (in the Atlantic-10).
The latest information on the 2024 American Softball Championship can be found on the conference’s Championship Central site.
2024 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
May 8-11 | Wilkins Stadium | Wichita, Kansas
First Round – Wednesday, May 8
Game 1 No. 7 East Carolina 4, No. 6 UAB 0
Game 2 No. 3 North Texas 7, No. 10 Memphis 1
Game 3 No. 5 Tulsa 2, No. 8 South Florida 1
Game 4 No. 4 Wichita State 13, No. 9 UTSA 0 (five innings)
Second Round – Thursday, May 9
Game 5 North Texas 9, East Carolina 1
Game 6 Wichita State 11, Tulsa 9
Semifinals – Friday, May 10 | ESPN+
Game 7 Charlotte 3, North Texas. 0
Game 8 Wichita State (27-21) vs. No. 1 Florida Atlantic (41-13) 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT
Championship Game – Saturday, May 11 | ESPN2
Game 9 Charlotte (37-16) vs. Game 8 winner Noon ET/11 a.m. CT
