After a thrilling 8-0 run-rule victory over Nebraska to start the weekend, the No. 7 Washington softball team narrowly split its matchups against Utah Valley and No. 1 Oklahoma on Friday before concluding the challenge with an 8-4 victory over Iowa State on Saturday.

It was a great and promising opening weekend for the Huskies (3-1) who showcased very promising young talent and exceptional pitching despite falling to the Sooners in a 4-3 extra innings loss. The Huskies were on the wrong end of a controversial call at home plate, which kept them just short of snapping a 55-game winning streak that was held by the Sooners.

Washington responds quickly from an early deficit as pitching shuts down Utah Valley.

In the opening matchup on Friday, the Huskies faced an immediate deficit in the first inning when defensive mistakes piled up and gave the Wolverines a 3-0 lead. The lead didn’t last long, however, after junior Rylee Holtorf doubled into center field to easily score sophomore Brooklyn Carter. Freshman Jadyn Glab continued her fantastic start to her collegiate career with a two-RBI double to tie the game.

Holtorf singled in the second inning to score Carter and give Washington a 4-3 lead, which it held onto the rest of the way.

Fifth-year Brooke Nelson made her first start of the season in the circle and pitched well after overcoming defensive mistakes in the first inning. In three innings pitched, Nelson finished with 5 strikeouts, giving up four hits and one earned run.

Freshman Sidne Peters (1-0) was awarded the victory after making her debut in the circle, pitching four nearly perfect innings with six strikeouts and one walk with two outs in the seventh inning. It is hard to not be excited about Peters’ performance, as her composure in the circle and strikeout ability looked very similar to that of Ruby Meylan’s freshman campaign from last season.

Washington inches away from snapping Oklahoma’s winning streak.

With runners on first and third with one out, Kinsey Fiedler reached first on a fielder’s choice as the infield chose to try to make the play at home. Even though it seemed that freshman Jing Gardner was safe at the plate, the umpire ruled the runner out, leaving both teams to head into the seventh inning tied at 3.

Meylan (1-1) shut out Oklahoma’s offense in the seventh to send the game into extra innings, but Washington ultimately could have won the game had they counted the run at home. Oklahoma proceeded to win the game 4-3 on a two-out single to left field in extra innings.

Senior Lindsay Lopez had a rocky start in the first inning after giving up a pair of RBI singles with two outs, but she was able to shut down Oklahoma the rest of the way. She finished with three innings pitched, earning a strikeout while giving up four walks, four hits, and two runs.

Meylan was very sharp in the circle after entering in the fourth inning, finishing with five innings pitched and striking out seven. She gave up three hits and a walk, giving up one earned run in her first loss of the season.

In the second inning, the Huskies scored their only runs of the game on a two-out rally that started with a single from Carter, allowing the runner to score due to catcher interference at the plate. Jillian Celis followed up with a two-RBI single down the right-field line to give Washington a 3-2 lead.

Oklahoma tied the game on a one-out single in the sixth inning before ultimately pulling away in extra innings.

Washington rides a massive sixth inning to defeat Iowa State in weekend finale

Lopez (1-0) got the start in the circle and had a terrific start, giving up just two hits in four innings before allowing a leadoff home run to start the fifth. In five innings pitched, Lopez struck out four while giving up three hits and a solo home run.

The Huskies got on the board immediately as Celis delivered an RBI single to score Carter (who had four stolen bases in the game), and didn’t score again until the fifth inning when sophomore Sydney Stewart scored Holtorf with an RBI single.

Washington held a 2-1 lead heading into the sixth inning, and the offense erupted.

Sophomore Alana Johnson got the party started with a leadoff solo home run, and junior Kinsey Fiedler joined in with a two-run blast of her own. Holtorf continued her impressive weekend with an RBI single, and the bases were shortly loaded after a pair of walks.

Johnson was hit by a pitch, and Avery Hobson hit an infield single to score the sixth run of the inning and give the Huskies an 8-1 lead.

Iowa State responded with three runs in the bottom frame, scoring on a sacrifice fly before scoring two more runners on infield errors. Meylan then entered the game and shut out Iowa State the rest of the way.

The Huskies will hope to carry their momentum into the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational, where they will face Kentucky, Minnesota, Wisconsin, LSU, and North Carolina beginning on Friday at 6:30 am.