LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – All seven teams were in action this past weekend including big matchups for potential seeding between Southwestern and Dallas. Meanwhile, Texas Lutheran continues to flex its muscles as they have won 19 games in a row.
Austin College
The Austin College softball team fell in both halves of its doubleheader against Centenary College on Saturday in Shreveport, falling 6-5 in game one before dropping a 7-6 decision in extra innings in game two. Victoria Herrera went the distance for the 'Roos, giving up seven runs - six earned - on 16 hits with eight strikeouts in 7.2 innings to take the loss. Clendennen went 3-for-3 and England went 3-for-4 to lead Austin College offensively. They then swept their doubleheader against Centenary College on Sunday, taking game one 7-1 before plating nine runs over the final two innings to top the Ladies 12-9 in game two. Briana Hernandez was 7-for-8 in the contests. The 'Roos return to action on Friday as they return home for a four game series against Southwestern.
Centenary College
The Centenary softball team swept a doubleheader from Austin College on Saturday afternoon. The Ladies battled back in the second affair to claim a 7-6, eight-inning affair after a 6-5 win in the opener. The Maroon and White picked up multiple-hit efforts from a pair of freshmen on the day. Michelle Tasin led the squad with six hits, including a season-high four in the second outing while Anna Dunn tallied five hits with three also in the second contest. The Centenary softball team dropped a doubleheader against Austin College on Sunday afternoon to split the four-game weekend series. The Roos (8-10, 3-9 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) claimed the opening contest 7-1 and held off a late surge by the Ladies (7-15, 4-12 SCAC) in the second affair 12-9. Carissa Herndon paced the Maroon and White at the dish. The freshman was 5-for-8 at the plate with four RBI for the doubleheader. Herndon went 4-for-5 in the second contest as she collected all four RBI. Fellow freshman Anna Dunn was second on the team in hits with four on the day with seven trips to plate, including a perfect 3-for-3 outing in the first contest. Centenary returns to action on Tuesday, March 31 as it travels to the Ozarks followed by a two game series against Hendrix on Wednesday.
University of Dallas
The University of Dallas softball team (15-9, 8-4 SCAC) prevailed in its first extra-inning contest with a 9-8 victory through 11-innings to earn a split at Southwestern University (13-11, 9-1 SCAC) on Saturday. Prior to the marathon game, the longest dating back through 2010 archives, the Lady Crusaders were topped 5-4. The last victory for Dallas beyond regulation was in 2014 at Centenary College (4-2) in a nine-inning affair. UD's triumph also notably sets a record for most wins in conference since joining the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) four years ago. Southwestern also had its nine-game winning streak ended, and the Navy and White blemished the Pirates first league contest. Two players for the Navy and White cracked a trio of hits, which were Finch and Begle. A quartet of Lady Crusaders' formed a multi-hitting unit including: freshman Madison Goforth (Tyler, Texas), sophomore Allison Kotlar (Edna, Texas), Tesauro, and Garcia. Goforth matched a game-high three RBI with Southwestern's Ally Holland. Garcia smacked two doubles while Begle Pickert and Kotlar added to the UD's two-bagger count. Senior Taylor Garcia (Plugerville, Texas) had a tremendous outing in the latter one of the twinbill, boasting a perfect three-for-three at the plate. The catcher blasted a go-ahead double, her second on the day, to drive home sophomore Lyda Tesauro (Hollywood, Fla.). Garcia matched her career-high 30th RBI with the knock. Dallas travels to first place, and undefeated Texas Lutheran University next weekend on Apr. 3-4.
Schreiner University
George Fox rallied for a 6-5 win in the nightcap and a sweep of Schreiner Softball in non-conference action on Wednesday. The Bruins took the first game, 5-0. Sophomore Nichole Schoenherr and senior Brianna Rodriguez started things off with back-to-back singles. Two outs later, freshman Sydney Christopher doubled to score both and she came home on freshman Jess Vrana's double to tie the score. In the bottom of the third, freshman Reanna Garces smacked a one-out single and Christopher ripped another double to put both in scoring position. Senior Marlena Cisneros drove in Garces with a groundout and Vrana brought home Christopher with her second double of the game for a 5-3 lead. The Mountaineers don't play again until next Monday, when they host St. Catherine at Mountaineer Field for a doubleheader.
Southwestern University
The Pirates went 2-2 over the weekend as the University of Dallas needed extra innings to give Southwestern their first loss after the Pirates posted a come from behind win in game one of Saturday's double header followed by another split the following day. Irvin had a huge game one at the plate, going 3-3 with two RBIs. Novander earned the win, allowing just three hits and one run in 4.2 innings of work. In the second game, Novander garnered the loss, allowing six runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out three. UD's Katie Lee earned the complete game win, allowing eight runs on 13 hits. Rosengren led the Pirates at the plate, going 3-5 with one RBI and two runs scored. Michele Ramos and Stacy Rosengren combined for six hits in nine at-bats with three each. Rosengren clinched the only home team's RBI. Sydney Oorlog and Taylor Curtis completed the multi-hit performances with a pair. In the final game, Marissa Irvin was perfect in the box with a trio of hits and an RBI. Holland contributed two runs batted in, and Oorlog came around to score twice with two hits. Curtis finished out the group of Pirates with multiple hits. Southwestern moves to 14-12 on the year and 10-2 in SCAC play while UD goes to 15-9 overall and 8-4 in conference. The two teams faceoff again tomorrow for SCAC doubleheader action starting at noon.
Texas Lutheran University
The Bulldogs went 6-0 this past weekend including four conference wins and rolled to consecutive wins 18 and 19. In a 9-0 and 8-2 win over Trinity, TLU ace Taylor Grissom (Spring/Klein Collins) won for the ninth time in 2015 (in eight starts) and tossed her fourth shutout. Grissom spun a four-hit shutout against the Tigers and lowered her season ERA to 0.15. Senior designated player Hope Estes (Willis/Willis) drove in four in the first game, and junior third baseman Heather Hummel (Houston/Stratford) added two hits and three RBI. Hummel belted a three-run double in the fifth. In game two, the Bulldogs jumped to 5-1 lead after two innings. Jennifer Gallagher (Missouri City/Elkins) collected an RBI single in the first, and Nicole Snow (Tomball/Klein Oak) tripled in the first. Taylor Yancey (Magnolia/Magnolia West) homered in the second inning, and Hummel belted a two-run blast in the seventh. The following day, the Bulldogs completed the sweep with 8-2 and 5-2 wins. Grissom notched her 10th win of the season and moved to 10-0. She allowed just the one run (earned) in her five innings of work. Pizana went the distance for TLU in the second game and allowed just three hits. She allowed her defense to do the bulk of the work. Pizana did not strike out a batter and issued just one walk. The Bulldogs wrapped the weeknd up with dominating wins over St. Olaf. TLU returns to action this Friday and Saturday with a four-game conference series with the University of Dallas.
Trinity University
The Tiger softball team was swept in all four games of a pair of SCAC doubleheaders to Texas Lutheran University. ame one began with a single run in the first by the visitors, which proved to be enough for Bulldog ace Taylor Grissom. Katie Castillon (1-3) was charged with the loss for the Tigers, allowing five runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings. Katie Glomb finished off the game for Trinity, and the duo combined for five strikeouts. Game two started off a little better for the Tigers, as Hoffman drove in a run in the bottom of the first; however, Texas Lutheran had already plated two runs in the top of the inning, then added three more in the second to go up 5-1. The Bulldogs added insurance runs in the sixth and seventh to pull away 8-1, though the Tigers did scratch a run across in the bottom of the seventh. Texas Lutheran turned a game-ending double play to stop the potential rally, though. Hoffman picked up two hits and two RBI in the second game, while Dykes and Haby added two more hits to their total for the day. In game three, Dykes batted 3-4 with the one RBI, and Sara McCarty hit 2-3 and scored one run. Katie Castillon (1-4) was the starting pitcher for two innings, and yielded four earned runs. Katie Glomb took over mound duties for the rest of the game. In game four, Nieto batted 2-3 with two RBI and a double, picking up two of Trinity’s three hits in the game. Wellik (0-6) was the hard-luck losing pitcher for the Tigers, giving up just two earned runs, and striking out six hitters. The Tigers will host two upcoming doubleheaders, starting with Louisiana College on Tuesday, and finishing with St. Olaf (MN) College Wednesday.