LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - The 2013 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference softball season got underway as all five SCAC teams began their seasons during the week of Feb. 11-17.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College started the 2013 season with a 1-5 mark, splitting a doubleheader with Alverno (Wisc.) College on Thursday before dropping four straight – two to Le Tourneau (Texas) University on Friday and two to East Texas Baptist University on Saturday. In the victory against Alverno, first-year hurler Sophia Hernandez turned in a gem in her collegiate debut, pitching a three-hit, complete game shutout with seven strikeouts and just one walk. Hernandez took a no-hitter into the fourth inning. Jessica Baker, Briana Hernandez and Chelsea Delaney each had two hits in the game and Jenny Dowsey scored a pair of runs as the 'Roos totaled 10 hits as a team. Austin College returns to action on Friday with a doubleheader at Howard Payne University, followed by another doubleheader on Saturday at Hardin-Simmons University.
Centenary opened the 2013 season with a pair of losses at Le Tourneau (Texas) University. The Ladies dropped the first contest 1-0 on a walk-off RBI single before falling 8-0 in the night cap. Lauren Swift and Nicole Warren led the Maroon and White at the plate with each collecting a pair of hits. Lynsi Unruh put together a solid effort in the circle in the 1-0 loss striking out six batters and posting a 1.11 ERA in the season opener. Unruh tossed 6.1 innings and allowed eight hits on the afternoon. Centenary returns to action on Friday, Feb. 22 with a pair of contests at the Louisiana College Round Robin Tournament. The Ladies open play at 11 a.m. against Millsaps before taking on the host at 3 p.m. Centenary rounds out the two-day event with LeTourneau at 11 a.m. on Saturday and a rematch with Millsaps at 3 p.m. to close out the day.
Southwestern is 2-2 to open the 2013 season. On Friday, the Pirates faced off against George Fox University on their home field and dropped both games to the visiting team. In game one, both teams put all the runs that would be scored for the entire contest on the board in the first inning, with the Bruins prevailing, 3-1. In game two, Southwestern jumped ahead early with a 2-0 lead after the first and led 3-1 after the second. But George Fox kept the Pirates scoreless for the remainder of the game and tacked on one run in the third and fourth innings before a huge six-run fifth inning, culminated by a grand slam home run, led to a 11-3 victory. Southwestern found the road more to their liking as the Pirates made the trip to Kerrville, Texas and swept a doubleheader from Schreiner University on Saturday. The Pirates, behind a strong outing from Kelsey Kingston, took game 1, 10-0. Kingston allowed only five hits in picking up the team's inaugural victory of the 2013 campaign. Southwestern put the Mountaineers away for good with an eight-run seventh inning. In game two, Southwestern needed just five innings to cruise to an 11-1 victory. The Pirates opened the game with a four-run first inning and tacked on seven more in the fourth. Southwestern continues play this upcoming week hosting Concordia, Hardin Simmons, and Texas Lutheran on 2/19, 2/22 and 2/24 respectively with doubleheaders at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. each day.
Trinity has opened with a 2-2 record so far this season, splitting a pair of road doubleheaders at Texas Lutheran University and Concordia (TX) University. Coach Brandi Crnkovic led the team to a 4-2 win in her head coaching debut at Texas Lutheran on Wednesday, marking the third straight season that the Tigers have won the season opener. Senior Sydney Friday broke the Trinity career records for games pitched and complete games, eclipsing 400 career innings pitched for the Tigers. Friday is also tied for third on the team's all-time list for wins (32), needing just two more to tie for second place. Trinity will continue its string of eight straight road games to start the season this weekend, playing doubleheaders at East Texas Baptist University and University of Texas-Tyler on Saturday and Sunday. The Tigers open up at home on February 27, hosting future SCAC member Schreiner University in a 5:00 p.m. doubleheader.
For the complete SCAC Softball Fastpitch Weekly for Week 1, click here.
