Softball: Feb. 13 Scoreboard
Southland Conference
McNeese State 5, Massachusetts 3
McNeese State 3, Houston 1
Abilene Christian 8, Prairie View A&M 0 (5)
Abilene Christian 6, Prairie View A&M 2
Houston Baptist 9, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 4
Sam Houston State 5, Buffalo 0
Ohio State 4, Sam Houston State 3 (9)
Central Arkansas 3, Hofstra 2
No. 16/16 LSU 8, Central Arkansas 0 (6)
Murray State 4, Nicholls 3
DePaul 5, Stephen F. Austin 4
Massachusetts 6, Stephen F. Austin 4
Louisiana Tech 13, Lamar 11 (8)
UT Martin 4, Lamar 1
UAB 6, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1
Ohio State 13, UIW 1 (5)
Texas-Arlington 16, UIW 2
McNeese State 5, Massachusetts 3
McNeese State 3, Houston 1
HOUSTON, Texas – Taylor Schmidt’s first career grand slam against UMass helped McNeese to a 2-0 record on the first day of the Houston Hilton Invitational Friday.
McNeese (5-2) jumped on UMass early with five runs on three hits in the first inning. A bases loaded walk by Morgan Catron gave the Cowgirls a 1-0 lead. The McNeese lead ballooned to 5-0 on Schmidt grand slam.
The Minutewomen scored two runs in the fourth to cut the McNeese lead to 5-2. UMass opened the inning with back-to-back walks and a two Cowgirl errors in the inning allowed both runners to scores.
UMass scored a single run in the seventh but McNeese freshman Jolie Trahan struck out Tara Klee to end the game.
McNeese outhit the Minutewomen 6-3 with two of those hits being extra base hits. Besides Schmidt’s grand slam in the first, Trahan tripled in the sixth.
Emily Vincent led the Cowgirls at the plate, going 2 for 3 and scored a run. Lauren Langner and Erika Piancastelli had one hit apiece.
Rachel Smith threw four shutout innings to pick up her second win of the season to improve to 2-1. Smith struck out six, gave up two unearned runs and walked four. Trahan picked up her first career save in relief of Smith in the fifth. Trahan gave up one run on three hits and struck out two.
In the opening game, Houston took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after Katie St. Pierre led the game off with a triple then scored on a double by Selena Hernandez.
McNeese responded with two runs in the second to take a 2-1 lead. Lauren Langner led the inning off with a single to center, stole second and went to third on a fly ball to right by Catron. Langner tied the game at one apiece on a ground out to the pitcher. Hailey Drew’s firs career home run gave McNeese the 2-1 lead.
The Cowgirls added an insurance run in the sixth on a two out RBI single by Catron for a 3-1 McNeese lead.
Vincent and the Cowgirls held off a rally by Houston in the bottom of the seventh. The Cougars left two baserunners on. With two outs, Vincent got Courtney Klingler to fly out to right to end the game.
McNeese picked up six hits with six different players collecting one hit apiece. Vincent improved to 3-0 on the year with the complete game. Vincent struck out four and walked one batter.
McNeese will play Stephen F. Austin at 9 a.m. and Northern Iowa at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
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Abilene Christian 8, Prairie View A&M 0 (5)
Abilene Christian 6, Prairie View A&M 2
ABILENE, Texas – Senior hurler Emily Seidel tossed 10.0 scoreless innings of work behind 14 strikeouts and transfer Kaleigh Singleton cracked a go-ahead, two-run home run in leading Abilene Christian softball to a doubleheader sweep of Prairie View A&M on a beautiful Friday at Poly Wells Field.
The 8-0 and 6-2 victories lifted ACU's season record to 3-4, while the Panthers begin their 2015 campaign at 0-2.
Seidel (2-2) won both ends of the twinbill, first as a starter and then as a reliever to Julia Montoya in the nightcap. The Burbank, Calif., native tied her career high with nine strikeouts through 5.0 innings in game one. Victory no. 2, however, was tougher to earn as she pitched her way out of a few jams and waited until the fifth for her offense to grab the lead.
Seidel entered game two with one out in the second and the bases full, but escaped with a fly ball to center that snapped a 1-1 tie followed by a strikeout of Jazmine Hicks. She left the bases loaded again in the fifth and stranded runners at the corners in the sixth, as the Panthers went on to leave 10 on base (16 for the doubleheader).
Seidel struck out the first two Panthers she faced in the seventh inning and watched the game end on a diving catch made by center fielder Taylor Brown to rob Alexandra Loyosa of extra bases.
Loyosa also was robbed of a bases-clearing double in the first inning by freshman Kristin Watkins, who made a sliding catch on her belly into the left-center gap.
The Wildcats scored one run in the first but couldn't cash in further from the second to fourth innings, during which they left five runners on base. But then in the fifth, Holly Neese reached on a one-out infield single and scored a few pitches later on Singleton's moonshot to left field that gave ACU the lead for good.
The home team tacked on three additional insurance runs in the sixth. Peyton Hedrick doubled home Brown. Neese plated Watkins on a fly ball to center, and Singleton drove in her sixth RBI of the doubleheader on a double down the left-field line.
Singleton and Brown each went 4-for-6 during the series to lead the Wildcats with a combined four runs and three extra-base hits.
Game one was decided early on as the Wildcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the first and held a 6-0 advantage after the third. Brown tripled to lead off the game and scored on a fly ball to center. Hedrick and Neese then reached base with one out and scored on a two-run single by Cara Hoover.
In the third, Singleton plated her first two runs of the afternoon on a single through the left side and came home one out later when Baylee Travers slapped a ground ball to shortstop.
Hedrick and Neese made it an 8-0 game in the fourth with consecutive run-scoring extra-base hits, and Seidel ended things in the fifth with two foul outs and a ground ball with runners at first and second base.
The Wildcats return to action next weekend at the Baylor Invitational, where they'll battle several nationally ranked teams including the host Bears, Tulsa and Oregon.
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Houston Baptist 9, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 4
HAMMOND, La. – HBU softball rallied from a 4-2 deficit to defeat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 9-4, Friday on the opening day of the Lion Classic II, hosted by Southeastern Louisiana.
Melissa Herman went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and a run scored to lead HBU (1-6). Libby Brown went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a pair of runs. Shay Orsak, Alyssa Burnett, and Michaela Granchelli also had two-hit games. Emily Mueller started in the circle and allowed three hits and four runs in 1.2 innings with two walks and four strikeouts. Laci Belovsky earned the win in the relief appearance, as she gave up just one hit and two walks while striking out five in 5.1 innings.
Moni Nikolao had the big hit for UAPB (0-7), as she went 1-for-4 with four RBIs and a run scored. The rest of the offense went a combined 3-for-21. Makalay Hunter went the distance in the circle and allowed 12 hits, nine runs (four earned), and three walks with five strikeouts.
HBU took a 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and second before the Lady Lions went ahead 4-2 with a grand slam by Nikolao in the bottom of the second.
HBU tied the game in the top of the third, as Burnett singled to left, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on an RBI single by Brown. Kay Schroeder’s RBI single brought home Brown to tie the game at 4-all.
The game remained tied until the top of the fifth when the Huskies put a three-spot to take a 7-4 lead. With two runners on, Schroeder reached on base by a throwing error, allowing both base runners to score and Schroeder to cross home all the way from first for a three-run play.
RBI hits by Burnett and Herman in the top of the sixth gave the Huskies a 9-4 advantage.
HBU plays twice Saturday on day two of the tournament: against Southern Miss at 10 am and Southeastern Louisiana at 4 pm.
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Sam Houston State 5, Buffalo 0
Ohio State 4, Sam Houston State 3 (9)
ARLINGTON, Texas – Meme Quinn threw a five-hit shutout to lead Sam Houston to its first softball victory of the 2015 season as the Bearkats defeated Buffalo 5-0 in their second game at the UTA Maverick Invitational tournament.
Quinn stuck out five of the 26 batters she faced. Jessica Slater and Sarah Allison led Sam Houston at the plate, each with a pair of hits.
The Bearkats got on the board in the top of the third inning as Dani Allen scored after reaching on an error then coming home on a second error on a ball hit by Peyton Webb. Jennie Kieval accounted for the second run with a single to score Webb.
The SHSU women added insurance runs in the fifth as Allison blasted a two-run home to left field and Angelica Gonzales hit a solo shot over the fence in left center.
In Sam Houston’s opening game at the tournament Friday, Webb went 3-for-3 with two RBIs as Sam lost 4-3 in extra innings to unbeaten Ohio State.
Down 3-2 going into the top of the seventh inning, the Bearkats tied the contest on Webb’s single to right field that scored Jessica Slater. The center fielder led off the inning by reaching first on an error. She moved to second base on a single by second baseman Dani Allen.
With Webb on second base and Allen on third with only one out, Ohio State relief pitcher Shelby Hursh got out of the inning with a pair of ground outs.
Buckeye shortstop Maddy McIntyre had given her squad a 2-1 lead with RBI singles in the first and third innings. Center fielder Taylor White added a third run with a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth.
Pinch hitter Hanah Marino’s bases loaded walk in the second inning put the Kats on the scoreboard. A solo shot over the left field fence by Webb accounted for the SHSU women’s second run in the top of the third.
Both teams went scoreless in the first two extra innings. The international tie-breaker put a runner on second base to start the ninth inning. Pinch runner Bailee Sturgeon was sacrificed to third and scored on a single by right-fielder Caitlin Conrad for the game winner.
Haley Baros pitched a complete game for the Bearkats, striking out seven in eight and a third innings.
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Central Arkansas 3, Hofstra 2
No. 16/16 LSU 8, Central Arkansas 0 (6)
BATON ROUGE, La. – The Central Arkansas softball team returned to action on Friday afternoon, taking the field for a pair of games on the first day of the 2015 Tiger Classic, hosted by Louisiana State. The Bears opened the day with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Hofstra, before falling to sixteenth-ranked LSU 8-0 in their second game of the day.
After the first game started with Central Arkansas starter Kylee Studioso got a pair of strikeouts in the top of the first inning, the Bears (5-2) staged a two-out rally to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom half of the frame. UCA collected four straight two-out walks, with designated player Ryan Holdiness getting the RBI when her base on balls drove in second baseman Sarah Bigej.
Hoftstra (0-1) got both of their runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead. Centerfielder Caryn Bailey opened the inning with a single through the left side before advancing to second on a walk from second baseman Lacey Clark. A wild pitch moved the runners into scoring position, before designated player Brittany Allocca drove in Bailey with an infield single. Clark came around to score on a throwing error.
The Bears wasted no time in evening the score, as first baseman Ashley Boswell lasted a home run to left field to lead off the bottom of the fourth.
Central Arkansas again used a two-out rally in to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Centerfielder Amy Gunnells lashed a double down the left field line to bring third baseman Sam Forrest to the plate. Forrest delivered, roping a single to centerfield to plate Gunnells and give the Bears a 3-2.
The Pride threatened in the top of the seventh, getting a single and a walk to put a runner in scoring position, but Studioso fielded a ground ball and fired to first to retire Bailey and end the game.
The Bears were led offensively by Gunnells, who went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored, and Boswell, who was 1-for-2 with a home run and a walk.
Studioso (4-1) earned her fourth complete game of the season, limiting the Pride to just a pair of runs on six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. Morgan Lashley (0-1) took the loss for Hofstra, giving up three runs on three hits while walking six and striking out seven in 5.2 innings of work. Jessica Peslak gave up a hit in her third of an inning.
In the night cap, LSU (7-0) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a three-run home run off the bat of third baseman Sahvanna Jaquish.
The Tigers added a run on a solo shot from catcher Kellsi Kloss in the fifth to make it 4-0.
The power surge continued for LSU in the sixth, when Jaquish hit another three-run shot, and pinch hitter Kailey McCasland hit an inside the park home run to end the game.
The Bears managed just one hit on the night, a fifth inning single from Forrest.
Baylee Corbello (3-0) earned the win for LSU, issuing four walks and allowing one hit while striking out five in six innings. Shivaun Landeros (1-2) took the loss for the Bears, giving up three runs on six hits and three walks in three innings. She struck out two LSU batters. Kayla Gomness gave up five runs on six hits and a walk in 2.2 innings of work.
The Bears play a pair of games tomorrow, battling Notre Dame at 10:30 AM and facing off with Hofstra at noon.
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Murray State 4, Nicholls 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – An RBI groundout in the fourth inning by Murray State proved to be the game-winning run as the Nicholls State University softball team saw its four-game winning streak come to an end with a 4-3 loss on Friday in the Samford Softball Classic.
Nicholls (5-2) will look to rebound from its loss with two games on Saturday. The Colonels take on host Samford at 2:30 p.m. before playing Gardner-Webb at 5 p.m.
While the Colonels were held to just three hits against Murray State (4-2), sophomore Haley Stevenson continued her hitting terror as she finished 2-for-2 at the plate with a double and a RBI. Through seven games this season, Stevenson is 12-of-18 at the plate for a .667 batting average. Danielle Phillips was credited with the other hit, getting a RBI single in the top of the second inning which tied the game at 3-3.
Nicholls took a 2-0 lead in the first after drawing five walks. With two outs, Jessica Taylor and Stevenson each earned free passes with the bases loaded to record an RBI each. The lead was short-lived however as the Racers jumped on Hannah Haydel (2-1) in the bottom of the frame. Jessica Twaddle put MSU on the board with a RBI single to center and the next batter, Maggie Glass, homered to left for a 3-2 lead.
More errant pitching by Mason Robinson (3-0) helped set up Phillips’ game-tying hit in the second. Haley Parkerson drew a leadoff walk, stole second and after a pair of strikeouts, moved to third on a passed ball. After Phillips tied the game, Kayla Prater was walked, but Robinson retired Alexis Huss to get out of the inning.
With the game knotted at 3-all in the bottom of the fourth, back-to-back leadoff singles by Murray State made way for an RBI groundout by Cayla Levins. It would be the last hits that Haydel surrendered on the night as she went the distance, giving up four earned runs on seven hits in six innings.
The Colonels managed to put runners in scoring position in the last two innings, but could not push the tying run across the plate. In the sixth, Stevenson led off with a double, but the Racers turned their second double play of the game to end the inning. In the top of the seventh, Nicholls put two on after back-to-back errors; however, CheyAnne Gaskey got Huss to pop out in the infield to earn the save.
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DePaul 5, Stephen F. Austin 4
Massachusetts 6, Stephen F. Austin 4
HOUSTON, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin softball team fell just short in both games on the first day of the Houston Hilton Plaza Invitational, falling 5-4 to DePaul and 6-4 to the University of Massachusetts on Friday afternoon at Cougar Softball Stadium.
The Ladyjacks (2-5) started the day by building a 4-1 lead against DePaul (3-4) through six and a half innings played, but couldn’t finish out a pesky Blue Demon team. DePaul, a team that opened the 2015 season ranked 25th in the nation in the NFCA Preseason Poll, scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to come away with the walk-off victory. Mary Connolly recorded the final RBI single to push across the winning run with one out.
Senior Shalie Day and sophomore Brittany Lewis helped SFA jump in front 2-0 after the first inning. Lewis opened the game with a leadoff walk and later came home on a double off the bat of Day. Day would touch home herself on a wild pitch in the inning.
Both Lewis and Day displayed their power with solo home runs in the tournament opener. Lewis went deep in the second to pad SFA’s lead to 3-0. Her second dinger of the year came with two outs and nobody on in the inning. After DePaul got on the board in the second, Day led off the third inning with her first homer of the season – a bomb to left field – to make it a three-run SFA advantage again at 4-1.
The score would remain the same until the Blue Demon rally in the seventh.
Just as in the first game, the Ladyjacks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in Friday’s second contest against UMass (1-0). Alisa Hamilton got things started with a walk in the second and Heather Hollingsworth followed with a single. The slappers each stole second in the inning and scored via a Minutewomen error and a Lewis RBI bunt.
UMass rattled off four unanswered runs over the third and fourth innings, but SFA was able to rally back to even things at 4-4. Day drew a walk to lead off the fifth and scored on an error following a single by Taylor Fraccastoro. Hamilton drove Fraccastoro in with an RBI single up the middle with two outs to finish the scoring for SFA.
The Minutewomen strung together four straight singles in the sixth inning, resulting in two runs to take the lead 6-4. The Ladyjacks would threaten in their final two chances but couldn’t come up with a late-inning rally.
The Ladyjacks will look to bounce back on the second day of the tournament with games against McNeese State at 9:00 a.m. and the University of Northern Iowa at 11:30 a.m.
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Louisiana Tech 13, Lamar 11 (8)
UT Martin 4, Lamar 1
BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University softball team dropped two games Friday at the February Freezer Tournament hosted by Mississippi State University.
The Lady Cardinals (3-4) dropped a 13-11 decision in eight innings to Louisiana Tech before falling to UT Martin 4 1.
Freshman Sable Hankins had three hits in the loss to Louisiana Tech, while Taylor Duck had three RBIs. The Lady Cardinals led 7-4 heading into the seventh inning before Louisiana Tech scored seven in the top of the seventh. The Lady Cardinals rallied to tie it with four runs in the bottom of the seventh, with Duck’s two-run triple knotting things up. Louisiana Tech (4-4) scored two runs in the top of the eighth to get the win.
Casey Cromwell, Shannon Sain and Sarah Ragsdale had two hits apiece for Lamar.
Lamar had just four hits against UT Martin (4-2). Stephanie Meeuwsen’s solo home run in the bottom of the seventh spoiled the shutout bid of Elizabeth Weigand.
Lauren Dannelley took the loss, allowing seven hits and four runs, three earned.
The Lady Cardinals play two games on Saturday. Lamar faces Mississippi State at 2 p.m. and Illinois at 7 p.m. Lamar concludes play at the event by facing Mississippi State at noon Sunday.
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UAB 6, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – UAB jumped out to an early lead in the first inning before scoring in the third and fourth frames to secure a 6-1 win over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team on the second day of the Islanders Invitational at Chapman Field. The Blazers outhit the Islanders 8-3 and was powered by the pitching of Megan Smith.
Junior Cosette Hernandez, senior Hayley Galloway and senior Mickayla Cochran each collected a hit for the Islanders (0-8) in the loss.
JoJo Fallen went 2-for-2 to lead the Blazers' (3-3) offense, while SaraBeth Williamson hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning.
UAB tacked on the first run of the game in the bottom of the first after Fallen hit a double to right field and scored on a RBI single to right field by Hayley Davis. Following a scoreless second inning, Hernandez ripped a hard single to third base for the Islanders' first hit of the game. The junior then landed on third after a sacrifice bunt by Galloway and a ground out by Cochran. However, the Blazers escaped the inning as Fallen recorded her second strikeout of the game.
In the bottom of the third, UAB padded its lead to 2-0 after Heather Pearson drilled a leadoff triple to right field and scored on a RBI sacrifice fly by Fallen to center field. Carter then registered her first punch out of the game to end the frame.
The Blazers then received a big inning from Williamson in the bottom of the fourth as she hit a three-run home run after a single and hit by pitch with one out. UAB plated another run as Caitlin Attfield hit a RBI single through the right side to plate Pearson, who reached on a fielder's choice following a walk by Anna Theriot.
A&M-Corpus Christi answered with a run of their own in the top of the sixth. Galloway started things off with an infield single and Cochran followed with her second double of the season with a shot to left center to score Galloway, but was called out at third as she tried to advance. Smith then picked up her sixth strikeout of the game before Savannah Sandoval grounded out to second base to end the rally.
Carter (0-5) suffered the loss in six innings for the Islanders. The sophomore allowed eight hits, six runs, five of them earned, while walking one and striking out four Blazers.
Smith (3-2) recorded the win in the circle for UAB. She limited the Islanders to three hits and one run while striking out six in seven innings.
The Islanders will continue action in the invitational on Saturday, Feb. 14, when they host South Dakota at 3 p.m.
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Ohio State 13, UIW 1 (5)
Texas-Arlington 16, UIW 2
ARLINGTON, Texas – The University of the Incarnate Word softball team was dealt a pair of heavy defeats on Friday at the Maverick Invitational. They dropped the first game of the day to Ohio State, 13-1 in five innings and then lost to host UT-Arlington in the night cap, 16-2.
The opening game was never in doubt as the Buckeyes (6-0) scored eight times in the bottom of the first inning. They tacked on five runs in the fourth to put themselves in position for an 8-run rule victory. Olivia O'Reilly tossed a complete game for OSU allowing two hits, one run and two walks while striking out three.
The lone run for the Cardinals (1-7) came in the fourth inning when Lindsey Hood (San Antonio/Smithson Valley HS) drove in Taylor Johnson (Schertz/Clemens HS) with a two-out single.
Ohio State had 15 hits in the game as 11 different players had a safety. Caitlin Conrad was 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBI's, a double and a home run.
In the second game, the Mavs did most of their damage in the last two innings scoring three times in the sixth and seven more in the seventh to clinch the game. Early on, they built up a 6-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.
The Cardinals got on the scoreboard in the bottom of fifth inning. Katie Helm (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) led off the inning with her second home run of the season. Three straight singles loaded the bases and with one out Hood came through again with a run-scoring single, but that was the last run of the game for UIW.
The Mavericks tallied 19 hits and drew four walks without striking out. Nina Villanueva had a huge game going 4-for-5 with two runs, four RBI's and three doubles. Mya Anderson, Meagan Michele and Rebecca Stokes each hit home runs for UTA. Sam Montes earned the victory tossing 6.0 innings. She allowed seven hits, two runs and no walks while striking out four.
Johnson had a pair of hits to lead the UIW offense. The Cardinals are back in action for two more games on Saturday in the Maverick Invitational. They will play Sam Houston State at 10 a.m. and University of Buffalo at 2:30 p.m.
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