Softball: March 1 Scoreboard
Southland Conference
Central Arkansas 6, Radford 1
Lamar 6, Texas Southern 1
Campbell 4, Abilene Christian 3
No. 7/7 LSU 14, Stephen F. Austin 0 (5)
Central Arkansas 6, Radford 1
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Central Arkansas softball team returned to the field on Sunday after torrential rains on Saturday knocked out a pair of games. The UCA offense combined with a dominant performance from Kylee Studioso to give the Bears a 6-1 win over Radford.
Central Arkansas (10-6) grabbed a lead in the top of the fourth inning, loading the bases with a pair of walks and a single. Centerfielder Amy Gunnells broke the 0-0 deadlock with a walk to plate leftfielder Hannah Stirton, and third baseman Sam Forrest lofted a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in designated player Audrey Pratt, putting UCA up 2-0.
The Bears tacked on some insurance runs in a busy fifth inning, pushing their lead to 5-0 on three hits and two Radford (3-8) errors. Second baseman Sarah Bigej opened the inning with an infield single and moved to second base on a walk from Stirton. Pratt then roped a double to left-centerfield to drive in Bigej, and Stirton came around to score on an errant throw. Pinch hitter Bailey Reynolds came up big for the Bears, ripping a single through the left side to drive in Pratt.
The Highlanders got a run back in the bottom of the fifth, when centerfielder Becky Mantel launched a home run to left-center to lead off the frame.
UCA capped the day’s scoring in the sixth, as a fielder’s choice and a throwing error allowed right fielder Briana Whisenhunt to score from second base.
Studioso (9-2) was nearly unhittable on the day, allowing just a pair of hits and one run while striking out 14 Highlanders in seven innings. She earned her ninth complete game in 10 starts this season. Tiffany Brown (0-2) gave up six runs on six hits and eight walks while striking out eight to take the loss.
Central Arkansas returns home this week, playing a doubleheader against Lyon College at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, and opening up Southland Conference play by hosting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this coming weekend. The Bears and Lady Islanders will play a doubleheader beginning at 4:00 PM on Friday, before playing a single game at noon on Saturday.
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Lamar 6, Texas Southern 1
AUSTIN, Texas – The Lamar Lady Cardinals completed one of the most successful weekends in program history with a 6-1 win over Texas Southern in the final game of the Texas Invitational on Sunday.
Lauren Dannelley tossed a two-hitter as Lamar (7-9) went 4-1 on the weekend, including a 9-1 victory over 25th-ranked Texas on Saturday.
The Lady Cardinals had eight hits on Sunday, and hit .339 for the weekend, led by Jenna Holland, who finished 7-for-14 with three doubles, a home run and nine RBIs for the five games.
Casey Cromwell and Stephanie Meeuwsen had two hits apiece for Lamar on Sunday, while Corina Thornton added a two-run triple.
Brianna Parker and Danya Rogers each had a hit for Texas Southern (3-10).
Cromwell and Meeuwsen each hit .438 for the weekend, while Thornton had a .417 batting average.
The pitching staff enjoyed a fine weekend as well. Dannelley went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA, while Laura Napoli, who tossed a one-hitter in the win over Texas, was 2-1 with a 1.75 ERA.
Meeuwsen led the defense, handling 26 chances without an error at shortstop. As a team, the Lady Cardinals made just six errors, posting a .959 fielding percentage. By comparison, Lamar’s opponents committed 14 errors, compiling a .908 fielding percentage.
Lamar and Texas each went 4-1 at the invitational to share the top record for the weekend. There were no tournament awards presented.
The Lady Cardinals, who opened the season with 16 straight games away from home, open their home schedule when they host Houston Baptist in a doubleheader at 3 p.m. Friday at the brand-new Lamar Softball Complex.
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Campbell 4, Abilene Christian 3
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Abilene Christian freshman Peyton Hedrick reached second base in the seventh inning with two outs after ripping her third hit of the ballgame and 10th of the weekend, but was left stranded once more as the Camels of Campbell University held on to beat the Wildcats, 4-3, Sunday at Jacksonville University's Pruitt Complex.
The loss dropped ACU's season record to 3-13, while Campbell improved to 9-5.
Hedrick led all Wildcats at the plate this weekend, going 10-for-18 (.556) with four runs, two RBI and two extra-base hits. And following a first-inning strikeout today, she singled in her final three at-bats only to be twice stranded at third and once at second base in the seventh inning, representing the game-tying run.
ACU entered its final frame down 4-1 against starter Katie Baker, who struck out seven in her complete-game effort. But Baker plunked Brianna Barnhill to begin the inning and watched her score two batters later on a RBI double to left-center by Taylor Brown.
Baker came back to strike out Kristin Watkins for the second out, then allowed consecutive singles off the bats of Hedrick and Baylee Travers. That brought freshman Alyson Bishoff to the plate with runners and first and second, but Baker quelled the rally after getting her to ground into a game-ending fielder's choice.
The long ball got the best of ACU starter Emily Seidel for the second straight day as a third-inning solo shot by Stephanie Jones put the Camels on the board, 1-0. Then in the fifth, Campbell broke a 1-1 tie on a wild pitch and two outs later Lia Batchelor crushed a two-run home run to left field to make it 4-1.
ACU scored its first run of the game in the fifth on a squeeze bunt by Hedrick that scored Brown from third base. The Wildcats, however, had two other runners thrown out at home that inning.
ACU returns to home action next weekend for a three-game series against Southland Conference rival Southeastern Louisiana. The Wildcats and Lions will play a Friday night doubleheader, starting at 4 p.m. and a single game Saturday at noon.
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No. 7/7 LSU 14, Stephen F. Austin 0 (5)
BATON ROUGE, La. – The Stephen F. Austin softball team ran into one of the hottest teams in the NCAA on Sunday afternoon, falling to seventh ranked LSU 14-0 in five innings at Tiger Park in the final game of the Purple and Gold Challenge.
The Tigers (21-0) scored eight runs in the first inning, one in the second and five more in the third en route to the five-inning victory. The host team hit .542 (13-for-24) on the afternoon.
Shalie Day and Katelyn Standley contributed the two lone hits for the Ladyjacks (6-10).
Hannah Welch (2-1) took her first loss of the season for SFA while Makayla Sikes and Callee Guffey each made relief appearances in the circle. Guffey tossed 1.1 perfect innings to end the game.
With the loss, the Ladyjacks conclude the LSU Tournament with a 1-4 record in the final of three scheduled tournaments of the regular season. SFA will be back in action this week at SFA Softball Field on Wednesday and Thursday in non-conference action. The Ladyjacks will host North Texas on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. before Prairie View A&M comes to town for a 3:00 p.m. first pitch.
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