ABILENE, TX – The Centenary Ladies softball team dropped a pair of games on Thursday to McMurry and Concordia as they opened play in the Hardin Simmons University/McMurry University Spring Break Tournament.
The Ladies (7-6) fell to McMurry (5-3) in their first game of the day by a score of 5-1 and then lost 4-1 to Concordia (7-7) in their second and final game of the day. Both games were played at Edwards Field on the McMurry University campus.
Centenary will play two more games on Friday against McMurry at 11 a.m. and Howard Payne (7-3) at 2:30 p.m. The Ladies wrap up the big weekend on Saturday with a doubleheader versus Hardin Simmons (2-7) set for Noon and 2 p.m.
Game 1 Recap:
The game was scoreless until the fifth inning as Centenary starter Ashley Hunter (Benton, La.) and McMurry’s Camille Scott were locked in a pitchers’ duel. Hunter, however, ran into trouble in the bottom half of the frame after issuing a two-out walk with two on to load the bases. First baseman Jessika Truax then delivered a grand slam to give the War Hawks a 4-0 lead.
McMurry added an insurance run in the sixth and the Ladies avoided the shutout with a run in the top of the seventh as junior shortstop Jaymee Wilkinson (Brazoria, Texas) had a two-out RBI single. Hunter (3-2) suffered the loss as she allowed five runs, all earned, and five hits in five innings of work. She walked two and did not record a strikeout. Scott (2-1) was the winner for the War Hawks as she went the distance and allowed one earned run and nine hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Sophomore second baseman Kaylea Patridge (Las Vegas, Nev.) was 2-3 with a run scored and freshman designated player Cambry Bates (Readhimer, La.) was also 2-3 as she posted her second multi-hit game of the season. Senior left fielder Brittney Broussard (Rayne, La.) went 1-2 with a walk, and sophomore third baseman Britlyn Garrett (Stonewall, La.), freshman right fielder Mackenzie Cox (Alexandria, La.), and fellow freshman Isabelle Dominguez (Newark, Calif.) had the Ladies’ other three hits. McMurry’s Angelica Abila and DP Kasey Woolard went a combined 3-6 with an RBI and a run scored and Truax had the one big hit with a run scored and her four RBI.
Game 2 Recap:
Concordia jumped ahead 2-0 after two innings and then the Ladies cut the Tornados’ lead to 2-1 with a run in the fourth. Concordia responded with a run in the fifth and then scored one more in the top of the seventh to win 4-1.
Patridge, playing centerfield in the game, led the way with two more hits to finish with four on the day. Wilkinson, who drove in the Ladies’ lone run in game one, did so again in game two as her RBI double in the fourth scored Patridge. Broussard, Dominguez, and Garrett each added one it.
Ladies’ freshman pitcher Hailee Leger (Belle Chasse, La.) started in the circle and took the loss to fall to 3-3. She went the distance and allowed four runs, three earned, on 10 hits with four strikeouts. She also issued her first walk of the season, a one-out walk in the top of the sixth, after not allowing one in her first 44 innings pitched this season.
Leger, who was named the SCAC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 8, has still allowed just 11 earned runs all season on 38 hits with 36 K’s. She entered Thursday’s play as the SCAC leader in ERA, wins, saves, strikeouts, innings pitched, opposing batting average, games started, and total appearances.
Simone Langland (3-3) was the winner for the Tornados as she allowed just one earned run and three hits in 4.1 innings of work. She walked two and struck out four. Lexi Bechtel relieved her and picked up the save as she went the final 2.2 innings and did not allow a run while scattering three hits. She did not walk a batter and struck out two.
Three Concordia players had multi-hit games led by left fielder Anissa Garcia’s 3-4 performance with three RBI. Second baseman Emily Schmuck went 2-3 with a run scored and first baseman Hailee Tinajero went 2-2 with a run scored and a walk.
