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Photo by Darla S. Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved |
Both games end with scores of 3-2 with the rubber game set for Saturday
HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 8, 2017) HBU and Southeastern Louisiana split two tightly-contested games on Friday afternoon (April 7) at Husky Field with both games ending in a score of 3-2.
Game 1
Both teams put baserunners on in each of the first two innings but neither team could break through with a run until the fourth. In the top of the inning, Southeastern Louisiana (18-19, 7-7 SLC) got a leadoff walk from Kinsey Nichols followed by an HBU error on a sacrifice bunt, putting runners on second and third with nobody out. The next batter, Mattie Ort, reached on an HBU error that allowed Nichols to score the first run of the game. Ali McCoy followed Ort with a fielder’s choice to score Mahalia Gibson and make it a 2-0 game.
The Huskies (12-18, 3-11) had an answer in the bottom half of the fourth with juniors Nicole Shedd and Libby Brown reaching via hit-by-pitch and a walk to start the inning. Both baserunners advanced on a wild pitch to put two in scoring position with no outs. Kassie James brought Shedd home with a sacrifice fly to right to make it 1-0 but Brown was stranded at third.
Kay Schroeder singled to lead off the fifth and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Heidi Jaquez. With one out, Cecilia Bauer singled to left to put runners on first and third. Two batters later, with the bases loaded, Shedd drove in HBU’s second run with a sacrifice fly to right that allowed Schroeder to score and tie the game at 2-2.
The Lions got a hit and another runner reached on an error in the top of the sixth, resulting in runners on first and third with one out but HBU starter Emily Mueller pitched out of trouble to keep SLU off the board.
In the bottom of the seventh, Shedd drew a one-out walk before Brown drove a double to right center to give the Huskies two runners in scoring position with one out. James then stroked an 0-1 offering over the center fielder’s head to score Shedd and end the game, 3-2, in the Huskies’ favor.
Mueller threw a complete game in the circle, logging seven innings with just two unearned runs allowed on three hits. The senior struck out three and walked four while improving her season record to 5-11.
Shedd was 1-for-1 in the game with a walk and a sacrifice fly while also getting hit by a pitch. She had a hand in all three of the Husky runs, scoring twice and driving in one.
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Photo by Darla S. Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved
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Game 2
Southeastern started the scoring early in game two with Kalyn Watts doubling down the left field line on the second pitch of the game. Jaquelyn Ramon drew a walk before Watts moved up to third on a wild pitch. That put her in position to score on Nichols’ sacrifice fly for a 1-0 Lions lead after half an inning.
The score remained 1-0 until the fifth when the Huskies found themselves with Schroeder on first with one out. Jaquez singled to center, moving Schroeder up to second, with Bauer following with a fly-out to center. With two out, Megan Hiers dropped a single in down the right field line to score Schroeder but Hiers was caught trying to advance to second on the hit, ending the threat but tying the game.
The Lions got a leadoff triple off the bat of McCoy in the sixth inning but HBU starter Stephanie Buenrostro retired the next two batters. With a runner on third and two outs, Alli Daigle came up with a single up the middle to score McCoy. Watts then followed up with her second double of the game off the top of the wall to left, scoring Daigle and giving SLU a 3-1 lead through five and a half.
HBU got a two-out walk from Brown in the bottom half of the sixth before Brooke Bushman singled up the middle. With runners on first and second, Demi Janak drove a double to left center that scored Brown from second but Janak and Bushman were stranded at second and third with the score 3-2.
The Huskies almost got some more two-out magic in the seventh as Hiers reached on an error by the Lions’ second baseman. Shedd smoked a 2-0 pitch down the left field line, moving Hiers up to third and bringing James, the hero from game one, to the plate. It wasn’t meant to be, however, as James lined out to second to end the game.
Buenrostro suffered the loss in the circle, falling to 5-4 for the season, allowing three earned runs on eight hits with a pair of walks.
Jaquez, Shedd, Brown, James and Bushman all enjoyed multi-hit days for HBU with hits in both games. Jaquez led the team with three hits in the doubleheader.
HBU and Southeastern Louisiana will conclude their three-game series on Saturday, April 8, afternoon at Husky Field with first pitch slated for 12:00 p.m.
