KINGSVILLE, Texas – Trailing 3-0 after the first three innings against Black Hills State, St. Edward's rallied for eight runs in the final four innings to take down the Yellowjackets, 8-3, and earn a split on day one of the Emerald Beach Hotel Tourney at Hubert Field. The Hilltoppers fell in game one to Texas A&M-Commerce, 9-3.
Game 2 vs. Black Hills State, W, 8-3In the second game of the day, St. Edward's (2-3) started off in a 3-0 hole. Black Hills State (0-2) pounded out four hits in the early going; pushing two runs across in the first inning and another in the third.
In the fourth inning, the Hilltopper bats started to heat up. With two outs, pinch hitter
SHELBY JANDA grounded a ball to shortstop that could not be handled.
ALEX MAYFIELD and
KAYLA APPLEBY scored on the play to cut the lead to 3-2.
MEGAN HOFFMAN followed with a double to left field to plate Janda and
MORGAN DUFOUR, giving St. Edward's a 4-3 advantage.
The Hilltoppers kept things rolling in the fifth inning as
BREAH WHITTEN reached a one-out infield single. She came in to score on a groundout by Mayfield.
St. Edward's added a run in the sixth, and two more in the seventh for good measure.
Hoffman led the Hilltoppers at the plate with a career-high four RBI. Whitten led the squad with two hits, while Mayfield and Dufour each scored twice.
OLIVIA BURDICK (1-1) picked up the victory, allowing three runs on seven hits, while walking three and striking out two in 6.0 innings of work.
"It was nice to see our offense gain some confidence today," head coach Lindsay Gardner said. "We did a good job of putting the ball in play, moving runners, and finding holes with runners in scoring position. We need to do a better job on defense and bring all the pieces of the puzzle together on a consistent basis. With so many new players, we are still getting better at something new every day. I'm excited about the direction this team is headed."
Game 1 vs. TAMU-Commerce, L, 9-3In the first game of the day, the roles were reversed. It was St. Edward's who got on the board first.
With two outs in the first inning, Mayfield reached on a walk. After a single by Appleby advanced her to second base, Mayfield took off for third base in the next at-bat. The catcher's throw was off line, and Mayfield trotted home with the first run of the game.
The lead increased to 2-0, in the second inning when Dufour led off the inning with her first home run of the season.
After TAMU-Commerce (5-1) got unearned runs in the second and third innings, the Hilltoppers fought back in the top of the third inning. Appleby led off the inning with a walk. After getting to second on a sacrifice, Appleby scored on a single by Hoffman to give the lead back to St. Edward's, 3-2.
The next two innings were not kind to the Hilltoppers. Two errors by St. Edward's in the fourth inning plated three runs for the Lions. Another error by the Hilltoppers in the fifth inning eventually led to four runs by TAMU-Commerce, and put the game out of reach.
LAUREN SLATTEN (2-2) allowed nine runs on seven hits, but just four of the runs were earned. She walked three and struck out six in 6.0 innings of work.
The Hilltoppers will continue at the Emerald Beach Hotel Tournament on Saturday. They take on Southwestern Oklahoma State at 10:30 a.m. at Hubert Field in Kingsville, Texas. Live stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.
