AUSTIN, Texas –
LAUREN SLATTEN picked up both victories in the circle and scored the game-winning run in game two for St. Edward's as they swept a doubleheader against Texas A&M-Kingsville in Wednesday afternoon's home opener at Diane Daniels Field. St. Edward's took game one in extra innings, 3-2, and followed with a come-from-behind victory in game two, 9-7.
When asked if her team was scrappy, head coach Lindsay Gardner said, "I don't mind being a scrappy team because teams will not take you lightly. It means we are working hard to get runs and playing good defense. I enjoy the close games and we are getting a good team effort."
Game 1 (SEU, 3-2 (8))The first two innings of game one was the "
LAUREN SLATTEN Show". The junior righthander struck out six of the first seven batters she faced.
That seemed to rally St. Edward's (7-5) as the Hilltoppers plated a run in the bottom of the second inning.
SAMANTHA GILMORE led off the inning with a single left field. Pinch-runner
JINNY STRICKLIN moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt and then proceeded to steal third. A perfect suicide squeeze from
KACI OLSON scored Stricklin with the first run of the game.
The Hilltoppers added a run in the third inning as St. Edward's got the leadoff batter on base again.
NICOLE PARNELL doubled down the left field line. After a sacrifice bunt moved her to third, Parnell came in to score on a sacrifice fly from
KAYLA APPLEBY to make it 2-0.
TAMU-Kingsville (6-5) tied the game up in the fourth inning as they loaded the bases with two outs. A double down the right field line by Ariana Munoz scored two runs to make it 2-2.
St. Edward's had chances to win the game in both the sixth and seventh innings but left two runners on both times. The game headed to extra innings.
After the Javelinas were set down in order in the top of the eighth inning, the Hilltoppers came up in the bottom of the inning, poised for a victory. Gilmore and
SAMI WILLIAMS went back-to-back with one-out singles. After pinch-runner
SHELBI ROOHMS was forced out at second, Williams came around from second to score after
BREAH WHITTEN's grounder was misplayed by the TAMU-Kingsville shortstop.
Gilmore had three hits to lead the offense while Parnell chipped in with two more.
Slatten (4-3) was outstanding on the mound, allowing two runs on six hits, while walking three and striking out a career-high 11 batters.
Game 2 (SEU W, 9-7)TAMU-Kingsville started the second game off with a bang. The Javelinas put six runs on the board off of just two hits. They were helped by two Hilltopper errors, as five of the runs were unearned.
The Hilltoppers started to chip away at the lead in the bottom of the first with two runs.
ALEX MAYFIELD led off with a walk and stole second. With one out,
MORGAN DUFOUR walked to put runners at first and second. Appleby singled to score Mayfield and Whitten's infield scored Dufour to cut lead to 6-2.
In the second inning, a one-out double by Mayfield and a single by Parnell put two runners in scoring position. Dufour stepped to the plate and ripped a single to left field to plate both runners and bring the score to 6-4.
With daylight fading, and TAMU-Kingsville adding another run in the top of the sixth, St. Edward's would not be held back. With two outs, Appleby came up huge with a two-run line-drive homer down the left field line. This was the first of her career, and couldn't have come at a better time. Gilmore followed with a single up the middle and Slatten drew a walk. Both runners moved up a base on a passed ball and Whitten drove in one to knot the score, 7-7. Whitten stole second and both she and Slatten scored the game-winning runs on a pinch-hit single from freshman
SHELBY JANDA.
Whitten had three hits in game two, while Appleby and Mayfield ended with two hits each. Appleby drove in a career-high three RBI.
Slatten (5-3) picked up the victory in relief, allowing one unearned run on one hit, while walking one and striking out four in 3.0 innings of work. On the day, Slatten had a combined 15 strikeouts.
OLIVIA BURDICK drew a no decision, allowing six runs (one earned) on five hits, while walking four and striking out one batter in 4.0 innings of work.
The Hilltoppers will be back in action Saturday when they host Angelo State. The doubleheader is set to begin at 12 p.m. at Diane Daniels Field. Live video and stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website. St. Edward's will also host Huston-Tillotson on Sunday for a doubleheader beginning at Noon.
"I would love to sweep this six-game homestand, but we are still trying to get to know our team," Gardner said. "This weekend is to continue to improve things. It is about trying to figure out the puzzle."
