SAN ANTONIO, Texas – St. Edward's junior-transfer
LAUREN SLATTEN made her debut in the circle for the Hilltoppers and did not disappoint. The junior righty was victorious, 1-0, tossing a five-hit shutout against #10 Tarleton State in the opening game Thursday of the St. Mary's DII College Classic. The Hilltoppers also suffered a loss to Texas A&M-Commerce, 7-1, in the second game of their doubleheader.
Game 1 (St. Edward's 1, #10 Tarleton State 0)In the opening game of the season, St. Edward's (1-1) wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. In the first inning,
ALEX MAYFIELD reached on an error with one out. She used her speed to steal second and moved to third base on an infield single by
KAYLA APPLEBY. The Hilltoppers pulled off a brilliant first-and-third play that scored Mayfield from third base to take a 1-0 lead.
St. Edward's looked to have its pitching and defense in order. Slatten, a transfer from The University of Texas, had a strikeout in each of the first two innings. In the third inning, Tarleton State (3-1) threatened as they loaded the bases with one out. Slatten got a huge strikeout and induced a pop up to escape unscathed.
The TexAnns loaded the bases once again in the fifth inning, but Slatten had the answer for a second time. She struck out a batter for the second out and induced yet another pop out to end the inning.
The Hilltoppers loaded the bases in the sixth inning after two walks and an Appleby single, but couldn't come up with an insurance run as they left three runners on base.
Tarleton State threatened in the seventh inning as it got the leadoff hitter on base. After the TexAnns sacrificed her to second, the Hilltoppers got the final two outs to keep her stranded there.
Slatten allowed just five hits, while striking out seven batters. Four of those strikeouts were looking.
"Lauren did a great job of attacking batters and producing outs during game one," St. Edward's head coach Lindsey Gardner said. "She showed confidence and poise on the mound, and our defense played well behind her."
Game 2 (TAMU-Commerce 7, St. Edward's 1)For the second game in a row, the Hilltoppers got on the scoreboard first. Mayfield led off the inning with a single up the middle. After stealing second base, she came around to score as TAMU-Commerce (2-0) made an errant throw to first base.
The lead would be short-lived as the Lions pushed across two unearned runs in the top of the second. Two Hilltopper errors gave TAMU-Commerce extra outs and the lead, 2-1.
From there on, TAMU-Commerce controlled the game. They tallied two runs in both the third and fifth innings and a single run in the sixth inning to run away with the game.
Mayfield led the Hilltoppers with two hits.
OLIVIA BURDICK (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing six runs (four earned) on five hits, while surrendering two walks and striking out three.
Gardner stated, "We showed a lot of potential today. I'm looking forward to our hitters attacking the ball and gaining confidence at the plate as we continue to see more live pitching."
St. Edward's will be back in action Friday for day two of the St. Mary's DII College Classic. The Hilltoppers will take on East Central at 10 a.m. and #10 Tarleton State at noon. Live stats will be available on the St. Mary's Athletic Website.
