CLAREMORE, Okla. – The St. Edward's Softball offense kept rolling along as it put up 20 runs off of 29 hits in a doubleheader sweep of Rogers State Saturday afternoon at the Diamond Sports Complex. The Hilltoppers took game one, 7-2, and then blitzed the Hillcats in the series finale, 13-0, for a run-rule victory.
Game 1: St. Edward's 7, Rogers State 2
In the first game, St. Edward's (26-22, 16-8 HC) jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning.
ALEX MAYFIELD led off with a single and then stole second base.
KACI OLSON doubled her in for a 1-0 lead. After
MORGAN DUFOUR was hit by a pitch and
SAMI WILLIAMS lined out,
KAYLA APPLEBY continued her hot streak with an RBI-single to right field.
SAMANTHA GILMORE made it 3-0 with an RBI-single to left field.
The Hilltoppers continued to put the pressure on Rogers State (17-33, 6-18 HC) with three hits over the next two innings but they would leave five runners stranded, keeping the game at 3-0.
After the Hillcats struck for two runs in the bottom of the third inning, the Hilltoppers responded with a two-run home run by Dufour in the top of the fourth for a 5-2 advantage. The home run was Dufour's 13
th of the season and 28
th of her career. She is now only one behind all-time career leader Stacey Giles, who had 29.
The Hilltoppers got solo runs in the fifth and sixth inning for the final tally.
BRITTNEY BRYSON picked up her first RBI to go along with an RBI for
BREAH WHITTEN.
Appleby, Gilmore and Whitten led the offense with three hits each as the offense pounded out 17 as a team. Mayfield, Olson, Dufour and
NICOLE PARNELL all had two hits each.
OLIVIA BURDICK (4-6) picked up the win in relief, tossing 4.1 innings of shutout ball.
Game 2: St. Edward's 13, Rogers State 0 (5)
The Hilltoppers started fast again in the first inning with an RBI-single by Williams.
In the third inning, Appleby continued her torrid pace at the plate. The freshman launched a two-run homer to put the visitors ahead, 3-0.
St. Edward's busted the game wide open in the fourth inning as they sent 15 batters to the plate and scored eight runs off of seven hits. Whitten had two hits during the inning, and
MEGAN HOFFMAN registered her first career homer for the Hilltoppers with a three-run shot to left field.
Appleby continued to excel at the plate as she ripped a two-run homer to centerfield in the fifth inning for a 13-0 lead.
LAUREN SLATTEN (18-10) was outstanding in the circle for St. Edward's as she allowed just four hits in her eighth shutout of the season. She struck out five batters in the process.
For the series, Appleby was 9-for-10 from the plate with two home runs and six RBI.
"We came out on fire today. We were patient but aggressive at the plate, pounding out 29 hits in 12 innings," head coach Lindsay Gardner said. "Our entire team did a great job making adjustments pitch-to-pitch. Getting the sweep in the final regular-season series gives us huge momentum as we head into the conference tournament. We are really looking forward to competing against the top teams in the conference for a chance at regionals."
The Hilltoppers will be back in action Thursday for day one of the Heartland Conference Tournament. St. Edward's will be the four seed in the five-team tourney hosted by St. Mary's in San Antonio. They will open in a matchup with Texas A&M-International at 11:00 a.m. To complete the schedule on Thursday, St. Edward's will play St. Mary's at 4 p.m., if they win, and at 6:30 p.m. in the loser's bracket if they were to lose the opening game. Live video and stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.
