CANYON, Texas – St. Edward's softball opened its road series against No. 1-ranked West Texas A&M with a pair of losses.
Game 1: West Texas A&M 5, St. Edward's 2
West Texas A&M hit two home runs and scored four in a decisive third inning to defeat St. Edward' 5-2 to open the three-game series.
The Lady Buffs struck early with a two-out solo blast from Emilee Boyer in the first inning off St. Edward's starter
KYLEN PADGETT. St. Edward's answered immediately in its next at-bat.
SLOANE HILL and
MEGAN MORRIS led off with back-to-back singles, and
LAUREN HOYT tied the game with an RBI double to left field.
West Texas A&M took the lead with a double steal in the third with runners in the corners. Brittni Rufus followed with a two-run blast. The Hilltoppers turned to
LISETTE URQUIDEZ out of the bullpen, and Boyer hit her second home run of the day for a 5-1 lead.
St. Edward's loaded the bases to start the top of the seventh with a
JERZIE PELHAM walk and back-to-back singles from
KATIE DILLON and
ARIANNA VIDALES.
ELLA HUTZLER drove in a run on a groundout to shortstop for St. Edward's final run of the game. Vidales led St. Edward's with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate.
Game 2: West Texas A&M 9, St. Edward's 1
MEGAN MORRIS hit a leadoff double in the second,
LAUREN HOYT followed with a walk, and the Hilltoppers took advantage of two wild pitches to take an early 1-0 lead.
Diana Murtha answered for the Lady Buffs immediately with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the inning, igniting a four-run inning for West Texas A&M. An error on a sacrifice bunt scored a second run, a double steal with runners on the corners scored a third, and Braeland Booth capped off the run with an RBI single through the right side.
Madison Johnson added another run in the fifth with an RBI infield single, and the Lady Buffs added four more in the sixth to end the game on a two-RBI double from Gabriella Valforte. Hutzler, Hill, Morris, and Hoyt each had a hit for St. Edward's.
St. Edward's falls to 11-31 with a 9-23 conference record after the losses. The series will conclude tomorrow with a single game starting at noon.
