DENTON – After over two weeks of waiting to return to the field, Tarleton State Softball dropped a Saturday night doubleheader to Texas Woman's at Pioneer Field in Denton.
Game 1: Texas Woman's 11, Tarleton 7
In the series opener, Tarleton State came out on the wrong side of a slugfest as Texas Woman's belted a walk-off grand slam to hand the TexAnns their first loss in Lone Star Conference action.
The TexAnns got the scoring started early when Rebekah Allen ripped an RBI single in the first inning to plate
Melody Mayse for a quick 1-0 lead. Tarleton added two more in the second on an RBI single from Mayse and a sacrifice fly from
Katelyn Conlee.
Texas Woman's was answering Tarleton's scoring innings, however, as the Pioneers evened things up both times with one in the first and two in the second before taking a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the third.
After a scoreless fourth inning,
Melody Mayse blasted her 19
th career triple and fifth of the season to bring home
Delaney Wayland and
Erika Menchaca and put the TexAnns back on top 5-4.
Haley Freyman kept the Pioneers off the board in the bottom of the fifth and the offense struck again in the sixth for two more on a Menchaca two-run homer to left field for a 7-4 Tarleton lead.
The Pioneers inched closer with a two-run homer in the sixth and a one-out, RBI double in the bottom of the seventh that tied things up and forced extra innings. The teams played two scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth before Texas Woman's walked off with a grand slam for the 11-7 win.
Tarleton State clubbed nine hits as a team, including two hits and three RBIs from Mayse while Menchaca was 3-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Mikayla Stogsdill,
Nyka Wood, Allen and
Savannah Stech had the rest of the TexAnn base hits.
Freyman pitched 6.1 innings allowing seven runs – six earned – on 16 hits while
Brenna Hennan took the loss in her season debut. Hennan threw 3.1 innings of relief after allowing four unearned runs in 3.1 innings of work on two hits and three walks.
Game 2: Texas Woman's 10, Tarleton 2
In the nightcap, Texas Woman's scored in all four of their innings while Tarleton couldn't inch closer than an eight-run deficit en route to a 10-2 loss.
The Pioneers came out firing with four in the first and three in the second to a 7-0 lead after the opening two innings. They continued to score with one in the third and two in the bottom of the fourth for a 10-0 lead entering the early cut-off inning.
Tarleton State needed three runs to extend the game past the top of the fifth, but only managed two on a two-run homer from Allen – the first of her TexAnn career – as the game ended with a 10-2 final. Allen's home run and singles from Wood and Menchaca were the only hits for the TexAnns.
Shelby Hedrick pitched 3.2 innings and allowed 10 runs – eight earned – on nine hits and three walks while
Alyssa Ringhausen recorded an out of the only batter she faced.
The TexAnns and Pioneers will resume the series, weather permitting, with another doubleheader in Denton Monday at 2 p.m.
