STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Softball opened its weekend series against Southern Utah in dominant fashion Friday, sweeping a doubleheader at the Tarleton State Softball Complex to secure a 2-0 series lead with one game remaining. The Texans improved to 27-17 overall and 5-3 in WAC play with the pair of wins.
Behind a four-home run performance, Tarleton State controlled the day from the plate and in the circle.
Tarleton State 10, Southern Utah 3
Southern Utah struck first in the opening inning, capitalizing on three hits and two Tarleton State errors to take a 2-0 lead.
The Texans answered in the bottom of the second. Jaelynn Duke singled to start the inning, and Macie Vickers drew a walk to put two on. After Isabella Bojkovic reached on a fielder's choice, Madison Runyan walked to move runners into scoring position and later came around to score alongside Bojkovic on a two-run single from Addison Wittram. Mariah DeBose followed with an RBI single up the middle to bring home Braylin Pannill and give the Texans a 3-2 lead.
Tarleton State added on in the third when Duke launched a solo home run to left center, pushing the advantage to 4-2.
Southern Utah trimmed the deficit to one in the fourth with a solo home run, but the Texans responded in a big way in the fifth.
Casey Schultz led off the inning with a solo home run to left before Duke drew a walk. Two batters later, Bojkovic blasted a three-run home run to left field to extend the lead to 8-3. After a walk to Runyan, Pannill capped the inning with the fourth home run of the day, launching a two-run home run to left center and giving Tarleton State a 10-3 cushion.
Shelby Schultz went the distance to earn the win, improving to 11-4 after tossing 7.0 innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits while striking out three.
Tarleton State 7, Southern Utah 1
The Texans carried their momentum into game two, using early offense to take control and secure the doubleheader sweep.
Debose and Mikayla Wilson opened the first inning with back-to-back singles. After a walk by Casey Schultz loaded the bases, Duke launched an RBI single to put the Texans on the board and take the early lead. Runyan later followed with a two-RBI single through the left side to plate Wilson and Schultz and advance the lead to 3-0. Pannill and Wittram capped the five-run inning with two more RBI singles to score Duke and Runyan.
Southern Utah got on the board with a solo homer in the top of the third, but the Texans answered quickly.
In the bottom half of the inning, an overturned obstruction call resulted in Runyan plating another run and extending the lead to 6-1. Two batters later, Wilson singled to shortstop to bring home the final run of the night, capping game two of the doubleheader 7-1.
Duke pitched all 7.0 innings in the nightcap, earning the win and improving to 4-4. She allowed only one run on seven hits while striking out three and not issuing a walk.
The Texans and the Thunderbirds will wrap up their series with a single game on Saturday at 12 p.m.
