STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Softball completed a dominant weekend at the Tarleton State Softball Complex with an 8-2 win over Southern Utah on Saturday, securing the three-game conference sweep. Saturday's contest also marked Alumni Day, as Tarleton State Softball welcomed back former players to Stephenville. The Texans improved to 28-17 overall and 6-3 in conference play following the victory.
Southern Utah struck first in the opening inning, using a two-out RBI double down the right field line to take an early 1-0 lead.
Tarleton State responded immediately in the bottom half, as Mikayla Wilson reached base on a walk and later came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Jaelynn Duke, evening the score at 1-1.
The Texans took control in the second inning behind a big swing from Braylin Pannill. After Madison Runyan singled to reach base, Pannill launched a two-run home run to left-center, giving TSU a 3-1 advantage and shifting the momentum in favor of the home team.
Southern Utah trimmed the deficit in the third inning, capitalizing on a leadoff baserunner and an RBI bunt to make it a 3-2 game. However, the Texans quickly answered with their biggest inning of the day in the bottom half.
Tarleton State erupted for five runs on five hits, beginning with an RBI single from Runyan that scored Duke. The Texans continued to apply pressure with a fielder's choice that brought in another run, followed by a clutch two-RBI single from Hayden Fox. An additional run scored on a Southern Utah error, pushing the Texans lead to 8-2.
From there, Shelby Schultz took command in the circle and shut the door on any comeback attempt. The left-hander tossed a complete game, allowing just two runs on eight hits while striking out five. Schultz worked efficiently over the final four innings, keeping Southern Utah off the scoreboard and securing her 12th win of the season.
With the win, Tarleton State finishes off the sweep of Southern Utah and continues to build momentum in conference play as the Texans move further into the heart of their WAC schedule.
The Texans will travel to Orem, UT to take on Utah Valley at the Wolverine Softball Field. The two teams will face off in a doubleheader on Friday (5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.) followed by a single game on Saturday (1 p.m.).
