DURANT, Okla. – It was another big day for SWOSU batters as the team combined for 27 hits over two games to collect victories over Newman and Texas A&M – Commerce in the second day of the Southeastern Regional Invitational at the Multi-Sports Complex.
Game 1: SWOSU 6, Newman 2Box Score For a second day in a row SWOSU was able to avenge a loss suffered earlier in the season, this time coming at the expense of Newman as the Bulldogs used 12 hits to win 6-2 against the Jets. Newman had previously beaten the Bulldogs at the SWOSU Round Robin in the second week of the season.
The Bulldogs were able to get on the board first in the top of the third.
Ashley Dunigan reached second a double before
Miranda McDonald stepped up to the plate. McDonald used a single to plate the speedster Dunigan and give SWOSU the 1-0 lead.
SWOSU would strike again in the top of the fourth. This time
Samantha Perry found herself in scoring position thanks to a double of her own.
Kaitlyn Kromer stepped up to the plate shortly after and hit the second extra base hit for SWOSU in the inning to drive in Perry. Newman would get one back in the inning, but SWOSU held a 2-1 lead going into the fifth.
After being held to just one hit in the fifth, the Bulldogs plated two in the sixth. With
Maci Brown on after a single, Perry was up to bat. In what is becoming a trend for SWOSU this weekend, Perry knocked the ball out of the park for the two-run homer. The Jets plated another run in the bottom of the inning and trailed 4-2 going into the final frame.
SWOSU iced the game in with another two runs in the seventh. First Brown doubled to drive in
Courtney Miller. A few batters later Kromer hit a single to plate Brown for her second run of the day. It took
Rileigh Ricken three batters to earn her third win of the season and second of the weekend. She caught Newman's final batter looking.
Brown had the best offensive outing in the game, going 3-4 from the plate with two runs and an RBI.
Adrienne Martinez was quite with the bat, put again anchored the defense with nine putouts. Ricken struck out a career-high eight batters in 6.0 innings of action.
Game 2: SWOSU 8, Texas A&M – Commerce 6Box Score The second game was against a tough Texas A&M – Commerce side that had opened their inaugural season at 7-1. The Bulldogs rose to the challenge, besting the Lions 8-6 thanks to a four-run seventh inning that featured back-to-back home runs by
Ashley Jones and
Molly Vivo.
Commerce jumped out to an early lead, 3-0, in the bottom of the first and creating a hole that SWOSU would look up at for the majority of the game. They added an extra run in the second inning before the Bulldogs' offense got on the board in the top of the third.
Despite a quiet first game of the day, it was Martinez that used the big bat to blast a homer in the top of the third that also drove in Dunigan. However, SWOSU would wind up leaving Brown and Perry stranded, but finished the inning with three hits. The Lions talked on another run in the bottom of the inning to carry a 5-2 lead into the fourth.
With the bases loaded in the fourth, Martinez hit a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Vivo and put Miller and Dunigan on second and third respectively. Brown then went up to bat, but was intentionally walked to load the bases yet again with two outs. Perry was composed as the next batter and took four balls to bring in Dunigan. The Bulldogs would end the inning with three runners stranded, but held the Lions scoreless for the first time in the game. The Lions would plate one more run in the bottom of the fifth before both teams went scoreless in the sixth to set up the dramatic finish.
In the top of the seventh, the Bulldogs exploded for four runs. First Jones sent one of distance for a three-run homer to put SWOSU up by one run, 7-6. Vivo then went the yard herself on the very next at-bat to push the lead to two. The Bulldogs would record five of their 15 hits in the inning.
Vivo closed out the game for SWOSU in the circle, facing five batters in the final half-inning. Again, the Bulldogs recorded a strikeout for the final out of the game as the Lions left the tying runs on base.
Dunigan was the offensive star this time out, batting .600 and recording two runs. Martinez again recorded nine putouts of her own and tacked on an assist on the defensive side of the ball. Vivo picked up her first win of the season after pitching 4.1 innings and fanning five batters.
The Bulldogs will play one final game on Sunday against Texas A&M – Kingsville at 10 AM.
