Box Score (html)
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – SWOSU Softball built a 5-0 lead over Missouri S&T on Sunday morning but the Bulldogs still had to overcome a six-run deficit to earn a 13-11 victory to complete a perfect 4-0 weekend at the Midwestern State Round Robin in Wichita Falls.
The final scheduled game for the Bulldogs was cancelled due to field conditions at the second field being used for games.
SWOSU appeared to put themselves in a great position with five runs on five hits in the top of the second to build an early 5-0 lead. The inning was highlighted by a three-run home run from
Tori Hawk, but SWOSU also got an RBI double from
Rileigh Ricken and an RBI single from
Angelica Davidson to contribute to the lead.
Missouri S&T got two runs back on four hits in the third, but Ricken got a strikeout with the bases loaded to keep the damage minimal. The same could not be said for the fourth inning, when the Miners seized control of the game with nine runs on four hits in an ugly inning that included three errors by the Bulldogs. When the smoke had cleared, S&T had an 11-5 advantage with three frames to play.
The Bulldogs started their comeback in the top of the fifth, when Hawk scored an unearned run by stealing home to make it 11-6. The bulk of the comeback came in the sixth inning as a fielder's choice hit off the bat of Ricken scored two runs before Hawk slammed a two-run shot over the fence in center field to make it a one-run game heading to the seventh.
Samantha Householder drew a walk to lead off the seventh inning, setting the stage for
Kaytlin Donaldson to hit her second home run of the season, a two-run blast to center that gave the Bulldogs a 12-11 lead with no outs in the inning. After one walk and two hit batters, SWOSU had the bases loaded for Ricken, who came through with a sacrifice fly that scored
Miranda West and provided an insurance run for the Bulldogs.
Taya Haney worked around two walks in the bottom of the seventh and got the final two batters of the game to fly out and finish off the Bulldogs fourth straight victory. Haney pitched the final 3.1 innings without allowing a hit to earn the victory and improve to 2-1 on the year.
Eight different players had a hit as SWOSU finished with 10 or more hits for the fourth straight game and fifth time in the last six outings.
Tori Hawk did the most damage from her leadoff position, going 2-for-5 with two home runs, five RBI and three runs scored.
Kaytlin Donaldson was 2-for-4 with two RBI while
Miranda West was 2-for-3 and scored three runs.
Rileigh Ricken finished her weekend strong with a 1-for-3 outing and two runs scored with three RBI.
"It was a good weekend for our team," first-year head coach
Kim Maher said. "The team found a way to come back and they proved to themselves that they know how to fight for a win."
The victory completes the weekend sweep for the Bulldogs, who improve to 6-4 on the year, the SWOSU Softball program's best 10-game record to start a season since 2012. SWOSU now has a weekend off before playing their first home games of the season and opening Great American Conference play on February 24-25 against Harding.
