WEATHERFORD – SWOSU Softball got in the win column against Henderson State on Thursday in the series opener, tying for a season high 13 hits in 9-5 victory.

The Bulldog offense was rolling from pitch number one of the day. Chesnie Hewitt homered on the first pitch she saw to lead off the bottom of the first inning, immediately answering the two runs HSU plated in the top half. The Dawgs then tied the game later in the first inning when Kaylee Barkley singled in Riley Lusk who singled previously.

The Reddies regained their lead with two more runs in the second inning. Trailing 4-2, SWOSU chipped away with a run in the home half of the second thanks to a catcher's interference that allowed Shallen Mershon to reach base and eventually come around to score.

Henderson State led 4-3 until the fourth when SWOSU broke the game open with six runs on five hits. Katie Boline doubled in the first two runs, Emily Wedel bunted a single for the next run, and Shallen Mershon capped things off with a three-run blast over the left field fence.

The visitors tried to get back into the game with a run in the fifth, but Alexis Taylor stranded two on base and went on to collect her fifth complete game of the season. Taylor struck out seven, walked three and allowed just two earned runs on the afternoon.

Riley Lusk finished 3-for-4 to lead the lineup. Four others had two-hit games including Hewitt and Boline.

With a minimum of seven games left in the season, SWOSU matches its win total from 2024 and moves to 16-23 overall on the year. They'll honor five seniors following tomorrow's doubleheader, set to begin at noon at the Athletic Complex.

SWOSU climbs to ninth in the GAC standings after Thursday's league action, just one game back now from the eighth and final playoff spot.