GULF SHORES, Ala. — If the opening day for Southern Nazarene softball is indicative to how the 2016 season is going to go for the Crimson Storm, Tere Webber and Brian Madden might need pacemakers installed after two one-run games with one that went extra innings.
 
SNU opened the season with a 3-2 loss to Midwestern State in nine innings before surviving a 4-3 win over Union (Tenn.) in the nightcap.
 
In the opener, Kayla Wyatt gave up just two runs, one earned, and three hits in 7.1 innings of work. She walked just one and struck out nine. Freshman Makayla Shonamon (0-1) didn't allow a hit in 1.2 innings of work, but gave up one unearned run as the Storm (1-1) committed two errors.
 
Those two errors came in the eighth and ninth innings and that haunted SNU in the final two innings.
 
MSU struck first with a solo home run in the top of the third to take a 1-0 lead. SNU waited until two outs in the bottom of the seventh before back-to-back base hits by Kriston Shumaker and Jill Clemence finally put the Storm on the board. Clemence's double forced extra innings, but the Mustangs took advantage of a Storm error in the eighth to lead 2-1. SNU got that run back in the bottom half on a Sydni Toilolo sacrifice fly to right, but another Storm error in the ninth was too much to overcome as MSU pushed one more across to get the win.
 
Clemence finished 2-for-4 in the game with an RBI.
 
In the nightcap, the Storm took advantage of three Union errors in the first two innings to score four runs. SNU scored three runs in the first thanks to two Bulldog errors. The first run came on a Toilolo single up the middle before Sam Smith scored on a throwing error.
 
Union cut it to 3-2 in the bottom of the first, but the Storm added another in the top of the second on another Union error. After Smith drew a two-out walk, she stole second and then scored on a throwing error to put the Storm up 4-2. The Bulldogs added another in the bottom of the second to make it 4-3 before Katelyn Brown slammed the door the rest of the way.
 
Brown gave up just two more hits the rest of the way as she picked up the win in her first outing of the year. She gave up just three runs and scattered eight hits in seven innings of work. She also struck out seven. Toilolo led the way at the plate, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.