WEATHERFORD, Okla. - It was another wild weekend doubleheader for Southern Nazarene softball as they earned a Friday split with Southwestern Oklahoma State, winning game one 12-10 (8) before dropping the second game 6-2.
SNU broke a scoreless game open in the second inning as
Victoria Rodriguez gave the Crimson Storm a 1-0 lead on a RBI single. After a single from
Peyton Robinson,
Jacey James drove two more runs in with a double to right center to push the lead out to 3-0.
Mahina Sauer made it a 5-0 game as she smacked a long ball over the right center wall.
It seemed SNU had a commanding lead, but that vanished in the blink of an eye as the Bulldogs scored five in the bottom half of the second to even it back up.
However in the third inning, Rodriguez put SNU back ahead again with a safety squeeze, scoring
Caitlyn Curlee and taking a 6-5 lead. The next two batters in Robinson and James would bunt and reach while driving in a run to get the lead out to 8-5. Robinson would later steal home in the inning to make it 9-5.
Things settled in and SNU got some rhythm in the circle from
Caitlin Lewis. SNU would add some insurance in the sixth as Curlee went deep with a solo shot to left center to get the lead back to five at 10-5.
Unfortunately, five was an unlucky number for the Crimson Storm as SWOSU scored three in the sixth and two in the seventh to even the game back up at 10 a piece, sending the game into extra innings.
In the top half of the extra frame,
Hailie Fellers reached on a double and was moved to third on a sac bunt from
Riley Kalman. Curlee came through with a RBI double to take the lead back while
Skye Ah Yat followed that with a RBI double of her own to push the lead to two runs.
Sauer (W, 4-4) closed the door on the Bulldogs in the bottom of the either to preserve the win, pitching two complete innings to go with two strikeouts.
Cheyenne Laguna got the start and pitching one inning while
Cassidy Davila saw 0.1 innings of work. Lewis pitched 4.2 innings and allowed three runs on five hits.
James was 3-for-3 with two doubles, three RBIs, and a run scored while Curlee was 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, three runs scored, and two RBIs. Rodriguez had two RBIs and two runs scored while Sauer drove in a pair. Robinson added two runs scored while Fellers was 2-for-5 with a double.
In game two, SWOSU took the early 1-0 lead in the first thaks to an SNU error, but the Crimson Storm got it back with a solo shot to right center from Curlee.
The Bulldogs got three runs in the fourth to push their lead to 4-1, but SNU cut it half in the fifth inning on a solo bomb from Sauer to dead center.
However, a two RBI single in the sixth put the game away as SWOSU got the win to even the series at 6-2.
Curlee was 2-for-3 with the homers while Sauer added her solo shot. Ah Yat, Robinson, Kalman, and
Kai Sanchez were each 1-for-2 in the contest.
Madison Arnold got her first start in the circle and did a nice job, pitching 3.1 innings and not allowing a single earned run on six hits. She was saddled with the loss because of three unearned runs. Laguna saw 0.2 innings of action while Lewis pitched the final two frames.
SNU falls to 23-25 on the year and 18-19 in GAC play. They will conclude the series with the Bulldogs in a doubleheader tomorrow afternoon beginning at 12 p.m.
