BETHANY, Okla.—After a pair of road festivals the past two weekends, Southern Nazarene finally played their first bit of home action on Friday as the Storm split day one of the Regional Festival, defeating Chadron State 9-7 before falling 7-3 in extra innings to Lubbock Christian in game two.
Game 1:
The offense carried the load in game one as the Storm scored nine times on 11 hits on their way to the win over Chadron State. The Eagles would make things interesting late, but Chelsea Vandiver closed the door on Chadron in the final inning.
Despite collecting just one hit in the first inning, Southern Nazarene plated three runs after the first three batters of the game reached on a walk, a hit by pitch, and an error. Natalie Jones's two-RBI single then scored the game's first runs.
SNU was then shutout for the next three innings, but the offense got going again in the fifth inning as Emma Swearingen blasted a three-run bomb to left field. Brooklyn Sullivan then immediately followed that up with a solo shot to left field as the duo went back-to-back, busting the game open at 7-1.
The game was certainly not over there, though, as Chadron put together their own four run inning in the seventh and cut SNU's lead to just 7-5. The Storm then responded with another pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning as Hailie Fellers roped a double, scoring two runs and pushing the Storm back out in front by four runs. Those runs would be critical as the Eagles again scored two runs in the top of the seventh before Chelsea Vandiver closed them out with a groundout and a strikeout to end the ballgame.
Hailie Fellers came up huge for the Storm in the game. She finished 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs in the game. Natalie Jones also came up with 3 hits in 4 attempts and drove in 2 runs.
Jennifer Romero-Ivarson earned the win in the circle, her first of the season. She pitched six complete innings and struck out 3 batters. Chelsea Vandiver picked up her first save of the year as she grabbed the final two outs of the game.
Game 2:
Hailie Fellers continued her big day at the plate in game two, but it would not be enough as the Storm fell in extra innings to Lubbock Christian.
Fellers would help SNU build a 3-0 lead as she collected a 2-RBI double in the first before blasting a solo homerun in the fourth. That was all of the scoring for the Storm, though, as Lubbock Christian chipped away at the three run deficit and tied the game in the sixth inning. Neither team would score in the seventh, resulting in an extra eighth inning.
Lubbock Christian's offense exploded in the eighth inning. They plated four runs and put a great deal of pressure on SNU's offense in the bottom half of the inning. The Storm were unable to recover, ultimately falling 7-3 to the Chaps.
The Storm still have three games remaining at home for the Regional Festival. SNU will play one game on Saturday against Nebraska-Kearney before a pair of games on Sunday against Northeastern State and Cameron. First pitch with the Lopers on Saturday is set for 2:30 p.m.
