LUBBOCK, Texas—Southern Nazarene opened the season on Friday with a pair of games at the Lubbock Christian Invite. The Storm collected a big 6-4 win in the opening game over No. 22 Washburn, but could not keep the momentum going as they fell 6-5 in a tough matchup with Newman in game two.
Game 1:
The Storm came ready to play in game one, taking out nationally ranked No. 22 Washburn 6-4. SNU used a big four run third inning to capture the win.
Southern Nazarene got off to a quick start as Natalie Jones led off the game with a single up the middle. She came around to score the season's first run just a few batters later on a Liana Heshiki sacrifice fly. Washburn quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead.
After a scoreless second inning, SNU's offense came to life in the third inning. They tallied four runs on five hits, capped off by a Hannah Morales two-out, two-RBI double that pushed the Storm in front 5-2. Washburn got one run back in the bottom half of the third, but the teams then traded zeros for the next three innings as SNU pitcher Katelyn Woodard really settled in by retiring 13 of the final 16 batters she faced.
The Storm were able to stretch their lead back to three runs in the seventh after Morales came through again, this time with an RBI single. Morales finished 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs in the game.
The Ichabods tacked on one run in the bottom of the seventh after a leadoff double, but never threatened SNU's advantage as the Storm came away with a big confidence boosting 6-4 win.
Woodard made her first start in the circle for Southern Nazarene and came up big, pitching a complete game and fanning 8 Washburn batters in the process.
Game 2:
Game two did not quite turn out as positive for the Storm, despite rallying against a four run deficit. Facing a 6-2 deficit in the fifth inning, Southern Nazarene pushed three runs across, but could not find that tying run, ultimately falling 6-5 to the Jets.
The Crimson Storm jumped out to a quick start on offense as Emma Swearingen blasted a two-run shot over the left field fence in the top half of the first. Unfortunately for the Storm, the offense hit a wall from there as they did not score again until the fifth inning.
Newman tied the game in the bottom half of the first and built a lead in the fourth inning with an RBI single. They broke the game open later in the inning with a three-run shot that pushed the score to 6-2.
SNU quickly bounced back the following half inning by plating three runs in the top of the fifth. The offense stalled from there, though, as the Storm could not put anything together in the sixth or seventh innings.
Swearingen finished the game going 2-for-4 at the plate with the homerun and a pair of RBIs.
Hailey Evans put together a three-hit performance going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
SNU will quickly turn around tomorrow with two more games. The Storm will take on the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs at 11:00 a.m. before a 1:00 p.m. meeting with Eastern New Mexico.
