IRVING, Texas - The top two seeds, No. 1 Trinity University and No. 2 Southwestern University, each posted opening round wins on day one of the 2013 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Softball tournament. The Tigers and Pirates will meet in the semifinals on Saturday. All-SCAC Photos
No. 4 Austin College vs. No. 5 Dallas Recap
Austin College (10-28) jumped out to a commanding 12-0 lead
through two innings and added two more runs in the fourth inning to
win a run-ruled shortened game over the University of Dallas
(5-30), 14-0 (F/5), in the opening game of the 2013 SCAC
tournament. Box Score | Photos
The fourth seeded Kangaroos exploded for eight runs in the second inning when Austin College sent eight batters to the plate. First-year Sophia Hernandez highlighted the inning with a two run triple down the right field line. The Kangaroos' first six batters of the inning all came around to score and essentially put the game out of reach.
Austin College was led by second baseman Jessica Baker (3-3, two runs, two RBI), Sophia Hernandez (1-2, two RBI, one run) and first baseman Mary Whitworth (2-3, two RBI).
Fifth seeded Dallas was only able to put together four hits from four different players and left six runners on base.
No. 2 Southwestern vs. No. 3 Centenary Recap
The third seed Centenary College Ladies gave second seed Southwestern University (31-10) everything it could handle in the day's second game but the Pirates proved to be clutch as Southwestern was able to avoid the upset minded Ladies with a 7-6 win. Box Score | Photos
Centenary (8-31) held a 6-5 lead with two outs and seemed destined to win but Southwestern's Linsay Biggers singled to left center after being down 0-2 then stole second base before she came around to score the winning run on Abigail O'Connor's single to left center. The Pirates tied the game thanks to Michele Ramos' sacrifice bunt that scored Stacy Rosengren.
Offensively Southwestern was paced by Rosengren who was 4-4 with three runs scored and O'Connor who finished 2-4 with two RBI. Kelsey Kingston picked up the win after pitching 4.2 innings while striking out four and allowing two earned runs.
Centenary was led by catcher Nicole Warren who finished the game 2-3 with two runs scored and left fielder Lauren Swift who went 2-2 with two runs scored. Whitney Patterson contributed two RBI and was 1-3. The loss went to starter Lynsi Unruh who threw 6.2 innings and struck out two in the loss.
No. 1 Trinity vs. No. 4 Austin College Recap
Top seeded Trinity University (26-14) steadily chipped away at Austin College (10-29) as the Tigers earned an SCAC semifinal appearance against rival Southwestern with a 9-2 win. Box Score | Photos
Trinity scored at least one run in each of the third/fourth/fifth/sixth innings as Tiger starting pitcher Kaci Wellik went the distance after allowing just two earned runs and struck out 10.
The Tigers struck for three runs in the third and made sure that was all they would need as Wellik pitched a gem. Trinity added insurance tallies over the next few innings and put the game out of reach with four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Left fielder Caitlyn Dykes led Trinity as she was a perfect 3-3 with 3 RBI. She also chipped in with two runs scored. Four Tigers posted multi-hit games as the lineup posted a remarkable .500 batting average (14-28) during the afternoon.
Austin College got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth after trailing 4-0. Austin College cut the lead in half with two runs but it was not enough as the Tigers' offense was too much for the Kangaroos.
Leading the way for the Kangaroos offensively was Jessica Baker (2-4, one run, one RBI) and Briana Hernadez (2-3, one RBI). Starting pitcher Sophia Hernadez suffered the loss after pitching six innings and allowing all nine runs (all earned).
No. 3 Centenary vs. No. 5 Dallas Recap
Host institution the University of Dallas was able to win the day's first elimination game as the Crusaders earned a 6-0 win over Centenary College in the nightcap of day one action. Box Score | Photos
The Crusaders (6-30) earned the program's first-ever win in the SCAC softball tournament after Dallas scored all six runs with consecutive three-run innings in the third and fourth innings.
Brittany Castro got the scoring started with an RBI triple to right cente field that scored Taylor Garcia. Castro then came around to score on Marleyna Bustamante's single to the pitcher. The Crusaders then added a Jane Alsup RBI ground out to finish the third.
The fourth inning was highlighted by Garcia's three-run homerun to left field that scored Gracie Smart and Erin Begle as well as Garcia. Garcia finished the night 2-3 with a homerun, two runs and three RBI.
Centenary (8-32) saw its season come to and end with two losses in its first SCAC softball tournament appearance. The Ladies were only able to tally five hits by five different players and just could not answer the Dallas bats.
