Great Defense Leads to Victory for UD Softball, UD Softball Wins Two More, Moves to .500

After easily winning their two games on Friday, UD Softball earned a 3-0 victory over the University of Ozarks on Saturday. Dallas won due to a another solid game from freshman starter Liana Reveles (Austin, TX/James Bowie H.S.) and the tremendous defense which UD played. Starting pitcher Liana Reveles earned her second win of the season by pitching a complete seven inning game, scattering six hits and striking out four batters after tossing a no hitter in yesterday's game against Rust College.

Dallas got on the board early with a run in the second inning. Senior pitcher/infielder Whitney Thomas (Fort Worth, TX/Nolan Catholic) led of the inning with a lead-off walk which came on a full count. Reveles then tripled and Thomas easily scored. UD extended their lead in the next inning by putting up two runs on the board. Ozarks pitcher Kaci Foster started off the inning in a bad way; by walking the lead-off batter, leftfielder Cheryl Hinze (Houston, TX/Langham Creek H.S.). Hinze eventually went on to do what most lead-off base runners end up doing: scoring a run. Shortstop Brittany Castro (Houston, TX/Langham Creek H.S.) also walked and then she and Hinze were both knocked in by a triple from freshman infielder Christiana Jeffrey (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran) .

From then on the story was not about the offense, but about the defensive clinic put on by UD. In the third inning, second baseman and freshman infielder Kayla McEnery (St. Louis, MO/St. Agnes Academy) made an athletic catch by running out to the outfield grass towards centerfield and robbing the Ozarks of a hit. In the fourth inning the momentum of the game was drastically turned by a great play from centerfielder Amber Adams (Dallas, TX/Dallas Christian Academy). Adams fielded a hard hit single and made a perfect throw home to catcher Morgan Smith (Irving, TX/Bishop Dunne). Smith blocked off the plate, made the catch and hung on to the ball after being knocked over by an Ozarks base runner attempting to score from second base. Smith jumped up from the ground and made a great throw to the shortstop who applied the tag to the Ozarks base runner attempting to advance to second on the throw home.

Smith also made a great play in the fifth inning. An Ozarks batter popped up a bunt into foul territory and Smith laid out, making a diving catch. Adams made another great play in the final inning, robbing the Ozarks of a hit by making a diving grab for the second out of the inning.

In the second game of the doubleheader, UD defeated Rust College by the score of 18-0. Whitney Thomas earned her second win of the year by pitched five innings and allowing just two base runners while striking out six batters and inducing seven groundouts. Kayla McEnery had a great night going three for four with four RBIs while scoring two runs.

Dallas will be participating in the Warrior Softball Spring Fling Classic in Conway, AR next weekend (March 6-7). UD will play four games total; two on Saturday and two on Sunday. Dallas will then travel to Fort Myers, FL for a Spring Break full of softball, sun and fun.