Dallas Softball Splits Close Series with Howard Payne

In the first game of a doubleheader with Howard Payne University, the University of Dallas softball team prevailed 3-1 before falling to Howard Payne by a score of 6-4 in Brownwood, Texas.

Senior pitcher Whitney Thomas (Fort Worth, TX/Nolan Catholic) was nearly perfect after giving up a solo home run with two outs in the first inning. After the first inning Thomas gave up only four hits while striking out four batters and walking only one. She induced eleven groundouts and five fly outs.

After giving up a solo home run in the first, Thomas led off the inning for Dallas with a walk. Freshman infielder Sandra Gallegos (Houston, TX/Lamar H.S.) then homered, giving Dallas a 2-1 lead. UD managed no more runs in the inning and for that matter, no more until the seventh inning.

In the seventh inning, sophomore designated hitter Jessica Mollner (St. Paul, MN/Convent of the Visitation School) came up to bat with one out and singled. Junior outfielder Jesse Allen (Madison, MS/St. Andrew's Episcopal School) then advanced Mollner to scoring position on a groundout to second base. Freshman Brittany Castro (Houston, TX/Langham Creek H.S.) came up next and singled which knocked Mollner in and gave UD an insurance run. Thomas threw another scoreless inning to end the game, earning her ninth win and giving UD a 3-1 victory while advancing their record to 18-15.

UD began the second game of the series in promising fashion by putting a run up on the board in the first inning. Allen led off the game with a single down the right field line and stole second while Castro was up to bat. Castro knocked in Allen with a double, but was caught trying to advance to third on the throw. UD then made two consecutive outs to go into the bottom half of the inning with a 1-0 lead.

Howard Payne scored two runs in the bottom half of the first and the second innings to earn a 4-1 lead going into the third inning. In the top of the fourth inning, Gallegos led off the frame with a double to left center field. Sophomore pitcher Liana Reveles (James Bowie H.S./Austin, TX) then reached on a fielder's choice as Gallegos was tagged out at third as she tried to advance. Junior outfielder/infielder Cheryl Hinze (Houston, TX/Langham Creek H.S.) then singled up the middle, advancing Reveles to second base. Morgan Smith reached base on yet another fielder's choice as Reveles was thrown out at third base. Mollner then singled to center field, knocking in Hinze. After a pitching change Allen hit an infield single which knocked in Smith. Castro followed this up with another single which knocked in Mollner and knotted the game at 4-4.

Thomas gave up two runs in the bottom of the fourth which gave Howard Payne a 6-4 lead which would wind up as the final score. This gave Thomas a win and a loss on the day, dropping her record to 9-9.

Dallas travels to Orange, California to play a doubleheader against Chapman University on May 1 beginning at 1:00 PM. Dallas has the opportunity of reaching the 20 win mark with a sweep of Chapman.