Rally secures sweep on Monday for Softball
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas softball team (13-7, 6-2 SCAC) mashed a season-high, three homers over a sweep to begin a four-game series versus Austin College (5-7, 0-6 SCAC) on Monday night. Two round-trippers including the second inside-the-park of the evening occurred in a 7-4 win in the nightcap. UD prevailed 4-1 in game 1.
Dallas trailed 4-0 through five innings, before senior Taylor Garcia (Pflugerville, Texas) lined a home run just fair inside the left field line to nip the margin in half. It was the catcher's team-leading, third long ball of the campaign.
Garcia was clutch the next frame, lacing the eventual game-winning double down the left field line to bring her RBI total of the contest to three.
The Crusaders added a run to complete the scoring in the fifth after a walk and single by junior Erin Begle (Houston, Texas) and Ashley Pickert (Lenexa, Kan.), respectively set the stage for a double by sophomore Allison Kotlar (Edna, Texas).
The left fielder was one of four players with multiple hits, and part of a trio with two each. Also producing a pair of base knocks were Garcia and Pickert.
Boasting a game-high three hits in four at bats was sophomore Avery Finch (Jamul, Calif.) Her biggest one occurred to lead off and spark a four-run sixth with her first homer of the year. It was an inside-the-park-homer to the left field corner as the speedster raced around the diamond.
The conference and United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) steal leader entering last weekend added two in the come-from-behind triumph.
Austin College took advantage of a few miscues in the third inning to jump in front for the first time in the series on the scoreboard. The Maroon and Gold doubled 2-0 edge by scoring in the fourth and fifth, before UD stormed back.
The Navy and White committed 4 errors, but did outhit the Roos' 12-8.
A trio of players for AC notched two hits apiece including: Raquel Vara, Emily Low, and Delaney England. Jaylin Clevenger was credited with two RBI.
Saddled with the loss in the circle for Austin was Victoria Herrera (3-3), who threw five innings. After keeping the Lady Crusaders in check most of the night, she finished with seven runs (six earned), 11 hits, two walks, and four strikeouts.
Taking the win was sophomore Katie Lee (12-4), which was her second on the night to break the school single-season record. She tossed 14 innings in both complete game outings. In the latter affair, Lee surrendered four runs (one earned), eight hits, a walk, and a strikeout.
In the opener, the Houston, Texas, native limited the Maroon and Gold to three hits, which tied a season-low for the third time, and allowed a run. The right hander walked one and fanned five.
A run in the first lifted Dallas to an early edge that never got relinquished by the visitors. Gaining the RBI was Garcia for her 19th at the time, which ranks second in the SCAC. Freshman Madison Goforth (Tyler, Texas), who got the inning started with a walk, crossed the plate.
The home team made its move two frames later as Goforth got on for the second time in a row to begin a string of four-straight hits. Sophomore Lyda Tesauro's (Hollywood, Fla.) ripped the only extra base hit in the contest, but it was a rare inside-the-park home run; the first round-tripper for the outfielder this year.
Tesauro garnered the most run production with a pair of RBI as her and Garcia cracked four of UD's seven hits. Goforth, Begle, and Kotlar all contributed hits and Kotlar chipped an insurance run to complete the third with the other Lady Crusader RBI.
Dallas surpassed its win total overall last year of 12, and is the fastest to 13 since the 2010 campaign, when the program went 13-9 en route to an 18-win season. UD has won 10 of 12 and tied its highest winning percentage versus SCAC opponents in history at .750. In 2014, the University of Dallas went 3-1 to start league play.
UP NEXT
Dallas concludes the remainder of the rescheduled games against Austin College tomorrow with first pitch at 6 p.m.