Crusaders Defeat Centenary in 8 Innings on Sunday to Win 1st SCAC Game
SHREVEPORT, La. - The University of Dallas softball team avoided a three-game sweep and picked up its first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) victory on Sunday with a 6-4 result in extra innings. The Crusaders tied things at four in the seventh and used a two-run hit by Mackenzie Tano (Wylie, Texas) in the eighth that eventually determined the game's outcome. Karina Campo (Georgetown, Texas) held the Ladies scoreless in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to pick up the big win in relief.
(Game Information) (F/8)
Team Scores: Dallas (6), Centenary (4)
Team Records: Dallas (5-11, 1-5 SCAC), Centenary (6-6, 2-1 SCAC)
Pitcher Records: W) Campo (1-3), L) Gomez (2-3)
This game featured several similarities to the series opener with Maggie Watts (Arcadia, La.) getting the start. All the right-hander's runs were allowed in the first inning, Dallas rallied back and eventually needed a run to secure a tie in the seventh. This happened to be the team's fourth run, which was the score going to the bottom of the seventh yesterday. Campo was back in the circle and after a couple tough losses in the doubleheader, the Crusaders flipped the script with a 1-2-3 inning to force their first extra innings game of the campaign.
The victory snapped a season-long eight-game streak and 13-game head-to-head skid with the Ladies dating back to 2017 in Irving. This slide had included four walk-offs allowed to the Ladies and three SCAC Tournament meetings.
After UD loaded the bases in the first inning but stranded them, the Ladies got on the board with their top two hitters Haley Campbell and Kaylea Patridge knocking hits to get on top. Campbell tripled along the right field line and scored on Patridge's single up the middle. She stole second, and with two outs came home on a Zoe Lanier single up the middle.
The Crusaders got the score tied again in the third with a pair of runs. Tano started with a single through the middle. Three batters later Annabel Anderson clobbered a double to right center to put two in scoring position. With the wind blowing mostly in from center field, Campo got ahold of a ball that banged off the left field wall for consecutive doubles and scored the two runs. Campo got to third on a wild pitch, but a grounder to third kept things knotted.
Dallas was seeing double with a season-best five in the game, as Madison Coutts (Tampa, Fla.) sent one-of-two into right center for the 3-2 lead in the fourth. Emily Martin (San Jose, Calif.), starting at second base all three games this weekend, slapped her first hit of the season the other way earlier in the frame.
Watts faced one over the minimum after the first inning but would be lifted with two outs in the fourth. Lindsey Devlin (Leander, Texas) came in and struck out Jaymee Wilkinson to hold the one-run advantage through four.
The Ladies regained the advantage in the fifth. M. Fremen beat out an infield hit to short stop. She was caught stealing by Coutts. A hit by pitch ended Devlin's outing and brought in Campo. With runners on first and third, Patridge dropped down a sacrifice bunt that resulted in an error by Dallas. Nichole Gauntt scored to even the scoreboard. Erin Lewis had the go-ahead RBI with a sacrifice fly to center.
Campo, who earned her first winning decision this spring, allowed two singles up the middle in the sixth, but then retired the final seven batters in the game. She was helped by another caught stealing by Coutts to hold the deficit at one.
Liz Cordova (Oklahoma City, Okla.) doubled for the third contest in the weekend set to start the seventh. Anderson drove her in with a single. The eighth started with Bri Hale (Austin, Texas) ripping a single. Coutts doubled down the third base line to put runners on second and third. Tano dropped a single into right field that plated the runs but Tano was out trying to stretch the single to a double.
Campo finished with 3.2 innings to match Watts for longest duration in the circle. A trio of UD pitchers did not walk a batter, and Campo did pick up two punch outs, including one to start the home seventh.
Dallas smacked 13 hits, which was also tops on the season, and had a sextet of players with two apiece. Coutts, Tano, Cordova, Campo, and Hale formed the unit. Coutts scored a run to have one in at least all three games and now has crossed home in 8-of-10. Her team-lead is 14.
Centenary combined for eight hits led by Campbell with a 3-for-4 and two runs scored. The team produced three stolen bases. Lanier went 3.1 innings in the circle with three runs on six hits allowed. She walked three. Kirstyn Gomez was saddled for the loss in 4.2 innings. She allowed three runs and six of her seven hits in the seventh and eighth innings.
SOCIAL MEDIA
#UDCRUSADERS WIN!
— UDallas Athletics (@UDallasSports) March 8, 2020
Defeat Centenary 6-4 (F/8) in game 3 of series!
(Full Stats will be available at later time)#WeAreUD #SCACsb #d3sb #UDallas #UDSoftball pic.twitter.com/sEbJPj21k9
UP NEXT
Dallas is in California for the spring break trip that will feature six contests at three different venues. Things start off at University of Redlands on March 14 at 12 p.m. (PST). The team will see University of La Verne on the 16th at 4 p.m. (PST), and wrap things up on the 17th with University of Saint Katherine at 12 p.m. (PST).