CLEARWATER Fla.– The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team picked up a 9-4 win over Florida Institute of Technology on Sunday to wrap up their weekend tournament in Florida. The Lions fell behind 3-1 early but scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead for good.
 
The win brings the Lions to 8-2 on the season and they finished 4-1 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. FIT fell to 6-3 and 3-1 in the tournament.

The Lions will now travel to Stephenville to face Tarleton State in a three-game series to open up conference play. They will play Friday at 6 p.m. and then a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Katie Dean came in for the Lions in the bottom of the fifth inning and got the win, pitching 2 and two-thirds innings. She had two strikeouts and five groundouts, helping the Lions avoid damage in the fifth inning. Sierra Abbott came in with bases loaded and two out in the seventh inning and got a strikeout to record the save.
- The Lions scored six runs on six hits in the bottom of the fifth inning.
- Mariah Jameyson finished the game 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI triple. She also had a run scored and was a part of a critical double play for the Lions in the top of the fifth inning.
- Ciera Nunez went 2-for-4 and scored two runs. Vanessa Avina went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.
- December Rivers had two RBIs. Baylea Higgs, Chealsea Slider, Precious Thompson and Kayla Kilcrease also each drove in a run.
- Kinsie Hebler got the start and pitched three innings, getting three strikeouts on 54 pitches.
- The Lions scored nine runs on 12 hits and drew two walks while striking out just two times.
- A&M-Commerce hit .414 as a whole while FIT hit .310 with six strikeouts and eight walks.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a pitchers duel in the first inning. Hebler struck out the first batter she faced and retired two more without the ball leaving the infield. On the other side of the inning, Hebler scorched a pitch that was too hot to handle for the shortstop and she got on first with a two-out single. The Lions were unable to get her around and the game remained scoreless after one.
 
The Panthers got their first batter on base in the top of the second with a single through the right side of the infield. She stole second base and FIT had a runner in scoring position with no out. Hebler struck out the next two batters and got the final out on a fly out to left field.
 
Avina got a lead off walk after being hit by a pitch in the bottom of the second. She advanced to second base on a fielder's choice and then stole third base to be in scoring position. Rivers drove her on a groundout and the Lions were the first on the board. A&M-Commerce led 1-0 after two innings.
 
The Panthers responded in the top of the third inning. After a leadoff walk, the next batter hammered a pitch down the left field line for a double, advancing two runners into scoring position. The next batter flew out to right field but drove in the tying run. No further damage was done and the game was tied 1-1.
 
After going three-up, three-down in the bottom of the third, the Lion defense found themselves in a jam in the top of the fourth. After bringing in a new pitcher, the Lions got the first out but then had three of the next four batters reach and a run crossed the plate. Another run came in on an infield single. However, Selena Rima came into the game and got the Lions out of the inning with only a two-run deficit.
 
The Lions rallied in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut into the FIT lead. Jameyson doubled down the left field line and a single from Avina brought her to third base. Slider was up next and singled through the left side of the infield to drive in the run. After four innings, the Lions trailed 3-2.
 
The Lions again faced based loaded with no outs in the top of the fifth. Dean was brought into the game to get the Lions out of the inning. She did just that. She fielded a grounder and got the runner out at home for the first out. The next batter attempted a bunt but it barely left the batters box and Jameyson picked it up, tagged home plate and then fired the ball down to first for the inning-ending double play. The Lions only trailed by one going into the bottom of the inning.
 
The Panthers replaced their starting pitcher and the Lions tied the game up in the bottom of the fifth after just two batters. Nunez had an infield single to lead off. Higgs then got a hit into right field. Nunez turned on the jets and went from first to third and beat the throw. Higgs then ran to second and beat the throw that was then muffed, allowing Nunez to score on the error. Avina then drove in Higgs on an infield single, beating the throw to first base.
 
The Lions weren't finished yet. After a walk by Slider followed by consecutive outs, Rivers came to the plate and had an infield single, driving in Avina. Thompson then singled through the right side of the infield to drive in Slider. Kilcrease joined the hit fest with a single of her own to drive in a run, bringing in Rivers. After FIT changed pitchers again, Kilcrease attempted to steal second base and the throw was wild, which allowed Thompson to score. Kilcrease attempted to take third base but was thrown out, but after the run had crossed the plate. The Lions used the six-run inning to lead 8-3 at the end of the fifth.
 
The Panthers looked to rally in the top of the sixth inning and had their first two batters reach. After a strikeout, the next batter hit into a fielder's choice to get the second out. The next batter hit a blooper into center and the runner on third beat the throw at home to score. However, only one run would cross the plate and the Lions led 8-4.
 
The Lions got another run in the bottom of the sixth. Nunez got a leadoff single and then advanced on two groundouts. She was driven in by Jameyson, who hit a soft fly to right field. The ball went under the glove of the right fielder and she raced around the bases to tally an RBI triple. That finished the scoring for the Lions, as they led 9-4 going into the final inning.
 
After Dean struck out the first batter of the top of the seventh and got the second batter to ground out, FIT got a single and then drew two walks to load the bases. The Lions went to the bullpen and brought in Abbott. With the tying run on deck, Abbott got a four-pitch swinging strikeout to end the contest and get the save.

Head coach Richie Bruister after the tournament finished
 
His thoughts on the weekend tournament
 "We finished up a great weekend. It started out kind of gloomy. We had to leave a couple of our players at home due to sickness. We had to deal with adversity. It kept coming at us. Another player got the flu while we were here and missed the first two ball games then we lose a player to injury. It just kept coming at us. But the sign of a good team is they rally around each other. People have to play different positions they haven't been practicing in. And they came out and performed great. I'm excited for that team effort."
 
On having two players bat over .500
 "Ciera and Baylea had a great weekend. They are your table setters. When they get on base, with their speed, it gives you opportunities to score a bunch of runs. You have to love being the three, four and five hitter with those kids on base all the time. They did a really good job of putting pressure on the defense, making them make plays and make errors.

On how his team swung the bats
 "It was fun to watch all around. We had some timely hitting when we needed it. We faced some really good pitching this weekend. Our kids didn't back down from it. They swung the bat. We could have scored a lot more runs because a lot of times we hit the ball right at people. That's the way it works sometimes. But this last game the ball finally found its way through some holes for us, which was great."
 
Thoughts on the pitching performances
 "They complimented each other. They all have different strengths. We were fortunate enough to be able to match up their strengths with what we thought were the other teams' weaknesses and it worked out really good for us. Pitching by committee was certainly what that was this weekend. We saw that to the fullest in this last ball game. I'm proud of all of them and how they stepped up and pitched. We struck out a lot more than we walked this weekend. I was really proud of an extremely low ERA. When you are not giving up runs, it gives our offense a chance to win the ball game for us."
 
On where his team is after two weeks of games
"I preach the little things and I talked to them after the ball game. Coaches are going to point out the little things. I'm going to be tough on them until they get it right. And we made a lot of mistakes this weekend, which is fine. We've got to learn from those mistakes, and they will. They understand when they mess up, it's not OK but they are going to learn from it and they are not going to make it again. That is the sign of a good team. That is why we are going to be great.
 "These kids make those adjustments, they learn from it and they don't get down on themselves. If they mess up, no big deal. They are going to move on and then we are going to have a great at-bat the next at-bat or when the next ball comes to us, we are going to make a great play on it. If they are pitching, they are going to come back and get the next hitter. I'm really proud with how they have dealt with adversity and how they have come back faced with challenges."
 
On facing Tarleton State next weekend
It's going to be a Lone Star Conference battle. We've got the best conference in the country. Tarleton is playing really well right now. We know what to expect and they know what to expect from us. We are going to have to go out there and play our best game. But we have played a tough schedule going into that and we know we are prepared to go down there and play on the road and we look forward to the challenge.