MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team swept two games in the Southern Arkansas Softball Invitational on Saturday. The Lions defeated Washburn, 6-2, in the day's first game, then took a 7-4 win over Newman in the second contest.
The Lions move to 3-0 on the young season with the pair of victories. A&M-Commerce is slated to play Washburn at 11 a.m. Sunday, followed immediately by a 1:30 p.m. game against No. 5 Southern Arkansas. Times are weather dependent, as precipitation chances in Southern Arkansas are increasing.
"I guess today's lesson was how to deal with adversity," said A&M-Commerce Head Softball Coach
Richie Bruister. "We got down several time and I was really proud of our team and how they bounced back and played together. We pitched by committee and
Katie Dean got the win for us in the second game.
Courtnee Jones pitched well in both games."
"
Ciera Nunez hasn't been starting and got an opportunity. She delivered with the go-ahead run at the time and made some big defensive plays at third. "
A&M-COMMERCE 6, WASHBURN 2
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Mariah Jameyson and
Monica Cherry each picked up a pair of hits.
- Jameyson and
Baylea Higgs each had two RBIs in the contest.
- Jones (1-0) earned the win in 3.0 innings of relief, while
Selena Rima earned a save. Starter Dean struck out three batters in a 2.0 inning no decision. Rima struck out two batters in two hitless frames.
- The Lions stole eight bases in the game.
The Lady Blues of Washburn got on the board in the top of the first inning on a two-out RBI single. Jameyson tied the game with an RBI double in the bottom of the inning and later scored on an error to give the Lions a 2-1 advantage after the first inning.
Jameyson drew a leadoff walk in the third inning and stole second. She would score on
Chealsea Slider's RBI single to make it a 3-1 game. Washburn cut the lead to a solitary run in the top of the sixth before the Lions put the finishing touches on the win.
Higgs' two-run single and Jameyson's RBI single up the middle plated three runs to provide a cushion leading into the final inning, where Rima allowed a leadoff walk before retiring the next three batters to close out the win.
A&M-COMMERCE 7, NEWMAN 4
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Vanessa Avina scored three runs in a back and forth affair.
- Higgs and Jameyson each had two hits in this game as well, while Nunez and Jameyson each had two RBIs.
- Dean picked up the win, closing out the final two innings with one run on three hits with three strikeouts and a pair of walks.
The Jets drew first blood on a two-out RBI single in the top of the second inning. The Lions tied the game up in the bottom of the fourth after Avina reached on an error to lead off the inning. She scored when she and
Tyler Oppenheim executed a double steal from first and third.
Newman regained the lead at 2-1 with an unearned error in the top of the fifth. The Lions had gone 18.2 innings to start the season without an error.
A&M-Commerce went back on top in the bottom of the fifth. The Lions' speed forced a pair of Jet errors, which were paid for with the tying and go-ahead run when Nunez ripped a two-run, two-out single to centerfield to make it a 3-2 Lion lead.
Newman's Adrienne Esposito hit a two-run single with two outs in the sixth to put the Jets back up 4-3.
Cherry led off the bottom of the inning with a walk to start the comeback rally. Higgs singled and Jameyson followed that up with a two-run single to take the lead back for good. Avina and Slider registered RBIs as well to add insurance to the Lion lead.
The Jets attempted to come back with a single and a walk, but a fielders' choice groundout and a pair of strikeouts gave the Lions their third win of the year.
