SAN ANGELO– The No. 12 Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team defeated No. 24 Angelo State 4-1 on the road on Friday. The Lions took the lead in the second inning and held off a late ASU rally to get the win.
 
The win brings the Lions to 28-9 on the season and 14-5 in the Lone Star Conference. ASU falls to 24-11 and 10-8 in conference play. It was the Lions' first ever win against ASU on the road.
 
The teams will meet again in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. The games will be played at Mayer Field in San Angelo.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Madison Schaefer (Frisco – Independence) hit a solo home run in the second inning to give the Lions the lead. She scored two runs.
- Chealsea Slider (Texarkana – Texas HS) had two RBI hits. Vanessa Muro (Oak Hills, Calif.) also had an RBI hit.
- Kayla Kilcrease (Kerens) had a hit and scored a run. She also had two diving catches in the outfield.
- Bri Sims (Rowlett) and Avery Boley (Fort Worth – Nolan Catholic) also had hits. Ta'Lyn Moody (Mansfield - Legacy) scored a run.
- Emily Otto (Richmond – Lamar Consolidated) pitched a complete game, striking out four.
 
HEAD COACH RICHIE BRUISTER AFTER THE GAME
Thoughts on the game: "It's great for our new program to get its first win out here. We proved last year that we could win out here. It felt great to get the win, especially the way that we did. We had some key plays that happened in the game. I told the kids that this game giveth and taketh away. Kilcrease with that diving catch after the miss last year. She got that off her back and made one of the best catches I've ever seen in my entire career. It was awesome."
- On Otto's complete game: "She kept her composure and did what she needed to do. She made adjustments, kept hitters off balance and did a great job."
- On the offense: "Schaefer started us off with the home run. For a freshman to come up like that, hitting it right over the foul pole. It was great to see her do that, stepping up in a big game like this. Slider had some huge hits today. Muro came up big in some big situations. All around, it was a great effort from them. We had eight hits. The offense did their job against a good pitcher and then Otto closed it out."
- On winning a big game on the road: "I told our team this week, they are born to do this. These kids have been in big situations their entire life. They are winners. They grew up winning in little league through high school and now in college. They just have to go out there and prove it. They did that today."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After neither team had a hit in the first inning, the Lions struck first. In the second, Schaefer saw a pitch she liked and sent it packing over the left field fence. ASU had a leadoff single, but Otto forced two outs and the runner was caught trying to steal third. The Lions led 1-0 after two complete.
 
After a hitless third by both teams, the Lions added to their lead in the fourth. Kilcrease led off with a hit and Schaefer walked. Kilcrease scored on a single from Muro and Schaefer scored on a single from Slider. ASU answered back with a pair of singles in the bottom of the inning to score their first run. The Lions led 3-1 after four innings.
 
After a scoreless fifth inning, the Rambelles had a chance to score with a leadoff double. Otto forced two outs and Kilcrease made her second diving catch of the game on the final out to save a run from coming across. The Lions took their 3-1 lead into the seventh.
 
Boley led off with a double in the seventh. Moody entered to pinch run and scored on a double up the middle from Slider. Otto forced multiple pop ups in the bottom of the inning to seal the win.