COMMERCE – The No. 7 Texas A&M University-Commerce split two games in the Irwin Classic on Saturday after two weeks away from action.
 
The Lions earned a 2-1 win over No. 3 Augustana in eight innings in the opener before falling to St. Mary's, 6-1, in the second game.
 
HEAD COACH RICHIE BRUISTER AFTER THE GAMES
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Augustana)
- Alyssa LeBlanc (Katy) earned the win in the pitching circle, moving to 4-0 on the season. She allowed one earned run in 8.0 innings pitched, allowing only two hits while striking out 12 and walking four.
- Uxua Modrego (Burlada, Spain) launched her first homerun of the season.
- Madison Schaefer (Frisco – Independence) went 3-for-4 with a double.
- The Lions picked up seven hits to take down the defending national champions.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (Augustana)
The Lions challenged the Vikings early, stranding runners in scoring position in the first three innings. Augustana took the lead in the fourth inning when Torri Chute hit a leadoff homerun to give the guests a 1-0 lead and tag LeBlanc with her first run conceded of the season. LeBlanc went 17.0 innings before conceding a run to start the season.
 
Modrego tied the game up for the Lions in the bottom of the fourth. After Avery Boley (Fort Worth – Nolan Catholic) led off with a single and was doubled off on the next batter, Modrego showed clutch two-out hitting to knot the contest up.
 
LeBlanc allowed only one baserunner in the final three innings of regulation and was also perfect in the eighth. Schaefer led off the bottom of the eighth with a double off the left field wall, advanced to third on a groundout and scored the game winning run on a single up the middle by Kinsie Hebler (Cy-Fair).
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (St. Mary's)
- The Lions were limited to two hits with Chealsea Slider (Texarkana – Texas) and Ta'Lyn Moody (Mansfield – Legacy) earned singles.
- Emily Otto (Lamar Consolidated) was tagged with the loss to fall to 0-2 on the season allowing six runs – three earned – while striking out four and walking four.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (St. Mary's)
The Rattlers took the lead in the first inning on three singles. Abigale Carney snuck a single down the right field line to give the guests a 1-0 lead. A solo homer down the left field line by StMU's Tiffany Licon extended that lead to 2-0 in the top of the fourth and a Reba Reyes roundtripper to center made it 3-0.
 
The Lions chipped into the lead in the bottom of the fifth after Slider singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After pinch runner Da'Jia Davis (Waco Midway) went to third on a groundout, she was able to score when LeBlanc reached on an error, narrowing the deficit to 3-1.
 
Unfortunately for A&M-Commerce, a pair of walks and a hit batter loaded the bases. A pair of errors allowed three unearned runs to score, The Lions could only earn one baserunner in the final two innings, allowing St. Mary's to take the