CANYON – A perfect game from
Alyssa LeBlanc in game one on Friday and a grand slam from
Ayanna Williams in game two helped the Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team sweep the Fort Lewis Skyhawks, 10-0 in five innings, and the Northern State Wolves, 11-6, at Schaeffer Park as part of the West Texas A&M Invitational.
LeBlanc (Katy) threw the sixth no-hitter in program history and the second of her career. Her perfect game is the first in Lion softball history. She struck out eight batters in five innings, including five of the first six and picked up her first win of the season.
"Our hitters just never let up against Fort Lewis, and
Alyssa LeBlanc threw as well as I've ever seen her," said interim head coach
Gay McNutt. "She was flawless!"
Williams (Round Rock – Cedar Ridge) had six RBIs in game two, including a grand slam down the left field line in the fifth inning that gave the Lions the lead. She has hit three home runs in her last three games.
AYANNA WILLIAMS GRAND SLAM HIGHLIGHT
A&M-Commerce now won three games in a row and is 9-4 on the season. The Lions take on the Wolves once again on Saturday and face the Skyhawks in the weekend finale on Sunday.
GAME 1: A&M-Commerce 10, Fort Lewis 0 (5 innings)
The Lion scoring begin right in the first inning.
Leo Terry (Emory – Rains) batted in the No. 2 spot and got on base via a hit by pitch, Williams followed with a base hit and moved to second on a steal. LeBlanc gave herself some run support in the top of the first with a double to left field and driving in both Williams and Terry. LeBlanc made her way to third in the inning but did not come around to score.
Uxua Modrego (Burlada, Spain) led off the top of the second by reaching on a fielding error and she advanced to second on a passed ball.
MacKenzie Dugi (St. Hedwig – East Central) drove in Dugi with a double.
Modrego had the first at-bat in the fourth inning as well. She doubled to deep right center to start things off and scored on a single by
Madison Schaefer (Frisco – Independence).
Six runners touched home plate for the Lions in the top of the fifth on seven hits and one runner was left on base. Williams started the inning with a single, followed by a double from LeBlanc. Both runners scored on a double by
Sabrina Anguiano (Riverside, Calif.). Following the double by Anguiano, Modrego collected her second hit of the game, a single to left.
Samantha Dutton (Tulsa, Okla.) gave the Lions a nine-run lead in the fifth with a three-run home run to right field. Her first career home run.
SAMANTHA DUTTON HOME RUN HIGHLIGHT
The Lions were not done in the inning, as after a pitching change, Dugi doubled to left center, advanced to third on a fly out by Schaefer, and scored on an RBI single by terry. Ten batters came to the plate for the Lions in the fifth.
LeBlanc got two fly outs and a strikeout in the fifth to secure the perfect game and the Lions' eighth win of the season. Fort Lewis pitcher, Hallie Mann got the loss, giving up eight earned runs and 12 hits in 4.1 innings. Amiee Shanks allowed an earned run in 0.2 innings of relief.
All nine hitters in the Lion lineup had at least one hit. Williams went 3 for 4, scoring two runs, LeBlanc went 2 for 3, driving in two, Modrego went 2 for 3 with three runs scored, and Dugi had a run scored and an RBI on her two hits. Williams and Terry also stole a base.
GAME 2: A&M-Commerce 11, Northern State 7
Facing a pitching staff that went 4-0 with an ERA under 1.20 in four games last week, the Lions scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first. Schaefer drew a lead-off walk, she stole second, and scored on a single up the middle by
Avery Boley (Fort Worth – Nolan Catholic), who fouled of four straight balls after falling behind 0-2 in the count.
The Wolves scored two in the top of the second. Alexandria Arndt started the inning with a double to center and stole two bases, including home plate for the Wolves' first run of the evening. Elly Smith gave the Wolves a 2-1 lead with a single up the middle that drove in Hannah Smith.
The Lions had a runner get in scoring position in the second and the third inning, but were not able to bring the runner home. Northern State added to its lead in the fourth with three runs on one hit, two errors, and also left the bases loaded.
Arndt earned a lead-off walk, advanced to third on a base hit by Averie Eagle. After a strikeout, Hannah Smith was hit by a pitch and loaded the bases. Arndt scored the Wolves' third run on a fielding error by the Lions. Jessi Hernandez drew a bases-loaded to bring home Eagle and Ashley Fauske followed with a grounder that was booted by the Lions and scoring on the play was Hannah Smith.
With the bases loaded and just one out,
Emily Otto (Lamar Consolidated) got two line outs to end the inning.
The Lions started the bottom of the fourth being down 5-1, but ended the inning leading 8-5. Anguiano got things going with a home run to left center, her first as a Lion.
SABRINA ANGUIANO HOME RUN HIGHLIGHT
Kuea Angilau (Salt Lake City, Utah) hit a single to center and was pinch ran for by
Alina Jasso (San Benito). Modrego hit a routine groundball in the infield that was the picked up by the Wolves, but the throw to get Jasso out at second ended up in right field, allowing Jasso to score. The Wolves committed another error on the same play, while trying to get the ball back, which allowed Modrego to touch them all and score.
Being down 5-4 with no outs, Dutton drew a walk and quickly stole second to get in scoring position and moved to third on an infield hit by Dugi. Following a strikeout, Terry loaded the bases by reaching on a fielding error and Williams cleared them with the slam to left field.
The Lions had 11 batters came to bat in the inning and scored seven runs. Otto collected two strikeouts and worked around a two-out single to keep it an 8-5 lead for the Lions in the fifth.
In the bottom of the inning, the Lions added three more runs with Modrego hitting a triple to start the inning and scoring on a single by Dugi. Schaefer reached base with a single and was pinch run for by
Chloe Reneau (Garrison). Williams drilled a double to right center to plate Reneau and Dugi.
Elly Smith cut into the Lion lead with deep home run to right center in the sixth. The Wolves threatened in the top of the seventh with two runners on base with two outs. Eagle reached on a fielder's choice and Kamdyn Barrientos earned a walk.
On the final play of the game, Hannah Smith singled up the middle, plating Eagle and Barrientos was thrown out at third to end the game.
Otto went the distance, facing 34 batters. She had seven strikeouts, while allowing five earned runs on six hits, five walks, and one hit batter. She is 5-1 on the season. Meghan Anderson was charged with six earned runs in the complete game loss, her first of the season. She had eight strikeouts, four walks, and 11 hits.
Williams and Dugi had multi-hit games in game two, while Dutton had two walks. Schaefer, Terry, Modrego, and Dugi stole a base, while Dutton stole two.
"Emily threw well enough for us to get a big win. She did what she always does, coming through big when we need it and gave our bats a chance to come alive," added McNutt. "Defensively, not a great game for us, but our bats saved us in this game as well."
UP NEXT
A&M-Commerce resumes the West Texas A&M Invitational on Saturday at approximately 12:30 p.m. against Adams State and plays Northern State in the night cap at around 4:30 p.m.
– 30 –
Lion Athletics Mission: Committed to a "Best in Class" experience for all.
