SEGUIN â€" Jennifer Gallagher sent the crowd home happy with one swing of the bat on Thursday, hammering a walk-off three-run home run to help the Texas Lutheran softball team christen brand-new Morck Field at Ed Kruse Stadium with a doubleheader split over Pacific Lutheran.
 
The Bulldogs trailed the Lutes 4-2 heading into the final inning with it looking like TLU would open Kruse Stadium with a pair of losses, but two runner quickly got on and Gallagher (Missouri City, Texas) did the rest, driving the first pitch she saw over the fence down the left field foul line. Her teammates mobbed her at home plate to celebrate the win.

"It felt amazing, but it wouldn't happen if we didn't get anybody on base before me," Gallagher said. "They did their job and then I did mine. I was just thinking get a hit, on the ground somewhere â€" just get through so I can score at least one person."

"When Hope got on first and we had the tying run on first, Pacific Lutheran called timeout so that gave me a chance to talk to Jen," Texas Lutheran coach Wade Wilson said. "We'd been taking a first strike, but I told her if she found that first pitch and she liked it, get on it, and she did. She bailed us out because I felt like Pacific Lutheran outplayed us the entire game. They played a good game and took advantage of our mistakes, but we got fortunate there."
 
Texas Lutheran won that gave 5-4 after dropping the first one 4-3, snapping their 13-game winning streak just one win short of tying the school record. The split moved the Bulldogs' record to 18-6 (10-0 SCAC) on the year.
 
All five of the Bulldogs' runs in that second game came on the power of the long ball. They took a 2-1 lead in the third inning off a Molly Gorrie (Houston, Texas) two-run blast. It was the senior's first homer of her career after more than 250 at-bats.
 
That TLU lead did not stand very long as Pacific Lutheran jumped back out in front the next inning, scoring three in the frame behind an RBI groundout and a two-run, two-out single.
 
The two teams could not put any more runs on the board until that seventh inning when the Bulldog offense sparked to life. Having been held down to just four hits in the first six innings and having the leadoff hitter in the seventh fly out to center field, the Bulldogs were down to their final two outs. That's when Maegan Taylor (Helotes, Texas) ripped a double to the left-center wall. Taylor's double was followed up by a Hope Estes single to left field that set the table for Gallagher's heroics. The sophomore catcher finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored.
 
Samantha Yenne (Lake Jackson, Texas) came away with the win in the circle for the Bulldogs, improving to 4-2 on the year after coming in prior to the sixth inning. She threw two innings of shutout softball, giving up three hits and striking out one.
 
Taylor Grissom (Spring, Texas) got the start in the circle for TLU and went five innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks.
 
In the first game, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first inning and looked like they would continue their winning ways just as they'd done for the past 13 games, but the offense was shut down the rest of the way by Kelsey Robinson. The Lutes' pitcher tossed a complete game, giving up those three first-inning runs and scattering nine hits and three walks across seven innings.
 
Amanda Lochte took the loss for the Bulldogs, falling to 4-1 on the year. She tossed the game's first three innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on five hits and a pair of walks.
 
Kimberly Leschber (Thorndale, Texas) came in for Lochte to start the fourth and pitched extremely well from the bullpen, throwing four shutout innings and allowing just one hit.
 
As mentioned, all of the Bulldog offense in that first game came in the first inning. The inning started with a leadoff single from Grace Estes. She scored on a Taylor Yancey double. Hope Estes drove in the next run, scoring Ashley Jacobsen on an infield single. Heather Hummel capped off the scoring with a single through the left side that scored Yancey.
 
Armed with a 3-1 lead, it looked like the Bulldogs would be in good shape, but Pacific Lutheran scored three in the third inning, taking advantage of a TLU fielding error in the process.
 
The Bulldogs tallied nine hits and earned three walks in the game, doing a good job of putting runners on base, but they left six runners on throughout the game. That proved to be the difference as the Lutes only left three on base.
 
Texas Lutheran will enter back into conference play this weekend when it hosts Trinity in a huge four-game series. The top two teams in the SCAC will meet for doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday, starting at 1 p.m. both days. Live video and live stats will be available via tlubulldogs.com.

"This is a huge weekend," Wilson said. "It's the top two teams in conference, but it's just a game. Every game is just a game, but we have to come out and play. Win or lose, as long as we play with passion, we're going to be OK. Hopefully we do that, and hopefully we learn from tonight."