SEGUIN â€" Texas Lutheran Softball clinched first place in the SCAC and will host the SCAC Championship in two weeks after a Friday-night doubleheader sweep at home against Centenary at Theos Morck Field at Ed Kruse Stadium.
 
The Bulldogs extended their winning streak to nine games with the 8-0 and 14-0 five-inning wins over the Ladies. The pair of dominant shutouts improved TLU's record to 27-7 on the year and 19-1 in the SCAC. Centenary dropped to 5-25 overall and 5-13 in the conference with the two losses.
 
The Bulldogs will wrap up their regular season with another doubleheader against Centenary tomorrow starting at noon. Prior to the games, TLU will formally dedicate Kruse Stadium with pregame celebrations commencing at 11:30 a.m.
 
In the first game on Friday, the Bulldogs jumped on the board early, scoring five runs in the first inning to take control. Those five runs came with the help of a crucial throwing error by Centenary. Three of the five runs were unearned. The scoring binge was keyed by a two-run single for Taylor Yancey and capped off with a deep double to right field by Heather Hummel that drove in one.
 
After scoring those five runs in the opening frame, the game settled down with neither team able to get on the scoreboard again until the fourth inning. That's when the TLU offense woke back up, scoring three more behind a Yancey sacrifice fly and a Maegan Taylor one-run single. Again, the rally was aided by a Centenary miscue in the field resulting in two unearned runs. In all, five of the eight TLU runs were unearned.
 
The five runs in the first inning were all Taylor Grissom (Spring, Texas) needed in the circle as she earned her seventh win (7-2), while notching her fifth complete game and fourth shutout of the year. She tossed all five innings, allowing just five hits and a walk while striking out one. She's now given up just four earned runs in 42 2/3 innings of work in conference play.
 
Yancey (Magnolia, Texas) led the Bulldog offense with three RBI, finishing 1-for-3 with a run scored. She's now driven in 16 runs in her last six games.
 
The Bulldog offense came alive even more in the second game, scoring in every inning on its way to a 14-0 route. Once again, TLU scored early, notching three runs in the first inning to take control. Three different Bulldogs each drove in a run in that inning.
 
The big damage came in the third when TLU exploded for eight runs. The production did not come from extra-base hits. Instead, the Bulldogs racked up eight singles to score the first six runs of the frame. Finally, the inning was capped off with a Hummel two-run triple down the left field line.
 
Eight different Bulldogs tallied RBI in the game, with Grace Estes (Willis, Texas) leading the way with three. She finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored, a walk and a triple.
 
The Bulldogs finished with 15 hits in the game and 24 in the doubleheader. With the two wins, the Bulldogs have now outscored opponents 84-12 in their last six games.
 
Amanda Lochte (Fredericksburg, Texas) earned the win in the circle, improving to 6-1 on the year. She tossed the game's first four innings, allowing just two hits and striking out one.
 
Nicole Snow (Tomball, Texas) finished off the game, throwing the final inning and sitting Centenary down in order while only tossing seven pitches.