SEGUIN, Texas -- The second-ranked Texas Lutheran Bulldogs, the 2019 NCAA Division III National Champions, swept a doubleheader Tuesday from 13th-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor on Tuesday.
TLU won the first game 8-0 in five innings and took the second game 9-0 in six innings at the Bulldogs's Ed Kruse Stadium (Morck Softball Field).
The Bulldogs improved to 3-1 overall. UMHB dropped to 2-3.
Haley Padilla ended the second game with a walk-off, two-run home run in the sixth.
Padilla, a junior from Spring Branch (Smithson Valley), hit three home runs in the doubleheader. She hit a two-run shot in the first and had two two-run homers in the second contest.
Padilla finished the day 3-for-6 with six RBI and four runs scored.
Kelly Jurden (Brenham/Brenham) closed out game one with an RBI single in the fifth. Jurden was 4-for-4 with three runs scored, three stolen bases, and two RBI in the opener.
Sydney Ouellette (Corpus Christi/Gregory-Portland) flirted with a perfect game in the first contest. Ouellette allowed only a lead-off single in the fourth. She finished with a one-hit shutout. She struck out two and did not walk a batter.
Ouellette improved to 2-0 with the win.
Ashlyn Strother (1-0) pitched four shutout innings in relief. She surrendered just one hit and struck out five.
TLU hosts NCAA Division II program St. Edward's (Texas) for a 4 p.m. doubleheader on Friday. TLU will have a free webcast of the doubleheader on
www.tlubulldogs.com.
