CLARKSVILLE, AR -- No. 8 Texas Lutheran completed the sweep of Ozarks (AR) on Saturday, winning game three by a final score of 5-4 in Clarksville, Arkansas.
The 2025 team joins the 2016 and 2018 teams for the best starts in program history as all three squads reached the 25-1 mark.
It was senior Annie Kay (Sinton/Sinton) who hit the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh to put TLU on top for good.
Junior Katelyn Howard (Waller/Hempstead) and senior Amanda White (Lockhart/Lockhart) combined to keep the Eagles at bay, as Ozarks scored just four runs to TLU's 27 on the weekend.
White went 6.1 innings, striking out five and surrendering four runs (two earned) on three hits while Howard (0.2 IP) entered in the seventh to pick up the final two out and the first save of her collegiate career.
Ozarks got on the board first, their first lead of the series, in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly that was set up by a TLU error.
TLU scored runs in the fifth and sixth to take their first lead of the afternoon as Bella Rodriguez (Pearland/Pearland) scored on an Ozarks error in the fifth and Serena Gonzalez (Corpus Christi/Foy H. Moody) hit an RBI double down the left field line to plate Annie Kay and give the Bulldogs the lead in the sixth.
The Eagles scratched across two more runs in the sixth as the host Eagles launched a two-out, two-run home run to take a 3-2 lead into the seventh.
After a pair of two out walks, Caelee Clark (Montgomery/Lake Creek) reached on a fielder's choice that led to an Ozarks error and Mia Landry (Cypress/Bridgeland) scoring the tying run. A bunt RBI single from Kay allowed two Bulldogs to score and put the Bulldogs on top, 5-3.
The Eagles scratched one more run across in the bottom of the seventh as they attempted a late rally but Howard entered to close the door with a pair of groundouts.
The Bulldogs will host Southwestern on Friday, April 4, as the two teams begin a three-game SCAC series at Ed Kruse Stadium. First pitch is slated for 5 PM with the game being broadcast on TLU+. All streaming and live stats links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.
For more information on Texas Lutheran softball, follow the Bulldogs on Facebook (@txlutheransoftball), X (Twitter) (@TLUsoftball), and Instagram (@tlu_softball) and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on Twitter, @tlu_athletics on Instagram and TikTok, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).
