GEORGETOWN, Texas -- The 4th-ranked and conference No. 1 seed Texas Lutheran softball team advanced to Sunday's SCAC Championship Game with a 5-0 win over six-seed Centenary before dropping its third game of the season in the SCAC Championship game, losing 5-3 to two-seed St. Thomas.
The win in the semifinals was highlighted by a complete game from Amanda White (Lockhart/Lockhart) and a first inning two-run home run from Faith Hernandez (Dinuba, CA/Dinuba).
The Bulldogs (39-3) took no time getting the bats going, putting up two runs on three hits in the first. After a leadoff groundout, an Annie Kay (Sinton/Sinton) single set up a two-out, two-run homer from Hernandez.
Through two innings, White retired six of the first seven Ladies (21-22).
The Bulldogs added three more runs in the fourth after Bella Rodriguez (Pearland/Pearland) drove in Taylor Vannett (Kingwood/Kingwood) following her leadoff single. Caelee Clark (Montgomery/Lake Creek) added another run with an RBI groundout before an RBI double from Annie Kay scored the final run of the inning and the game.
The final three innings went scoreless while White (20-1) continued to deal. The freshly minted SCAC Pitcher of the Year finished with a complete-game shutout, her sixth of the season, and three strikeouts to one walk and five hits. The shutout was TLU's 18th of the season, ranking amongst the top five in the nation.
Kay, Rodriguez, and Harleigh Russell (Fort Worth/Boswell) paced TLU at the plate with 2-for-3 showings while five other Bulldogs collected a hit in the game. Hernandez (2 RBI), Clark, Kay, and Rodriguez combined to bring in TLU's five runs.
Sunday's loss in the SCAC Tournament title game marks just the second time in program history with the only other time coming in 2023 also against St. Thomas. The 2025 season is only the second season since TLU joined the SCAC that TLU has not been the regular season and tournament champions.
A five-run second inning from the Celts proved to be enough as they survived a late Bulldogs rally attempt.
A bases loaded walk delivered the Celts first run of the game before a two-RBI single broke it open. Bloop RBI singles were responsible for two more runs as the Celts took a 5-0 lead in the second.
In the fifth, Caelee Clark drew a bases loaded walk of her own to get the Bulldogs on the board. Annie Kay drove in two more runs with a two-RBI double in what would ultimately be the Bulldogs final runs of the game as the two teams traded zeroes for the rest of the game.
Taylor Vannett paced TLU at the plate with a 2-for-3 performance, while Ainsley Davis (Rockwall/Jesuit (OR)) took her second loss of the season, moving to 9-2. Davis got the start and went four innings and allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks. Katelyn Howard (Waller/Hempstead) entered in relief and went the final two innings, allowing no runs on two hits and a walk.
Caelee Clark, Annie Kay, Serena Gonzalez (Corpus Christi/Foy H. Moody), and Harleigh Russellwere named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Bulldogs await their postseason plans to be announced on Monday, May 12, during the NCAA Division-III Softball Championship Selection Show on ncaa.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).
