SHERMAN, Texas -- No. 5 Texas Lutheran swept their weather-shortened series against Austin College on Sunday with 8-1 and 5-1 wins over the 'Roos after storms across the state of Texas shifted the three-game series to just a Sunday doubleheader.
Senior designated player
Serena Gonzalez (Corpus Christi/Foy H. Moody) moved ahead of Taylor Yancey (141) with her 142nd career RBI, driving in the Bulldogs' second run of the game in the first inning on an RBI groundout. Gonzalez currently ranks fifth in SCAC history in the category - trailing DePauw's Emma Minx by five for the number four position in conference history.
Katelyn Howard (Waller/Hempstead) spun a gem in the circle, improving to 9-0 with her seventh complete game of the season. The right-hander struck out six while scattering two hits and two walks, improving her conference numbers to 8-0 with a 0.46 ERA.
Texas Lutheran (12-1,10-1 SCAC) opened the scoring in the first as
Caelee Clark (Montgomery/Lake Creek) got on with a lead off single before stealing two bases and
Riley Davila (Angleton/Angleton) drew a walk and stole second to put two runners in scoring position for an RBI single from
Taylor Vannett (Kingwood/Kingwood). Gonzalez drove in Davila with her record-breaking RBI groundout. The Bulldogs would load the bases before scoring the final run of the inning on a bases loaded walk to
Mia Landry (Cypress/Bridgeland).
A three-run third inning blew the game open for Texas Lutheran as
Harleigh Russell (Fort Worth/Boswell) led off the inning with a double before scoring on an RBI single from
Cady Bowyer (Fulshear/Jordan). Bowyer would end up at third following an Austin College error and scored on an RBI groundout from Landry. An RBI double from Clark was responsible for the final run of the inning on an RBI double.Â
A sacrifice fly from
Taylor Vannett in the fourth and a bases loaded hit by pitch to
Chesley Swisher (Cypress/Bridgeland) in the seventh were responsible for the Bulldogs final runs of the game as Howard kept the 'Roos at bay in the circle. Howard retired 11 of the final 12 batters she faced on Sunday.
Clark, Davila, Vannett, Russell, Bowyer, and Swisher each provided two-hit efforts for Texas Lutheran with Vannett and Landry driving in two runs each. With her two hits, Clark became just the fourth Bulldog in program history to eclipse the 200-career hit mark and would pass Grace Estes (204) to move into third all-time in program history with 205 career hits by the end of Sunday's doubleheader. Clark, the active leader in career hits in Division-III, also passed Rhodes' Allison Conn (200) to move into third in SCAC history in the category as only the fourth player in SCAC history to reach the career mark.
In game two, both teams turned in a pair of zeroes before TLU got the scoring started with an RBI double from
Taylor Vannett.
The Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the fifth on RBI singles from
Cady Bowyer and
Chesley Swisher.
Jordyn Joy (Kerrville/Tivy) took the circle in game two, tossing four scoreless innings. The southpaw struck out two and walked one to improve to 2-0. The 'Roos threatened in the second but Joy was able to work out of the bases loaded jam and enter the dugout unscathed.
Jordyn Stuessy (Garden Ridge/Davenport) took the ball in the fifth inning with the Bulldogs leading 3-0. The 'Roos scored their only run of the game in the inning on a dropped fly ball to shrink the TLU lead to 3-1.
After receiving a new life courtesy of a dropped fly from the 'Roos, Bowyer tacked on two insurance runs with a two-RBI single through the right side to bring the game to its final score of 5-1.
Stuessy retired the final six batters she faced to earn her first career save, tossing the final three innings, scattering two hits with a punchout.
With the wins, Texas Lutheran won their 79th straight SCAC conference series, dating back to joining the conference in 2014.
At the plate,
Caelee Clark paced the Bulldogs with a 3-for-5 outing with two stolen bases while Bowyer finished 2-for-2 with three RBI. Six Bulldogs registered a hit in the series finale. With her two stolen bases, Clark's chase for fellow Bulldog Kelly Jurden's NCAA Division-III stolen base record (246) nears its end as she sits at 245 in her career after Sunday.
The Bulldogs will host No. 18 WashU for a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday, March 11, at Ed Kruse Stadium. First pitch is slated for 2Â & 4Â PM with the games being broadcast on FloCollege. 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).
