PINEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana College softball team started fast in both games of the doubleheader against Sul Ross State, and saw a clean-played first game end in the Wildcats favor 3-2 and give SRSU its first loss of the season, but an error-filled second game allowed the Lobos to come back 7-5 to split the doubleheader Friday evening at Wildcat Park.
Game 1 – Sul Ross State 2, Louisiana College 3
After getting out of a two on, one out jam in the top of the first inning, the Wildcats struck first in the bottom of the first inning.
Briley Johnston led off the inning with a double to left, and then she moved to second on a ground ball second.
Desiree Squires then brought Johnston home with a RBI infield single to make it 1-0 LC.
Kayla Dauthier's hit up the middle moved Squires to second, and then
Shaye Tredinich brought Squires home with another single right back up Broadway for a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
LC added its third run of the game in the second inning as
Alyssa Landry led off the frame with a walk, was moved to second when Johnston also walked, stole third, and then came home on
Olivia Coaker's sacrifice fly to right.
From that point, pitching and solid defense held the Lobos at bay, allowing Sul Ross to get a run in each the fifth and sixth innings. The Lobos run in the sixth came at a cost as the tying run was gunned down trying to go from first to third on the RBI single to right as
Kayla Dauthier made a strong throw that resulted in the end of the frame.
Lexie Marks flashed some leather in the seventh as she made a diving grab of a sinking liner to center for the second out of the inning and kept the tying run at first base, a run that would not advance any further as the Wildcats closed out the game one win.
Shaye Tredinich led the Wildcat offense in game one as she went two-of-three with a RBI.
Briley Johnston was one-for-two with a double, a walk, and a run scored.
Desiree Squires went one-for-three with a RBI and a run scored.
Olivia Coaker (2-0) had a very solid outing, going six full innings and allowed four hits and two runs, both earned, walked one and didn't get any strikeouts.
Bailey McMillian finished things off in the seventh as she allowed just one hit and no runs and no walks to collect her first save of the season.
Game 2 – Sul Ross State 7, Louisiana College 4
Much like game one, game two started off very well for the Wildcats as the LC defense got the Lobos up and down in order in the first, and then
KayeLea Dearmon gave the Wildcats the lead in the bottom half of the inning with a double down the left field line that scored
Desiree Squires and
Olivia Coaker to give LC a 2-0 lead. That was made 3-0 later in the inning as Dearmon came home on a fielding error for the 3-run lead after one. That lead went up to four runs in the bottom of the second as
Samantha Cetta led off the frame by banging the center field wall with a double. She moved to third on a ground ball before
Briley Johnston brought Cetta home with a RBI single to left for the 4-0 score.
That lead was erased in the third as the Lobos plated four in the frame, though the Wildcats kept Sul Ross from taking the lead as a perfect relay caught a runner trying to score from second on a base hit to left that ended the inning.
LC retook the lead in the fourth inning as
Alyssa Landry led off the inning with a base hit through the left side of the infield. She was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and then with two outs
Briley Johnston traded places with Landry with a RBI double that just went fair down the third base line for a 5-4 Wildcat lead.
But the sweep was not to be as an error kept the at bat alive for the Lobos, who scored three unearned runs after the final out should've been recorded to take the 7-5 lead. LC would get the tying run on base with just one out in the bottom half of the inning, but the Wildcats could not get the runs home.
Samantha Cetta went two-for-two at the plate in game two, collecting a double and a run scored.
Briley Johnston went two-for-four with a double, two stolen bases, and two RBI.
KayeLea Dearmon went one-for-three with a double, a walk, two RBI, and a run scored.
CeCe Pace (1-3) picked up the hard-luck loss, going 6.2 innings and allowed 14 hits and seven runs, only four earned, didn't walk any batters and struck out three.
Bailey McMillian faced only one batter, who she got to fly out.
The Wildcats (7-10, 2-3 ASC) look to pick up the series win on Saturday as they play the rubber game against Sul Ross State. First pitch of the third and final game of the series against the Lobos (6-1, 6-1 ASC) is set for 11:00 A.M. at Wildcat Park.
