MARSHALL, Texas –
Erica Riley had three hits on the day as the Concordia Texas softball team opened conference play against No. 1 East Texas Baptist, but it was not enough, falling in a doubleheader on Friday.
In the first game, it was a pitcher's duel between the Tornados'
Bailey Tisdale and the Tigers' Preslye Cox, as neither one allowed a run through the first three frames.
In the top half of the fourth,
Ashley Hallmark reached on a walk and stole second to get into scoring position. She came around to score as
Erica Riley followed with an RBI single up the middle to give CTX a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom half of the inning, after ETBU loaded the bases with one out, Tisdale induced a fly out and a strikeout looking to end the threat and maintain the shutout.
In the following inning, the Santa Fe, Texas native was unlucky as the Tigers pushed across four runs to take their first lead of the game at 4-1.
The Tornados had one last shot in the seventh as
Samantha Lopez worked a one-out walk, but the following two batters were retired in order and CTX fell 4-1.
In the second game, CTX once again struck first, taking advantage of an early ETBU mistake.
In the opening frame, the Tornados put two runners in scoring position after
Megan Hooper reached on a fielder's choice, followed by a Riley double. Hooper scored after Hallmark reached on an error by the shortstop to give CTX a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers though, evened the score at 1-all after scratching across a run in the second.
The Tornados responded quickly in the following frame, loading the bases with three straight singles to lead off the inning.
Landrei Stafford followed, working a walk to make it 2-1.
East Texas Baptist took their first lead of the game in the bottom half of the inning, scoring two runs. They scored four more runs over the next two innings and took a 7-2 lead into the sixth.
Concordia Texas would get a run back in the sixth as
Hailee Tinajero went deep with a solo home run, but it was all the Tornados could muster, falling 8-3.
Schmuck and Riley each finished with a pair of hits for the game. Meanwhile, Hallmark swiped two bases over the two games, giving her 36 stolen bases in her two career, two short of tying the program's career record held Pepper Henderson.
The Tornados will look to avoid the sweep on Saturday when they will face the Tigers in the series finale at 11 a.m. at Taylor Field in Marshall, Texas.
