ABILENE, Texas –
Anissa Garcia went 5-for-8 from the plate, driving in four runs on the day as the Concordia Texas softball team split a doubleheader between St. Thomas and Centenary on Thursday.
The Tornados were playing on short rest after splitting a doubleheader against No. 2 Texas Lutheran on Wednesday, before facing the Celts and Ladies in non-conference games.
In the first game of the day, CTX faced off against UST. Despite an early three-run lead, the Tornados were unable to keep the Celts off the base paths late, falling 7-5.
Erica Riley went 3-for-4 at the plate, opening the scoring for CTX with a solo shot in the first inning, her first home run of the year. She finished the game with two runs scored and two RBIs. Garcia, meanwhile, had a pair of hits with a run scored and a run batted in.
After a back-and-forth affair through the first six innings, the Tornados entered their final at-bat trailing 7-4 as UST put up three runs in the top half of the seventh.
Emily Schmuck led off with a single, followed by
Megan Hooper reaching on a Celts' error. One out later, Riley scored Schmuck on an RBI single to left, cutting the deficit to 7-5. One batter later,
Ashley Hallmark worked a walk to load the bases, but the game ended in defeat as
Emily Moses flew out to left, ending CTX's rally.
In the second game of the day,
Simone Langland allowed no hits through the first three frames and Garcia had a three-RBI game, as the Tornados took care of Centenary 4-1.
Concordia Texas once again jumped out to an early lead on an RBI single by Garcia in the first and an RBI double from
Ashley Soto in the second for a quick 2-0 advantage.
Langland, meanwhile, was dealing, striking out a pair and had allowed only one batter to reach base through the first three innings.
The Ladies scratched across a run in the fourth, but the Tornados were quick to respond in the following inning as Garcia smashed a double into the gap to score Schmuck and make it 3-1.
In the bottom half of the inning, Centenary's first two hitters reached base. One out later,
Lexi Bechtel came on in relief, striking out a batter before Hooper ended the threat by throwing out the runner at the plate to protect the 3-1 lead.
Garcia gave CTX an insurance run in the seventh on her third hit of the game, an RBI single down the left field line to score
Cristina Ayala, growing the lead to 4-1. Bechtel worked around a lead-off double to close the door on the Ladies and secure her first save of the season.
The Tornados finished the game with 10 hits, their eighth game this season with double-digit hits, aided by two-hit games from Schmuck and
Hailee Tinajero, who each had a run scored on the day.
Concordia Texas will have a long layoff before returning to Tornado Softball Field to host UT Dallas in a three-game set. The Tornados will open the series on March 19 with a single game at 6 p.m.
