AUSTIN, Texas –
Ellie Congalton capped off a five-run third inning with a three-run shot over the left field and Concordia Texas softball team split the first two games of its three-game series against LeTourneau on Friday.
The Tornados returned to Tornado Softball Field for its first home games in nearly a month, taking on the YellowJackets in a doubleheader.
In the first game of the night, CTX rallied late, scoring a run in the seventh inning to send it to extra innings, but LETU scored three runs in the following frame and another Tornados comeback fell short, losing 5-3.
Concordia Texas' bats were quiet through the first four frames, mustering up only three hits and trailed the YellowJackets 2-0 after they scratched across a run each in the second and fourth innings.
The Tornados cut the deficit in half in the following inning as
Ashley Soto doubled with one out and reached third on a wild pitch. She would go on to score one batter later thanks to a sac fly from
Megan Hooper.
In their last at-bat in the seventh, CTX rallied as Soto's second double of the game brought home
Emily Moses and tied the game up at 2-all.
In the eighth, LETU responded with a three-run output to retake the lead at 5-2.
The Tornados pushed across a run in the bottom half of the frame on a Moses sac fly, but nothing more, falling 5-3.
In the following game of the night, the CTX bats came alive, exploding for 10 runs on 10 hits in only four frames and going on to win by run-rule 10-1 after five innings.
Eight different batters had at least one hit in the win, including a two-hit performance by
Landrei Stafford, while Congalton went deep with her first ever collegiate home run.
In the circle,
Simone Langland picked up her second win of the season as she allowed only one run on three hits over five innings of work and struck out one batter.
The Tornados opened the scoring in the first as Hooper led off with a single and came around to score as
Erica Riley followed with a RBI double down the left field line. One batter later, Stafford ripped an RBI single through the infield to score Riley and make it 2-0.
Two innings later, CTX batted around with a five-run outburst.
The Tornados remained patient at the plate, loading the bases on three straight walks. One out later,
Kelsey Lowke brought home a pair on a two-run check-swing single to center and extending the lead to 4-0. Congalton cleared the bases two pitches later with a no-doubter home run over the left field wall to make it 7-0.
Concordia Texas scored three more runs in the following frame thanks to an RBI double from
Ashley Hallmark and a two-run single into right field by
Cristina Ayala as the Tornados wrapped up the game in five innings, winning it 10-1.
Concordia Texas will go for the series win on Saturday, playing the finale against YellowJackets at noon from Tornado Softball Field.
