AUSTIN, Texas – The Concordia Texas softball team secured a series win on the opening day of American Southwest Conference play, winning both games of the series-opening doubleheader over Howard Payne on Friday.
In game one, the Tornados took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back, coasting to a 5-1 victory behind a stellar performance in the circle from
Bailey Tisdale.
Tisdale went the distance, allowing only one run on three hits while striking out nine in a complete game of work to earn the win.
In the first inning,
Megan Hooper led things off with her first of three hits on the day, stealing second and eventually plating the first CTX run on an errant throw from the catcher.
Erica Riley also picked up a hit, coming around to score on a bunt from
Ashley Hallmark, and
Kylie Pavlicek's RBI single added on to the lead. After one, the Tornados led 3-0.
After a few scoreless frames, Pavliceck led off the fourth with a single, and
Zaleigh Perez followed with a double. With Pavliceck on third,
Cristina Ayala poked an RBI single down the line, extending the Tornados' lead to 4-0 after four innings.
In the bottom of the sixth, Ayala provided another RBI single, giving CTX another insurance run and pushing their advantage 5-0 heading into the final frame.
The Yellow Jackets pushed a run across in the final inning, but Tisdale slammed the door shut, securing a 5-1 victory in the opening game.
Concordia Texas received another impressive pitching performance in game two from
Chaynau Johnson, and
Amber Hatfield and
Erica Riley recorded two RBIs apiece, lifting the Tornados to an 8-3 win in the nightcap.
Johnson earned her second win of the year, allowing only one earned run on five hits in the circle.
After two scoreless innings to start, Howard Payne struck first, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the third.
In the bottom half of the frame, the Tornados answered, scoring two runs on a hit and two HPU errors.
Ellie Congalton led off the inning, belting a double to the centerfield wall, and came around to score on an error from the HPU catcher. Next,
Ashley Soto stole third, and another errant throw from the catcher brought her home. After three innings, the score was even at 2-2.
The Yellow Jackets regained the lead in the top of the fourth on an RBI double, making the score 3-2.
Pavliceck checked in the game as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the fifth, poking a single up the middle, and Hooper followed with a bunt single to put two runners on. With two outs, Hatfield cleared the bases with a double, giving the Tornados a 4-3 lead after five innings.
Looking for some extra insurance, the Tornados tacked on four runs in a huge sixth inning.
Emily Schmuck got the ball rolling with bunt single, eventually scoring on an RBI groundout from Congalton, and Perez followed suit with an RBI double. With two runners on and two outs, Riley delivered the exclamation point, blasting a two-RBI double to left field and extending the advantage out to 8-3.
Howard Payne scraped a pair of hits together in the seventh inning, but Johnson worked around the jam and forced a groundout to end the game.
The Tornados will look to complete the series sweep on Saturday as they prepare for the final game of the three-game set at noon.
