THE RUNDOWN
LUBBOCK – Midwestern State had a dominant performance from its pitching staff to earn a pair of wins in the finale at the Lubbock Softball Classic on Sunday. The Mustangs belted three home runs to defeat Emporia State 5-2 and junior reliever Abbie Lancaster slammed the door with three perfect innings of relief against Colorado School of Mines, 2-1.
 
In the opener, Emporia State got both its runs in the bottom of the first to break the scoring seal. A two-out, two-run homer to left from Dan Sprinkle gave the Hornets a 2-0 lead.
 
Midwestern State answered in the top of the second as junior second baseman Samantha Loos ripped a solo shot to the power-alley in left to cut the lead in half.
 
Junior starting pitcher Riley Adams found a groove after the first. The right-hander allowed just one hit and one walk over her final five innings of work, giving the Mustangs ample opportunity to take the lead.
 
After exchanging zeroes in the third and fourth innings, MSU hit a pair of taters in the fifth to take the lead for good. Loos worked a leadoff walk and senior third baseman Kelcee Thompson made the Hornets pay for a mistake over the plate, blasting a two-run bomb to center to give the Mustangs the lead. Junior Misty Muniz followed with a single and got into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. After a strikeout, sophomore outfielder Kelsey Eropkin lifted an opposite field, two-run blast of her own to push the lead to 5-2.
 
Lancaster entered the game in the bottom of the seventh and quickly slammed the door, getting a pair of groundouts and a flyout to secure the 5-2 win.
 
In the second game, the Mustangs got revenge on Colorado School of Mines after suffering an 11-0 setback in the season-opener.
 
Sophomore starting pitcher Gracie Bogle pitched well, scattering three hits and three walks for a lone run in four innings of work and Lancaster dominated with three perfect innings of relief to earn her second save of the day.
 
A leadoff walk to Loos got things going for the Mustangs in the second inning, followed by a single from Thompson and a sacrifice bunt from Muniz to put a pair in scoring position for MSU. Freshman shortstop Caycee Griffin plated both runners on her two-out double to center, giving the Mustangs the lead.
 
The situation looked dire for MSU in the bottom of the fourth as the Orediggers loaded the bases with one out. Bogle induced Mines' Megan Dickson into a grounder to third, which Thompson gunned to catcher Amanda Thomas at the plate for the force out. Bogle was wide on her 3-1 offering to Pua Fujinaga, walking home a run, but the Tulsa product got out of the jam as the Oredigger's tried to squeeze home a run on a bunt that Bogle easily fielded and tossed to first.
 
Lancaster entered the game in the fifth following a leadoff single,but stranded the runner at second by retiring the next three hitters. Over her three innings of work, Lancaster retired the final seven batters with grounders that never left the infield to earn her second save of the day.

NOTES VS. EMPORIA STATE
- Second baseman Samantha Loos blasted her second home run of the season against the Hornets, going 1-for-2 with two runs and a walk. Through the first three games, the Udall, Kan., native has a slugging percentage of 1.125.
- Third baseman Kelcee Thompson launched her first home run of the season on a go-ahead two-run blast in the fifth.
- Left fielder Kelsey Eropkin added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the fifth on her first long ball of the season.
- Starting pitcher Riley Adams tossed a two-hit gem in her first start of the year. The junior improved to 2-0 and lowered her team-leading ERA to 1.66.
- Reliever Abbie Lancaster earned the first save for the Mustangs after throwing a perfect seventh inning to secure the 5-2 win.
 
NOTES VS. COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
- Reliever Abbie Lancaster earned her second-straight save, tossing 3.0 perfect innings of relief.
- Shortstop Caycee Griffin tallied her second double of the season, plating both MSU runs in the top of the second.
- Third baseman Kelcee Thompson went 3-for-4, marking the first three-hit game by an MSU player this season.
 
NOTES
- The 4-1 start by the Mustangs is the best start since the 2011 team started 22-1 and advanced to the NCAA World Series.
- The MSU pitching staff allowed five hits and five walks in 14.0 innings, good for a WHIP of 0.714.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State is back in action on Friday, Feb. 9 against Oklahoma Baptist at the North Texas Softball Bash. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m.