THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Freshman Bailey Wamsley went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate and senior Carli Woolsey drove in three runs as Midwestern State downed UT Permian Basin 8-5 in the series opener on Thursday at Mustangs Park.
 
Woolsey notched her fourth game of the season with multiple extra base hits, including her team-leading 11th bash of the year to tie the game in the bottom of the third. The Enid, Okla., native went the other way for a double in the bottom of the sixth to give the Maroon and Gold an insurance run, up 7-4.
 
Wamsley recorded the second four-hit game for the Mustangs this season. The Guthrie, Okla., product scored a run and drove home another in the four-single outing.
 
Senior Tucker Caraway scored three runs after reaching base in three of four plate appearances. The Whitewright native has reached base in nine-consecutive games, the third-longest streak by MSU Texas this season.
 
Senior Misty Muniz improved to 8-9 with a complete game effort. The Seabrook, Texas, native allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits while striking out seven. Thursday marked the second time this season the right-hander tossed at least 5.0 innings without a walk.
 
UTPB's Alicia Marion and Jessica Gonzales provided four of the Falcons' seven hits. Marion went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a triple while Gonzales notched a pair of doubles.
 
Sloan Springfield was saddled with the loss for the Falcons. The southpaw falls to 5-10 after giving up six runs (four earned) on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts over 4.0 innings.
 
The Mustangs worked off two weeks' worth of rust in the first, allowing UTPB to break the scoring seal on a passed ball and sacrifice fly. MSU Texas answered with a two-spot of its own in the bottom half. Caraway was hit by Springfield's second pitch of the game before freshman Ashley Turner beat out a bunt single. Junior Lauren Lindgren pushed both runners into scoring position on a sacrifice when Woolsey drove home MSU Texas' first run on a hard-hit grounder to short.
 
With Woolsey on first and Turner on third, the Maroon and Gold worked the double-steal to perfection to tie the game.
 
Junior Jenna Hering staked Midwestern to its first lead of the day on her first career hit in the bottom of the second. The Watertown, Wisc., product drove an opposite field single to right with runners on the corners to score Wamsley from third.
 
UTPB regained the lead in the top of the third following a leadoff triple.
 
Muniz found her rhythm to close out the game, retiring 13 of the last 17 batters faced to pick up the win.
 
The Mustangs scored a pair of unearned runs in the fourth to take the lead for good before adding a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth.
 
GAME NOTES
- Midwestern State climbs above .500 at 17-16 overall and 8-14 in Lone Star Conference play
- The Mustangs improved to 12-2 at Mustangs Park this season
- MSU Texas stole three bags in a game for the first time since the 2017 season
- Senior Carli Woolsey belted her team-leading 11th home run of the season and logged her fourth game this season with multiple extra-base hits
- Freshman Bailey Wamsley recorded the second, four-hit performance by MSU this season, matching Lauren Lindgren's 4-for-4 outing against Northwestern Oklahoma State on March 19
- Senior Tucker Caraway scored three runs, tying Kelsey Eropkin's performance against Southern Nazarene on Feb. 1 for the single-game high
- Senior Misty Muniz struck out seven without giving up a walk in 7.0 innings of work
- The Seabrook native previously fanned seven without allowing a walk in 5.0 innings of work in the win over Cameron
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State wraps up the series with UTPB tomorrow in a doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.