WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- On the day of the home opener,
Allie Monroe went 3-for-6 and drove in three runs during the doubleheader as Midwestern State (2-4) defeated East Central (2-3) in the nightcap, 5-3, after the Tigers rallied for a 4-2 victory in the home opener.
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EAST CENTRAL 4, MIDWESTERN STATE 2 – GAME 1
Taylor Spence issued a leadoff walk to senior second baseman
Chloe Bryant in the first inning, and sophomore designated player Monroe drove Bryant home with an RBI double to left field as Midwestern State took a 1-0 lead.
McKinley Feazle drove in a run with a double for the Tigers in the second inning, but the Mustangs responded in the third inning.
Senior
Camile Nunez stroked a double to right center with one out, and freshman
Paige Gallegos from Iowa Park, Texas, delivered an RBI single that put the Mustangs back in front, 2-1.
Behind the solid pitching of freshman
Elizabeth Uhl, Midwestern State maintained the lead until the seventh inning.
Uhl hit Megan Lesko with a pitch in the third inning but proceeded to retire the next 12 Tigers she faced.
After Emily Bingham struck out to lead off the seventh inning, the next three batters reached base for East Central with a walk, an error and a base hit.
With the bases loaded, Uhl struck out pinch hitter Cara Duncan. Elyse LeClair drove in two runs with a two-out single to center, and Megan Lesko delivered an RBI single for the Tigers.
Uhl pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with a walk and six strikeouts but took the loss, falling to 1-1 for the season. After three unearned runs came in to score,
Sydney Gonzales closed out the seventh inning with four pitches.
Taylor Spence went the distance in the circle for East Central, allowing two runs on four hits with two strikeouts and four walks. Spence improved to 1-1 on the season.
EAST CENTRAL 3, MIDWESTERN STATE 5 – GAME 2
Monroe put the Mustangs in front 1-0 in the first inning of the nightcap when she hit a groundball to the right side of the infield and Bryant scored from third base. Bryant led off the first inning with a base hit up the middle advanced to second base on an obstruction call, and Nunez hit a ground ball that advanced Bryant to third base.
East Central tied the game in the third inning. Josie Goodman reached with a bunt single and advanced to third base on a throwing error after Elyse LeClair laid down a bunt to third base. Goodman scored when Lesko grounded into a double play.
Starting senior pitcher
Kennedy Cameron faced four batters in the fourth and retired the side in order in the fifth inning.
Gonzales worked the sixth inning and allowed just one hit, putting her in position to get the win.
The Mustangs erupted for four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Monroe came through with her eighth RBI of the season, driving home Nunez, who singled up the middle and advanced to second a wild pitch. The left-hand hitting Monroe stroked a single to the opposite field, scoring Nunez and putting MSU on top, 2-1.
Mikey Dominguez singled up the middle with the bases loaded, scoring two runs, and
Kayla Bryant hit a bloop single to left that scored
Morgan Brown before Dominguez was thrown out trying to score.
Leading 5-1, Cameron returned to the circle to pitch the seventh inning. Lesko launched a two-run homer with two outs, but Cameron closed the game by striking out Caton Muncy.
Cameron worked six innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks but did not earn a decision.
Gonzales was the winning pitcher and is 1-0 for the Mustangs with a save.
Taryn O'Brien allowed two runs on four hits with a walk and a strikeout and took the loss for the Tigers. She is 0-1 after an effective 5 1/3 innings in the circle for East Central.
Midwestern State returns to action against Fort Hays State at noon on Friday. The Mustang Round-Up will be staged at Wichita Falls Softball Complex, and the Mustangs will play twice on Saturday against Northwestern Oklahoma at 11 a.m. and a rematch with Fort Hays State is slated for 3:30 p.m. Midwestern State meets Northwest Missouri State at 10 a.m. on Sunday.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
