LUBBOCK, Texas – As the Northwestern State softball team closed in on beating a Power Five member for the third straight season, Texas Tech conjured late-game magic in a pair of Friday wins.
The Red Raiders (6-5) collected two walk-off wins, both 2-1 in score, to open the weekend series, both coming by way of a sacrifice fly to score the winning run.
The second win was arguably the most heartbreaking for NSU after Texas Tech forced extra innings when Breanna Russell hit a two-out home run in the seventh inning.
Three innings later, the Red Raiders loaded the bases with no outs for a Karli Hamilton sacrifice fly RBI. Texas Tech put runners aboard with a walk and two bunt singles.
NSU's winning streak was snapped at eight games with the losses, and the Lady Demons will attempt to leave Lubbock with a win in Saturday's 1 p.m. finale.
"Micaela Bouvier gave us a great outing in the second game – it was her best so far this season," said NSU coach Donald Pickett. "But we didn't hit, and we didn't have the focus to adjust at the plate.
"We've got to have more than three hits in 10 innings. We have to have focus and consistency up and down the lineup."
Bouvier was one out away from her first shutout since 2016, not allowing a run until Russell's two-out home run. She surrendered six hits and just one walk with two strikeouts.
NSU appeared set for the win after Adele Vincent caught a line drive and doubled up the runner on first base for the Lady Demons fourth double play of the doubleheader.
Reliever E.C. Delafield (2-2) dodged trouble in her first two innings but couldn't overcome three base runners in the 10th. She allowed one run on three hits, two walks and a hit-by-pitch.
NSU's offense was jump started by sophomore Madelyn Matt, who singled in Julie Rawls for a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning on the Lady Demons' first hit of the night. Rawls walked and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt.
Texas Tech reliever Erin Edmoundson (3-1) tossed 5 2-3 relief innings for the second-game win after picking up the first-game win with 2 1-3 scoreless innings.
Texas Tech 2, NSU 1
Sophomore Julie Rawls launched a solo home run for an early lead and prevented multiple runs with a diving catch, but the Red Raiders mustered late offense for a win in the first game.
Rawls started a promising third inning with a home run before NSU put two runners in scoring position only to have a loud Delafield out end the frame.
It's the only run pitcher Kassidy Scott allowed in 4 2-3 innings before Edmoundson closed the door for her first win.
Texas Tech responded in the bottom of the third with a Michaela Cochran RBI-single to tie the game.
It's the only run starter Mikayla Brown would allow in 4 1-3 innings, but the defense helped Brown keep a relatively clean sheet. Brown walked three batters and hit another.
With two runners on in the fourth innings, Rawls dove backwards and toward centerfield to make a catch and prevent multiple runs from scoring.
Sidney Salmans saved an extra-base hit before crashing into the centerfield wall to help Delafield in the fifth inning.
But one of two NSU errors helped spark the seventh inning, which included a single and a hit-by-pitch, to set up the winning run.
It's the first of two losses Delafield took on the night despite respectable outings. The freshman allowed one hits in 2 1-3 innings with a hit-by-pitch.
"We weren't consistent enough on defense or in the lineup," Pickett said. "We had players like Adele Vincent, Rawls and Salmans who busted their butts and made some great plays.
"But we had some breakdowns, and we need to be better in those situations. It's growing pains, but we've got to get better and learn from it."
