ARLINGTON, Texas – Northwestern State encountered an eerie sense of déjà vu on the second day of the Boerner Invitational in Arlington. Two games with two solid pitching performances, timely hits ending with a win and a loss.
On Saturday, the Lady Demons (12-8) split their pair with Fordham and UTSA the exact opposite of how they did on Friday, falling to the Rams 5-3 and bouncing back for a 5-0 win and sixth shutout of the season against UTSA.
The recipe the Lady Demons used in the win against UTSA, was used against them in the loss to Fordham.
The Rams put two runs on the board in the bottom of the second, both coming on a one-out double, and then added to their lead with two more in the third with a two-out triple down the line in right.
NSU got some two-out magic of its own in the next half inning however, coming back with three quick runs.
After two walks and an error loaded the bases,
Lexie Roos worked a walk of her own to bring in NSU's first run of the day. The next batter, freshman
Derika Castillo, shot a base hit into right scoring two more to pull the Lady Demons quickly back within a run.
They had a chance to tie the game in the fifth after
Taylor Williams walked and stole second with one out, but the key hit did not come from the middle of the order on that occasion. Fordham took advantage of the missed chance to pick up an insurance run in the bottom of the inning on a wild pitch making it 5-3.
The Lady Demons came right back in the sixth getting the first two batters on with base hits and Ross moving them up with a sacrifice bunt. But once again the timely hit didn't come and the inning ended with the tying run at second after two pop ups on the infield, the last major threat of the game for NSU.
After two early threats came up empty in the second game of the day, the Lady Demons were finally able to cash in in the bottom of the third against UTSA.
Makenzie Chaffin drove a ball right back up the middle to bring home
Bailie Ragsdale who started the frame with a walk. Two batters later, after another walk, Trisin Court singled to the left side, scoring Chaffin and giving NSU the 2-0 lead.
"We were able to put some runs on the board early and able to tack on another one there in the last inning," head coach
Donald Pickett said. "We got great pitching and played really great defense today, maybe one of the best defensive games we've had all year. We got production up and down the lineup and pretty much everybody got on base and had some good at bats from the middle of the order."
Williams brought home the third run on a base hit in the fourth, scoring
Maggie Black who started the inning with a base hit. After an error and another Chaffin base hit, Keely DuBois hit an RBI single to right to make it 4-0.
Eight of the nine batters in the lineup reached base in the game either by a hit or a walk and seven players finished the game with at least one hit. Black, Chaffin and DuBois each had two in the game.
The production up and down the lineup was more than enough for starter
Sage Hoover who followed her nine-strikeout win against Fordham on Friday with a two-hit shutout of UTSA on Saturday.
Hoover (4-2) allowed a two-out single in the second and two-out triple in the fifth as her only two blemishes getting the next batters in each inning for the final outs of the frame.
"I feel like I did good and executed well," Hoover said. "The strike zone was tight, and I had to throw what I could and trusted my defense behind me and they did amazing. We hit really well today too so just really proud of how it all went.
"It was important for us to have a good game and bounce back. We are good enough to beat both of those teams and we needed that win to build off. I think we're going to do great this season and we just have to have faith in each other and do what we can."
The Lady Demons' final run of the day came as a dagger in the bottom of the sixth.
Laney Roos singled through the left side to bring in Black after she moved to third on a wild pitch.
"Really proud of how they bounced back after losing to them yesterday," Pickett said. "Hopefully we can continue to work in the right direction and get consistent in what we're doing.
"They have the potential to be a great team. We're really young and we're still learning but I'm really proud of them. Sage threw a great game, we got some timely hits and made it happen to finish this weekend strong."
