- Box Score - Game 1
- Box Score - Game 2
STEPHENVILLE – Tuesday's softball doubleheader was 30 minutes late getting started because one of the umpire's vehicles had broken down, and that 30 minutes proved costly as game two of the doubleheader between Tarleton and Cameron was called in a 5-5 tie due to darkness. Cameron won the first game of the doubleheader in 12 innings, 2-0.
Tarleton's Samantha Swanda had a one-hitter going through 10.2 innings before back-to-back singles in the top of the 11th ended a string of 25 straight batters that were retired by the TexAnn junior. Then a two-run homer in the top of the 12th by Leslie Martini put the Aggies on top.
In game two, the two teams scored in spurts, but the game was called on an outside third strike with runners on second and third and a full count. The umpires had talked about ending the game during the bottom of the sixth inning, but they kept the game going only to call it after the pitch.
“We let one pitch take the wind out of our sails for the entire day,” said Tarleton head coach Julie Mata. “As a new team, we learned a very important lesson today. I have a lot of faith in this group, and we will bounce back and play good ball.”
The TexAnns' Amy Gabbert was three-of-four at the plate for the TexAnns in game one. In game two, Marcie Rodriguez had a run batted in single and a stolen base in the fourth and walked and stole second in the sixth to extend the TexAnns chance to score and take the lead.
“Marcie is really playing solid for us right now, and she gave us a chance to win the game,” Mata said. “We just ran out of daylight.”
The TexAnns will return to action this weekend in the Southern Arkansas Tournament in Magnolia, Ark.
Cameron 2, Tarleton 0
Kelly Lentz started the game with a single, but pitcher Samantha Swanda retired the next five batters. Cheryl Raesz was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the second, but she was then caught stealing second.
In the top of the third, Meca Chambers reached on a an error by the third baseman and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, but Tarleton got the third out.
The TexAnns' Amy Gabbert had a one-out double in the bottom of the third inning and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Victoria Kelly, but a called strikeout ended the TexAnns' inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Gabbert had a leadoff double before advancing on an error that put Kelly on safely. Rebecca Wessels had a sacrifice bunt to move the runners, but a pop-up to second put two outs on the board. Kelsey Latta then tagged a ball to right field that was caught off the shoestrings for the third out.
In the bottom of the seventh, Swanda reached on a leadoff single through the left side. Marcie Rodriguez pinch ran for the pitcher and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Arianna Rodriguez. The Aggies then retired the side to send the game to extra innings.
With one out in the bottom of the 10th inning, Alexandria Orf got on base on a line drive hit that went off the third baseman's glove. With two outs, Gabbert had a single to put runners on first and second, but a popup to third ended the scoring threat.
Swanda retired 23 straight batters before Shelby Meadows got a two-out single up the middle in the top of the 11th inning. Chambers followed with a hopper through the left side to put runners on first and second. Swanda then fielded a bunt and threw the batter out at first to end the inning.
In the top of the 12th inning, Jessica Orr got on with a single before being moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Leslie Martini then homered over the left center fence to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the inning, Tarleton was retired in order as the Aggies claimed the 2-0 extra session win.
Swanda threw 11.1 innings and recorded seven strikeouts and two earned runs with no walks and five hits. Randi Fentress came in to get the last two outs of the top of the 12th and retired both batters faced. Carrie Harvey threw the complete game with five hits, no walks and 11 strikeouts. The loss went to Swanda who dropped her first game of the season with a 4-1 record.
Tarleton 5, Cameron 5 (six innings, called for darkness)
In the top of the first inning, Lentz got a leadoff single for the second time of the day. She was bunted over to second before moving to third on a ground out. An intentional walk put runners on the corners before a double steal was executed to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Amanda Karth then had a single to center, and Abigail Tammen misfielded the ball to allow the runner to score from second and give Cameron a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third inning, Katie Welborn was hit by a pitch, and Katie Ross came in to pinch run. She moved over on a ground out by Marcie Rodriguez before Wessels got a triple to right center to score Ross. The umpire said the ball went into the dugout and awarded the plate to Wessels as the TexAnns tied the game at two runs apiece.
In the bottom of the fourth, Swanda opened the inning with a hit through the left side before Arianna Rodriguez put down a bunt. When the third baseman fielded the ball, she threw it to first and hit Rodriguez in the back so the runners advanced to second and third. Alexandria Orf got a single through the right side to score Swanda before a ground out by Brittany Dumas scored the runner from third. With two outs, Marcie Rodriguez singled through the left side to score Orf. The TexAnns took a 5-2 lead.
In the top of the fifth inning, Orr got on base on a throwing error by the shortstop and went to second. She then scored on a double up the middle by Karth. With a two-and-two count with two outs, Raesz nailed a pitch over the left field fence to tie the game at five runs each. After Smith gave up a walk to Hudson, Fentress came on in relief. She walked Amy Erwin before walking Chambers to load the bases. Fentress then got a full-count strikeout by Lentz. The score was tied at five.
In the bottom of the sixth, Orf started with a leadoff single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. With two outs, Marcie Rodriguez walked and Orf advanced to third on the passed ball. After the runner stole second, a called third strike on the outside corner ended the game because of darkness.
Herbert threw all six innings for the visitors and gave up five runs (two earned) on five hits with a walk and four strikeouts.
Smith threw 4.2 innings for Tarleton and gave up five runs (one earned) on seven hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Fentress threw the final 1.1 innings and gave up three walks while striking out three.
