Box Score | Photo Gallery | Replay | Highlights | Tournament Website
HAMMOND, La. – The No. 1 seed McNeese State offense proved to be a little more than No. 5 seed Houston Baptist could handle in the Cowgirls’ 5-0 shutout win at the 2014 Southland Conference Softball Tournament at North Oak Park in Hammond, La.
McNeese State put pressure on Houston Baptist in the second inning with senior shortstop Katie Roux single up the middle followed by senior Kim Kennedy single to the left center that advanced Roux to second. Southland Conference Player and Hitter of the Year, Alanna DiVittorio singled to right field to score Roux and give the Cowgirls an early 1-0 lead.
The Cowgirls added to their lead heading into the bottom of the fifth with freshman Marisa Taunton reaching base on an error by HBU first baseman Melissa Herman. Taunton would then steal second, her ninth of the year, and the Huskies walked junior Lauren Langner to put McNeese in scoring position.
First-team all-conference designated player Emily Vincent singled to left field to bring Taunton home and advance Langner to third, who scored on the throw. McNeese State head coach Mike Smith decision to let catcher Stacey Conley pinch-hit for second baseman Taylor Goree proved to successful as Conley singled to left field to record just her seventh RBI of the season.
Houston Baptist was unable to get any production out of all-conference players Alyssa Burnett and Lauren Schwirtlich. Burnett was 0-2 at the plate while Schwirtlich went 0-3. Lauren sister, Kirsten, went 2-3 as the Huskies struggled to get into scoring position.
The Cowgirls concluded the scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning with a RBI single from Taunton to plate DiVittorio. DiVittorrio was walked and then stole second for her league-leading 46th of the season. It was Taunton ‘s second hit of the game and 34th hit of the game and DiVittorio’s 59th run of the season.
Allred, the 2014 Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year, picked up the win for McNeese to improve to a league-leading 26-7 on the year and her ninth shutout. The sophomore right-hander struck out four and gave up only five hits in a complete game effort. Shannon O’Connor fell to 8-7 on the year for the Huskies.
McNeese State (39-16) advances to the semifinals and will face the winner of No. 2 seed Northwestern State and No. 6 Central Arkansas Friday at approximately 4 p.m. Houston Baptist (22-27) will play No. 3 seed Sam Houston State (26-26) in an elimination game that will take place Friday at 11 a.m.
Box Score | Photo Gallery | Replay | Highlights | Tournament Website
HAMMOND, La. – No. 2 seed Northwestern State defeats No. 6 seed Central Arkansas 5-3 to advance to the semifinals of the 2014 Southland Conference Softball Tournament at North Oak Park in Hammond, La.
Central Arkansas struck first in the top of the first with second-team all-conference player Sam Forrest scoring on a RBI double to right field by shortstop Hayley Parker.
Northwestern State’s second-team all-conference player Brianna Rodriguez put the Lady Demons on the board and tied the game at one when she cranked out her fifth homer of the season in the fourth. Brittany Jones followed with a walk, and moved to second when UCA pitcher Kylee Studioso balked. Sophomore catcher Cheyenne DelaGarza was hit by a pitch, and went to second off a bunt from Shenequia Abby. Lady Demons senior second baseman Cali Burke came later in the lineup and battled at the plate, going deep in the count, and eventually drew a walk as well for Northwestern to take a 2-1 lead.
Lady Demon Cassandra Barefield extended the lead by one when she led off the fifth with a homerun beyond the center field fence. The homer was her 14th of the season, and 36th of her career, bringing her within two home runs of tying the school career record (38).
Central Arkansas would battle back to tie the game at three when it loaded up the bases in the sixth, forcing the Lady Demons to make a pitching change, bringing in Baylee Gray for starter Kaylee Guidry. UCA’s Taylor Dear dished out a double RBI single over the head of Rodriguez at first to drive in a pair of runs.
“Cali Burke came up big twice today, like she usually does in tough situations like this,” said Northwestern State head coach Donald Pickett. “We struggled to send runners over the plate early in the game, but got the ball rolling when Brianna hit that home run in the fourth inning.” Burke led from the plate with a 2-for-3 performance and three RBI, followed by McKenney with a 2-for-3 outing and one run scored.
Guidry allowed four hits and three runs in the circle in 5.1 innings pitched but Gray would be credited with the win. Gray, who improved to 7-5 on the season, gave up just one hit in 1.2 innings of work. Studioso, the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year, picked up the loss for the Bears and fell to 17-12. Studioso recorded three strikeouts and gave up six hits in six innings of work.
Northwestern State (28-20) moves on to face No. 1 seed McNeese State Friday at approximately 4 p.m. for a chance to advance to the championship game. Central Arkansas (25-32) will take the field close to 1:30 p.m. Friday in an elimination game against Stephen F. Austin.
