Wilson Earns 200th SCAC Win as Bulldogs Sweep Austin College

SEGUIN, Texas -- Texas Lutheran Softball head coach Wade Wilson became the first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) softball coach and the seventh coach, regardless of sport, to earn their 200th conference win as the No. 15 Bulldogs swept Austin College Friday at Ed Kruse Stadium, completing the series sweep with 9-0 (5 inn.) and 6-3 wins over the 'Roos.

TLU (17-2, 8-1 SCAC) extended its win streak to nine with the sweep of Austin College (13-12, 2-7 SCAC) and will enter the fourth week of SCAC action with at least a one game lead over Trinity and Centenary.

In game one, Senior Sydney Ouellette (Corpus Christi/Gregory-Portland) won her second game of the season in the circle, throwing a two-hit shutout with two strikeouts and one walk. Ouellette needed just 53 pitches to toss TLU's seventh shutout of the season.

The bats came alive and were active throughout as the Bulldogs would score in every inning. Caelee Clark (Montgomery/Lake Creek) extended her hitting streak to ten with a leadoff single in the first. Clark would steal second and move to third on an Austin College throwing error before being driven in on an RBI groundout from Madison Johnson (Round Rock/Round Rock). Just when it looked like the Bulldogs would strand two runners, a second Austin College error on a Reagan Hillis (Cedar Park/Cedar Park) fly ball scored Kylee Jack (Richwood/Brazoswood) and Serena Gonzalez (Corpus Christi/Foy H. Moody) to give TLU a 3-0 lead.

TLU put up two more runs in the second with Linzee Leal (Corpus Christi/Mary Carroll) stealing home and Caelee Clark stealing third and scoring following another 'Roos error.

Freshman Mia Landry (Cypress/Bridgeland) led off the bottom of the third with her first career home run to extend the Bulldogs lead to 6-0. An Annie Kay (Sinton/Sinton) RBI fielder's choice and an RBI single from Caelee Clark gave the Bulldogs an 8-0 lead after three.

Leal would tack on one more run with an RBI single to score Landry in the fourth to bring the game to its final score.

With the win, TLU has not lost a conference series since joining the SCAC in 2014.

Clark paced the team with a 3-for-3, three stolen bases, and an RBI performance while Mia Landry went 2-for-3 with a homer and two runs scored. Eight Bulldogs recorded a hit in the game and five brought in a run. Linzee Leal chipped in with a 2-for-2, three stolen bases, and an RBI performance.

A gritty series finale awaited the Bulldogs in Friday's second game. Down three runs in the bottom of the fourth, No. 15 Texas Lutheran rallied to beat Austin College, 6-3, behind a total team effort offensively.

After both teams were held scoreless in the first, Austin College went up in the second inning following a two-out, two-RBI double. An RBI single in the third would give the 'Roos a 3-0 lead.

Texas Lutheran got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. After singles from Tatum Seith (Hewitt/Midway) and Reagan Hillis, Serena Gonzalez would drive a ball up the middle to score both on a pinch hit, two-RBI single with two outs to cut the 'Roos lead to 3-2. Linzee Leal would re-enter for Gonzalez, steal second and third and advance home to score on the attempted throw to throw her out at third to tie the game at three.

With the offense awake, the Bulldogs would score two runs in the fifth. Following singles from Kylee Jack and Tatum Seith, Mia Landry and Reagan Hillis would with RBI singles to give the Bulldogs a 5-3 lead.

An RBI single from Jayna Reid (Dripping Springs/Dripping Springs) added an extra insurance run in the sixth.

Annie Kay and Reagan Hillis paced TLU with 3-for-3 performances at the plate with each scoring once and Hillis also driving in one while Kay would steal a team-high three bases. Tatum Seith went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and two runs scored while Mia Landry went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Eight Bulldogs registered a hit in the contest. For the second time this season and the sixth time in program history, Texas Lutheran stole 11 bases in a single-game.

In the circle, senior Ashlyn Strother pitched two innings and surrendered two runs on two hits to pair with three strikeouts and one walk. Sophomore Katelyn Howard (Waller/Hempstead) entered in the third and was dominant out of the bullpen to earn the win. Howard allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out two over five innings in relief to earn the first win of her collegiate career (1-0).

Coach Wilson improved to 200-6 (.971) in SCAC play, becoming the first softball coach in the league's history and the seventh coach, regardless of sport, to reach 200 conference wins.

TLU travels to Kerrville to begin a three-game SCAC series with Schreiner on Saturday, April 6. First pitch is scheduled for 1 & 3 PM. All streaming and live stats links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.

For more information on Texas Lutheran softball, follow the Bulldogs on Facebook (@txlutheransoftball), X (Twitter) (@TLUsoftball), and Instagram (@tlu_softball) and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on Twitter, @tlu_athletics on Instagram and TikTok, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).