Posted: Mar 10, 2020
Texas Lutheran wins national championship series rematch with Emory, 4-2
Emory
(6-5)
2
Texas Lutheran
(17-1)
4
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Emory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
|
Texas Lutheran | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 10 | 1 |
TUCSON, Ariz. -- In a matchup of the two top teams from 2019, defending NCAA Division III Softball national champion Texas Lutheran handed 2019 national runner-up Emory (Ga.) a 4-2 loss Tuesday at Tucson's Lincoln Park.
In the final game of their Arizona trip, the Bulldogs won the rematch of the 2019 national championship final series. TLU won two games to none against Emory in Tyler last May.
Tuesday's victory moved the Bulldogs to 17-1 overall and to 6-1 on the Arizona trip. TLU went 3-0 in the Tucson Invitational and 3-1 in the NFCA Leadoff Classic. TLU had three games from the NFCA Leadoff Classic either declared a no-contest or cancelled due to the weather and/or field conditions.
Emory dropped to 6-5 overall.
The victory was Head Coach Wade Wilson's 299th win with the Bulldogs. Wilson, in his ninth year as TLU's head softball coach, is 299-67 with the Bulldogs. Wilson's win percentage of .817 is TLU's highest winning percentage for any coach (in any sport at TLU) with more than 10 coaching victories.
Against Emory, TLU struck first with a solo home run in the second off the bat of senior shortstop Cassie Roche. She led off the bottom of the second inning with the home run.
TLU extended the lead to 3-0 with two runs in the third. Rebecca Snow singled home Kelly Jurden for the second run of the day, and Madisyn Cates brought home Snow on a single.
After Emory closed within a run, at 3-1, with a solo home run in the fourth, TLU went up 4-1 with a Kali Chatham RBI single that scored McKay Bloxham.
Another Emory solo home run, this time in the sixth, made the TLU lead 4-2.
Sydney Ouellette, in the circle for the sixth and the seventh, recorded the save by allowing just the solo home run. The save was Ouellette's fourth of the season.
Ashlyn Strother, the reigning SCAC Pitcher of the Week, moved to 7-0 overall with the pitching victory. Strother scattered four hits and allowed just one run. She struck out two and did not walk a batter.
Roche was 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI, and Haley Padilla went 2-for-2.
Roche was 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI, and Haley Padilla went 2-for-2.
Jurden had two hits, a run scored, and two stolen bases. Jurden, the NCAA Division III steals leader in 2019 and last year's New Balance Golden Shoe award winner, already has 23 steals in 18 games this season.
TLU as a team has 72 steals in 2020. The Bulldogs have been caught just four times.
TLU returns to Seguin for a home conference series with Trinity University. The Bulldogs and Tigers play a Saturday doubleheader, starting at noon, and a Sunday single game, beginning at noon.
All three games of the conference series will have live stats and live video. Links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.