No. 4 Bulldogs Use Long Ball to Sweep UMHB

SEGUIN, Texas -- The No. 4 Texas Lutheran softball team swept two games against Mary Hardin-Baylor at Ed Kruse Stadium on Tuesday as the Bulldogs wrapped up their 15-game homestand by beating the Crusaders 8-1 and 6-3.

In game one of the day, the Crusaders (11-8) took the 4th-ranked Bulldogs (15-2) the full seven innings Tuesday evening, clawing one run out in the first inning, but that was all senior pitcher Ashlyn Strother (Seabrook/Clear Falls) would allow. Strother went the distance and surrendered one run on four hits and three walks to go with two strikeouts. The win moved Strother into sole possession of second place in TLU program history with 53 career wins. Laura Hernandez (Missouri City/Ridge Point) went yard for the fourth time this season in a 1-for-4, three RBI performance.

After allowing a run in the top of the first, TLU plated two runs in the bottom of the inning. Following a Caelee Clark (Montgomery/Lake Creek) walk and Linzee Leal (Corpus Christi/Mary Carroll) bunt single, Clark would steal home to get the Bulldogs on the board. Three walks would load the bases with one out for Laura Hernandez who would drive in TLU's second run of the inning on a fielder's choice.

The Bulldogs pushed two more runs across in the second inning via a sacrifice fly from Madison Johnson (Round Rock/Round Rock) and Annie Kay (Sinton/Sinton) scoring on a UMHB throwing error.

TLU would continue to pour it on in the third inning, adding three more runs to their lead with two coming from a two-run home run from Laura Hernandez. The home run was her fourth of the 2023 season and the tenth of her TLU career - tying her for sixth all-time in TLU softball history with Tiffany Haines (2002-05) and Nicole Snow (2014-17). Madison Johnson would drive in her second run of the game on a bases loaded walk to make it 7-1.

Annie Kay would score on yet another UMHB error in the fifth inning to bring the game to its final score of 8-1.

Isabella Rodriguez (Pearland/Pearland) led TLU at the plate with her two hits in three plate appearances. Caelee Clark would tie a TLU single-game record with four walks in game one.

Texas Lutheran completed the sweep by winning game two by a final of 6-3. With the win, Texas Lutheran continued their streak against UMHB at home, winning every home matchup with the Crusaders since 2013.

In game two, it was freshman Serena Gonzalez (Corpus Christi/Foy H. Moody) that proved to be the difference - hitting two two-run home runs in the night cap.

Senior Amanda White (Lockhart/Lockhart) managed to keep the Crusaders offense at bay, tossing a complete game, striking out nine and surrendering three runs on seven hits.

TLU got on the board first in the first inning with Madison Johnson getting the scoring started with an RBI double. Serena Gonzalez would hit her first two-run home run of the night in the first to give TLU an early 3-0 lead.

UMHB would shrink the Bulldog lead to 3-1 in the second before the Bulldogs would add a single run on a UMHB error in the third to regain the three run advantage.

The Crusaders would shrink the TLU lead to 4-3 in the fifth before the Bulldogs would respond with a two-run homer from the freshman Gonzalez to take a 6-3 advantage. The two home run performance matches a single-game record and the first occurrence since Haley Padilla against Mary Hardin-Baylor in 2021. Gonzalez now leads the SCAC with five home runs on the season.

UMHB would load the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh following two TLU errors and a single, but Amanda White would respond by striking out the next two batters before forcing a line out to end Tuesday night's contest.

The Bulldogs return to the diamond on Friday, March 24, as they return to SCAC play, traveling to Shreveport, Louisiana to face the Ladies of Centenary College. First pitch is tentatively scheduled for 6 PM. All streaming and stat links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.

For more information on Texas Lutheran softball, follow the Bulldogs on Facebook (@txlutheransoftball), 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).