Bulldogs Walk-Off Southwestern to Take Game One, 4-3

SEGUIN, Texas -- No. 4 Texas Lutheran defeated Southwestern 4-3 in eight innings in the first of three games against the Pirates on Wednesday at Ed Kruse Stadium.

Tied 3-3 in the eighth inning, Texas Lutheran rallied in the bottom of the eighth walking it off via a fielding error by the Pirates shortstop off a ground ball off the bat of Reagan Jones (Pearland/Friendswood).

After being held scoreless through two innings, Serena Gonzalez (Corpus Christi/Foy H. Moody) plated two runs with a two-run home run to give TLU a 2-0 lead. The homer was Gonzalez's SCAC-leading seventh home run.

Errors from the TLU defense would help the Pirates tie the game 2-2 in the top of the fourth before the Bulldogs would tack on another run as Caelee Clark (Montgomery/Lake Creek) would score on an error from the Pirates defense.

An RBI double to left center in the sixth by the Pirates tied the game 3-3 headed to the seventh.

Following a walk to Kylee Jack (Richwood/Brazoswood), a sacrifice bunt from Laura Hernandez (Missouri City/Ridge Point), and a single from Annie Kay (Sinton/Sinton), Texas Lutheran would find themselves with two runners in scoring position with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Caelee Clark would reach on a fielder's choice as Jack would be thrown out at home bringing Reagan Jones to the plate as a pinch-hitter. Jones would walk it off with a ground ball, ruled an error on the Southwestern shortstop, as Kay raced home to score to win the game.

Gonzalez paced TLU with a 2-for-2, two RBI day with one homer, while Caelee Clark drew two walks and stole four bases, one base shy of TLU's single-game record held by Kelly Jurden (2021, St. Thomas).

In the circle, senior Ashlyn Strother (Seabrook/Clear Falls) pitched all eight innings and surrendered three runs, only one being earned, on seven hits to pair with nine strikeouts. With the win, Strother moves to 12-0 on the season and ties the TLU program record for career wins with 58 wins in her career at TLU.

The second game of Wednesday's doubleheader was halted due to lightning in the area with Texas Lutheran leading 11-4 with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. The two teams will resume play of game two prior to the final game of the series on Saturday at 12 PM at Ed Kruse Stadium. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.

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