PIONEER SOFTBALL MOVES ABOVE .500 WITH TWO WINS OVER PANHANDLE STATE

DENTON, TX—Texas Woman's University (6-5) scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to win the first game of their double-header against Oklahoma Panhandle State University (5-10), then cruised to a 7-2 victory in the nightcap. Senior catcher Jami Ingram (Richmond, B.C./Blinn College) blasted her fourth homerun of the season in the first game to start the Pioneers rally.

Both teams went scoreless in the first inning of game one before OPSU got on the board with three runs in the top of the second inning. Brandi Dickerson singled down the left field line to score two runs, then starting pitcher Jackie Paige brought her around with a RBI-single through the middle of the infield. The Lady Aggies added two more runs in the third inning while Paige kept TWU scoreless through four innings. The Pioneers finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning after Sascha Taylor (Mansfield, Tex./Stephen F. Austin) hit a hard shot to the OPSU third baseman, allowing Nikki Boudreaux (Orange, Tex./Navarro College) to score from third base. TWU pitcher Dawn England (Graham, Tex./Graham H.S.) retired all nine batters in the final three innings to set up the comeback. With two outs and the score 1-5 in the bottom of the seventh, Jami Ingram scored three runs with her two-run homer. After Amanda Arnold (Lewisville, Tex./The Colony H.S.) hit a single and advanced to second on an error by the Lady Aggies' left fielder, England hit an RBI-single to right field, scoring Arnold and tying the game 5-5. Amanda Chambless (Collinsville, Tex./Collinsville H.S.) came up to bat with runners on second and third and knocked in the game winning run with an RBI-single to center field. England moved her record to 4-1 on the season after allowing six runs on 12 hits with a season-high nine strikeouts.

OPSU struck first in game two of the double-header when Jackie Paige scored on a throwing error by TWU shortstop Teresa Flores (Corpus Christi, Tex./Miller H.S.). The Pioneers knotted the game up at 1-1 in the bottom of the first after Jennifer Collins (Euless, Tex./Grayson C.C.) scored from an Amanda Arnold single. After both teams went three-up, three-down in the second inning, TWU scored two runs in the bottom of the third to move their lead to 3-1. Pioneers' pitcher Amanda Chambless led off the fourth inning with her first triple of the season and was brought into score from a Nikki Boudreaux sacrifice fly. Flores and Sascha Taylor both got on base with singles in the next two at-bats, then advanced to second and third on a passed ball by the Lady Aggies catcher. Collins came around to bat for a third time in the game and singled through the middle of the infield, scoring both Flores and Taylor and moving the score to 6-1. After the Pioneers added a run in the sixth inning, OPSU slugger Sara Bawden hit a solo homerun in the top of the seventh to make the score 7-2. Chambless retired the final two Lady Aggie batters to earn her second win of the season. She recorded a complete game with two runs scored on two hits and seven strikeouts.

Next up, the Pioneers travel to Austin, Texas, to participate in the St. Edward's University Invitational Tournament on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21-22. TWU faces Pittsburg State at 10:15 a.m., St. Edward's at 12:30 p.m. and South Carolina-Spartanburg at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, then play Ouachita Baptist at 10:15 a.m. and Angelo State at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.