NATCHITOCHES, LA —-
Lyndie Swanson's complete game gem in game two helped HCU to a 2-1 victory, salvaging a split of a Southland Conference doubleheader with Northwestern State at Lady Demon Diamond. NSU had taken game one 8-0 in five innings.
GAME 1
The Huskies fell behind early and never recovered, as the Demons put up crooked numbers in each of the first four innings, winning the opener 8-0.
NSU got back-to-back RBI doubles from Keely DuBois and Kat Marshall in the first for a 2-0 lead, then extended it to 4-0 in the second on RBI single by Ashtyn Walker and a bases loaded walk to Taylor Williams.
AB Garcia and
Avery Drake each went 2-3, collecting four of HCU's five hits in the game.
Katy Janes suffered the loss, lasting just 1.1 innings, giving up four hits and four runs to fall to 5-7 on the season. Roni Grofman pitched the final 2.2 innings and gave up four hits and four runs.
DuBois and Marshall each had two hits, while DuBois and Bailie Ragsdale each drove in two. Maggie Darr got the win, tossing 3.2 innings of scoreless relief to move to 8-5 overall.
GAME 2
Swanson was magnificent in helping the Huskies rebound from game one. She doused the hot bats of the Demons from the opener, holding NSU in check until her offense pushed across single runs in the sixth and seventh to take the win.
The two teams traded zeroes on the scoreboard until the top of the sixth, when
Autumn Sydlik's bases-loaded free pass sent AB Garica home with a 1-0 HCU lead.
NSU came right back in the bottom half, as Ragsdale crossed the dish on an RBI double by Dubois, knotting the game at one.
In the seventh, the Huskies manufactured the eventual game-winning run.
Jackie Jessup led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by
Tabitha Burnett. After
AB Garcia was ruled out of the box for the second out,
Avery Drake singled to put runners on the corners.
Haylie Savage promptly singled to the left side, driving in Jessup to give the Huskies a 2-1 advantage.
Swanson then worked out of a two-out jam in the bottom of the seventh, stranding two runners on a nice play at short by
Maggie Childs to finish off the victory.
The senior right-hander from Katy allowed just four hits total in seven innings, striking out four to improve to 7-5 on the season.
The Huskies had just five hits for the second straight game, with Savage going 2-4 with an RBI to lead the way.
Kenzie Seely took the loss for the Demons, tossing a solid game in her own right with 6.2 innings, four hits allowed while giving up the two runs, falling to 4-4.
NEXT UP:
HCU (14-19 / 4-4 SLC) and Northwestern State (17-15 / 4-4 SLC) remain tied in the Southland standings after the Friday split.
The two teams will face off in the rubber game to wrap up the series at noon on Saturday.
