Pirates Power Past Cowgirls

Pirates Power Past Cowgirls

Southwestern convincingly won their double header on Friday defeating Hardin Simmons 9-1 and 8-1.

First year pitcher Kelsey Kingston threw two gems en route to the pair of victories.  The bats also came alive for the Bucs' as they scored a total of 17 runs on 23 hits for the day.  It was a strong all-around team performance for the Pirates.

In game one of the doubleheader, Southwestern got off to a fast start.  Karen Ramirez earned a one out walk in the bottom of the first and Tessa Galloway followed with a single through the left side.  With the two runners on, Stacy Rosengren crushed a home run that easily cleared the wall in left field for the 3-0 lead.

The Pirates struck again in the bottom of the third.  Galloway led off with a solo homer to left center that prompted a pitching change for the Cowgirls.   Southwestern loaded the bases with one out when pinch hitter Christina Crandall hit a RBI single to the shortstop.  Another run scored after O'Connor reached on an error by the center fielder.  With the bases still loaded, Ashleigh Scott literally "took one for the team" and brought the fourth run of the inning home after being hit by a pitch.  In her second at-bat in the frame, Galloway hit a two RBI single to left field and extended the lead to 9-0.

Meanwhile, Kingston and the Pirates' defense saw nine batters through three innings of work.  The Cowgirls scored their lone run on a solo shot to left field by Sarah Truelove to lead off the top of the fourth.    

Kingston struck out six and allowed one run in her five inning complete game win for Southwestern.  The Pirates were led offensively by Galloway and Rosengren, who each homered and drove in three runs in game one of the doubleheader.

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Hardin Simmons scored game two's first run in the top of the third inning.  The Cowgirls loaded the bases on a trio of singles.  On a crazy play with two outs, Kingston got Shelby McIntyre to strike out swinging on a wild pitch that went to the backstop.  All the runners were safe including Jayton Gordon who scored from third on a close play at the plate for the 1-0 lead.

The Pirates tied the game at one run a piece in the bottom of the fourth.  Irvin led off with a double to right field.  Then Victoria Vasquez came in as a pinch runner for Irvin and scored on Rosengren's frozen rope double down the left field line.  Rosengren added another RBI in the bottom of the fifth, driving a sacrifice fly deep enough to left field for Ramirez to score from third to give Southwestern the 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Pirates scored six runs with two outs to help secure the victory.  With the bases loaded, Galloway hit a two RBI double to left field.  The next batter, Irvin, brought two more runs home with a single down the left field line.  Irvin scored as Rosengren motored for a triple on her swing to right field.  Caroline Young followed with a single to drive in the sixth run in the inning and make it an 8-1 game.

Once again, Kingston and the Pirates' defense retired the Cowgirls in order in the seventh for the victory.  The Southwestern offense was clicking on all cylinders as they amassed fourteen hits, with five of them going for extra bases.  Five batters had multiple hits and seven different Pirates scored runs. 

At the end of the day, Southwestern's record improves to (5-3) and Hardin Simmons goes to (0-3-1).  The Pirates square off against Texas Lutheran in a double header this Sunday, February 24th starting at 1:00PM in Georgetown, Texas.