IRVING, Texas - The Southwestern University softball team closed the books on the 2018 regular season and will turn its attention to postseason play after splitting their doubleheader with Dallas, 8-5 and 7-6 on Sunday afternoon. The Pirates won the series and will be the No. 3 seed at the upcoming SCAC Championships in Georgetown.
In game one, Southwestern held a 5-1 lead going into the bottom of the third and seemed to be on their way to another victory, but Dallas had other plans, scoring one in the third and six in the sixth inning to storm back and take the third game, 8-5.
Senior Taylor Curtis was 2-for-3 with three RBI while sophomore Katie Bricarell was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs. Sophomore Mary Alex Krosby was 2-for-2 with a run scored while freshman Grace Phelps and sophomore McKenna Zinke each drove in a run.
Sophomore Lindsey Longuet pitched five complete, allowing five runs on five hits while sophomore Bailey Meyer was saddled with the loss after a tough going in relief.
In game two, Southwestern again jumped out to an early lead, this time leading 5-0 going into the bottom of the fourth. However, the Crusaders again had late game magic, scoring three in the fourth and fifth innings to storm ahead 6-5.
It took a late game rally by the Pirates to escape Irving with the series as freshman Katelyn Francis came through with a RBI single with two down followed by the go-ahead RBI single from Scott to move ahead 7-6. Meyer (11-5) got a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh to bounce back and get the win.
Scott was 3-for-5 with a RBI and run scored while Phelps and Curtis were 2-for-4 with two RBI, and a run scored. Sophomore Kaitlynn Copher was 2-for-4 with a RBI and run scored while Bricarell was 3-for-4. Francis added a 2-for-3 day with a RBI while Krosby was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Sophomore Andrea Hern was 2-for-3 with a run scored as the Pirates had 19 hits in the contest.
Sophomore Nadia Netek went four innings, allowing three runs on six hits. The Pirates struggled out of the bullpen, but Meyer finished strong, going two complete and allowing no runs or hits to go with two strikeouts.
Southwestern moves to 20-15 overall and finishes 9-11 in the SCAC. They will take on the University of Dallas in the SCAC Championships on Friday to open things up at Taylor-Sanders Field. The full bracket and tournament web page will be available later this week.