KERRVILLE, Texas — The Southwestern softball team split the series-opening doubleheader against the Schreiner Mountaineers, locking the Pirates into the fifth spot in the conference standings one week away from the SCAC Championships.
Game 1: Southwestern 3, Schreiner 0
Southwestern starting pitcher Taylor McKenzie threw her third complete-game shutout of the season, dominating Schreiner with eight strikeouts and only four hits allowed in nine innings of work.
The Pirates compiled 10 hits but struggled to string them together in the same inning, leaving 11 runners stranded.
Southwestern finally broke through in the top of the ninth inning. Sav Frieze opened the inning with a walk, and Paige Shuck, pinch-hitting for Meghan McCarthy, delivered a single to put two on. Alex Fletes followed with a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position.
After Jodi Millhouse grounded out to the pitcher's circle for the second out of the inning, Erica Otto blasted a two-RBI triple for the game's first scores. Maddie Mefford followed with an RBI single to give Southwestern its 3-0 lead.
McKenzie surrendered a leadoff single to Elicia Gonzales in the bottom of the ninth but tried to stretch the hit into a double and was thrown out at second by left fielder Sam Martinez. The following two hitters were retired to end the game.
Game 2: Schreiner 6, Southwestern 1
Schreiner opened the second game with a big first inning, scoring four runs on its way to a 6-1 victory to clinch the fourth seed in the upcoming SCAC Championship tournament.
Two errors cost the Pirates a pair of runs to open the game, and Schreiner put together four hits and two walks in the inning to take a 4-0 lead.
Mattigan Aga replaced Madison Vela in the pitcher's circle to start the second inning and kept Schreiner scoreless until the bottom of the fifth when the Mountaineers scored a pair of runs. Aga finished with five strikeouts and two runs surrendered on four hits and three walks in 3.2 innings.
Millhouse delivered a two-out, RBI single in the top of the fifth inning for Southwestern's lone run. Otto followed with a single that loaded the bases, but Mefford grounded out to second to end the inning.
Aga walked three in the fifth inning and was replaced by Paige Rasmussen, who walked another Mountaineer with bases loaded for Schreiner's two runs.
Southwestern drops to 14-23 with a 9-11 conference record. Both teams will play one final regular-season game tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. The SCAC Tournament begins Friday, April 29.