Golden Eagles nudged 3-2 in final inning by Texas; Fall to Oregon State, 4-1
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- A one-out, walk-off home run in the
bottom of the seveth inning lifted the Texas Longhorns (6-4) to a
3-2 victory over Tennessee Tech Thursday afternoon in Tech's first
game at the Cathedral City Classic. Oregon State (6-4) got a strong
pitching performance from Kelly Dyer, and took advantage of its
scoring chances to down Tech, 4-1, in the second game Thursday.
The Golden Eagles will play Loyola Marymount Friday at 5 p.m.
(follow the game on LMU Gametracker here), and then meets UC Santa
Barbara at 10 .m. (Follow the game on UCSB Gametracker here).
Texas scored all three of its runs with the long ball, spoiling a
solid outing by Tech’s Maddie Schmissrauter in the circle,
and the Longhorns outlasted Tech, 3-2, with a walk-off home run in
the bottom of the seventh.
It was Tech’s opening game at the Cathedral City Classic in
Palm Springs, Calif., hosted by Oregon State. Tech will meet the
host Beavers later Thursday night.
Schmissrauter pitched 6.1 innings, allowing just four hits and one
walk, with six strikeouts. Tech managed seven hits.
The Golden Eagles grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third
inning. With one out, Cassidy Skeen drew a walk and moved second on
a sacrifice by Lacie Coquerille. A passed ball pushed Skeen to
third, and she raced home on an RBI single to center by Whitney
Cummings.
Brittany Chalk walked to open the Texas third, and one out later
Desiree Williams pulled a home run down the left field line to make
it 2-0.
Freshman Jordan Leff led off the Tech fifth with a solo home run to
center field, her first career blast, which knotted the contest at
2-2.
Tech had two base runners in the sixth and one in the seventh, but
couldn’t get anybody across the plate. In the sixth, one base
runner was thrown out attempting to steal and the second was erased
on an inning-ending double play. In the seventh inning, Brooke
Basten led off with a single but was doubled up on a foul off of
Leff’s bat.
That set the stage for the Longhorns in the bottom of the seventh.
Schmissrauter got the leadoff hitter looking at a third strike, but
with a 1-1 count, catcher Amy Hooks knocked the game-winner.
Brittany Barnhill got the win for Texas. She pitched all seven
innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with three walks and four
strikeouts.
In the second game, Dyer allowed just five hits and didn’t
walk anybody while striking out three for the Beavers.
Holly Thomas pitched the first five innings for Tech and suffered
the loss while yielding five runs on five hits. She walked one and
struck out two. Whitney Cummings pitched the sixth, allowing one
run on two hits, with one strikeout.
Tech had two runners aboard in the top of the third but failed to
score, and Oregon State put a runner across in the bottom of the
frame for a 1-0 lead. Nikki Chandler tripled to start the inning
and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ashley Sanchez.
A walk, passed ball and wild pitch put a Beaver runner at third,
and she scored on a double by Stefanie Ewing for a 2-0 lead. Two
batters later, DeAnn Young doubled to make it 3-0.
Lacie Coquerille poked a two-out double to left center in the top
of the sixth, and Cummings drove her home with a single to make it
3-1, but Dyer ended the inning with a ground out.
Cummings retired the first two hitters she faced in the sixth,
before Young walked. Pinch runner Nicole Luchanski stole second,
then scored on an RNI single up the middle by Alana Ford.
