Monday, March 10, 2008

Texas Woman’s softball swept by Abilene Christian

By Pegasus News wire

Game one -- Abilene Christian 3, TWU 2

Game two -- Abilene Christian 12, TWU 0

The Texas Woman’s University softball suffered two Lone Star Conference South Division defeats on Saturday afternoon, losing both games of a doubleheader to the Abilene Christian University Wildcats at Wells Field in Abilene.

ACU claimed a come-from-behind 3-2 win in the first game of the day. The Pioneers held a brief 2-0 lead in the contest when senior third baseman Meagan Peiser blasted a two-run homer, her third longball of the season, in the top of the fourth inning. ACU would battle back in the home half of the fifth, thanks to two homers of their own. First, ACU senior centerfielder Leisha Johnson tied the game at two with a two-run bomb. Just two batters later, Kim Partin, the Wildcats’ junior designated player, lifted what proved to a game-winning solo shot over the left field fence.

The TWU bats were silenced in game two by ACU pitcher Kim McDonald. The Wildcats’ senior hurler limited TWU to just three hits in five innings of work. McDonald received all the run support she would need when ACU scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Wildcats then capitalized on three Pioneer errors in the bottom of the third inning to score nine more times and take a 12-0 lead. With TWU unable to generate any offense, the game ended after five innings of play.

Abilene Christian 5, TWU 2

Three Texas Woman’s University players - sophomore left fielder Billie Callahan, senior third baseman Meagan Peiser, and junior right fielder Kayla Behrle - recorded two hits apiece in the Pioneers’ Sunday afternoon game versus Abilene Christian University at Wells Field in Abilene. Unfortunately for TWU, the collective effort of the trio went for naught as the Pioneers dropped a 5-2 decision to the Wildcats in the finale of a Lone Star Conference South Division weekend series.

The story of the game was the Pioneers’ inability to capitalize on their plethora of base hits. TWU stranded eleven baserunners and failed on numerous occasions to get the game-turning hit.

“Offensively we did an outstanding job of putting people in scoring position,” said TWU assistant coach Kristin Minton. “But, we just couldn’t come through with the big hit to bring them home. That’s the most disappointing thing about the game today.”

TWU left the bases loaded in the top of the fourth inning and, in the top of the sixth inning, scored just one run despite having the bases loaded and just one out.

“I think we pressed a little bit, and that hurt us,” said Minton of the Pioneers’ missed opportunities. “But we also had some bad luck. In the sixth, Angie (Arebalos, the Pioneers designated hitter) lined one right at the second baseman and they turned a double play. If that ball goes just a few inches in another direction we probably score three runs and take the lead.”

Senior centerfielder Leisha Johnson was the offensive sparkplug in the win for ACU. In the bottom of the first, she singled, stole a base, and scored on two passed balls to give the Wildcats the early lead. In the home half of the second inning, she smacked an opposite field two-run home run (her fourth of the year) to extend the ACU (14-11, 3-0 LSC South) advantage to 4-0.

“Johnson is an excellent player. She definitely was the catalyst for them at the plate. We never had an answer for her,” explained Minton.

TWU (7-22, 1-5 LSC South) will be back in action on Wednesday, March 12, when they play a 7:00 p.m. game at the University of North Texas.

Source: TWU

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