SAN ANTONIO – Northwestern State showed the same grit and heart it has all season in a pair of losses to UIW in a rare midweek Southland Conference softball doubleheader Tuesday afternoon.
The Demons snapped a lengthy scoreless inning streak by Jacquez in a 7-2 loss in Game 1, and fought back from a five-run first-inning deficit in Game 2 behind a yeoman’s effort from pitcher Grace Ann McDonald in an 8-7 loss. NSU outscored UIW 7-3 over the final six innings of the game.
“We showed some fight and grit by coming back in Game 2, and I like to see that from our hitters,” head coach Jenny Fuller said. “Hopefully)Wednesday we can come out and pitch a little more focused from the start and hopefully our hitters can do what they did today.”
NSU (4-36 overall, 1-16 in Southland games) and UIW (22-14, 12-5) wrap up the three-game series at noon today.
UIW led Tuesday’s opener 7-0 before the Demons ended Cardinals’ pitcher Larissa Jacquez’ scoreless inning streak at 24, all in conference play.
NSU’s Brynn Daniel opened the seventh with her fourth double of the season, followed by a Riley Schwisow walk to put two on with no outs. Sophia Livers used her speed on a slow roller between first and second to beat out a hit and force an errant throw that allowed both Daniel and Schwisow to score on the play, snapping the long streak by Jacquez, who had shut out McNeese and HCU in her previous two starts.
Four straight hits from the Cardinals put the Demons behind quickly in Game 2. A double and triple scored the first three batters to give them a 3-0 lead. A two run single later in the inning added two more to make it a 5-0 game after the first inning.
An error in the top of the third opened the door for the first crooked number inning for the Demons. With Cash Herber at first, Aly Delafield lasered a ball just far down the right field line for her first triple of the season to get the Demons on the board.
Two pitches later Bailie Ragsdale looped one into shallow left for an RBI single, the second of four straight Demons to reach safely. DJ Lynch singled to left and Daniel drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases with one out.
Sara Kate Booker drove in the third run of the inning on a fielder’s choice to second pulling the Demons back within two through three innings of play.
McDonald put up three straight scoreless frames, giving the Demons time to figure out things at the plate. She allowed just two earned runs over the final five innings of work
“She came in and did a great job of keeping the game close and she did what she could,” Fuller said. “I’m proud of her because she came in not knowing she was going to pitch this year and she’s definitely come in some tough situations and is doing her best to keep us right there in games.”
A pair of runs, only one of them earned, in the fifth gave the Cardinals a 7-3 lead, but the Demons got both runs allowed back in the top of the next inning. A pair of one-out walks put runners at first and second for Livers to slash a ball to left that bounced by the fielder all the way to the wall for the Demons’ second triple of the game and two RBI for Livers.
UIW got what turned out to be a critical run in the bottom of the inning to stretch the lead back to three on an RBI single.
A leadoff single from Ragsdale and a walk from Daniel put two aboard for Booker, who hit her second double, this time down the left field line, scoring both runners on the play and putting herself in scoring position as the tying run.
UIW got the next two NSU batters on pop ups in the infield to end the contest.
It served as the 10th loss in conference play for NSU decided by two runs or less.