Softball Falls In Competitive Contests In Austin

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Southern had a pair of competitive games as they faced both #10 Texas and Tarleton State Friday in Austin.

TEXAS 11, TSU 2
For the second straight year, TSU was not intimidated by the caliber of its opponent as UT broke a 2-2 tie in the second en route to an 11-2 win.

UT would move ahead after one with a pair of runs on two outs but TSU responded in the second with two outs as Lailah Bell was hit a pitch followed by a Pamela Richardson walk. Crimson Davis singled and moved to second after an UT error which scored both Bell and Richardson for a 2-2 tie. Ashlin Moreno was hit by a pitch but the inning would come to an end on a strikeout. A TSU error in the bottom frame led to UT’s third run. UT would add two more runs in the inning to move ahead 5-2.

A home run in the fourth moved the deficit to 7-2 but TSU kept battling with back-to-back singles in the fifth. However, the inning and latest scoring threat came to an end on a fielder’s choice before the game was called in the fifth after a grand slam.

Julia Bilbao led TSU with a 2-for-3 outing while Jazmine Gendorf (1-5) struck out two with two earned runs.

TARLETON STATE 2, TSU 0
A pair of runs in the middle innings was the difference as Tarleton State claimed a 2-0 win in the nightcap.

Once again, the two-out bug caught up with TSU defensively as Tarleton scored its first run in the third with two outs after a TSU fielding error. TSU’s Lailah Bell opened the bottom half with a single but wouldn’t advance past second as the inning ended on a pop up.

Tarleton opened the fourth with a full count walk and stole second. The runner moved over to third after a groundout and scored on a sac fly for a 2-0 lead. TSU’s next chance to score came in the fifth as Aubri Ford walked and was pinch ran by Deja Cain. Cain moved to second on a groundout by Bell and attempted to score on Pamela Richardson’s single but was thrown out at home.

Julia Bilbao hit a one out double to center in the final inning and moved to third but the game came to an end on an unassisted grounder.

TSU starter Naomi Reyes had a solid game on the mound with seven strikeouts and an earned run.

TSU will head to Beaumont, Texas to face Lamar on Tuesday in a makeup game from earlier this season. The doubleheader begins at 1 p.m.