Softball Sends 9 Seniors Off With Senior Day Sweep over Southern

Texas Southern softball celebrated senior day in style as they swept Southern University in contrasting fashions inside Memorial Park on Saturday.        
 
TSU 9, SOUTHERN 0
Lailah Bell threw a complete-game one-hitter and received plenty of offensive support as TSU run-ruled Southern 9-0.
 
TSU broke the game open in the second with a five-run frame as Ja’Lynn Swiney and Paris Johnson hit back-to-back RBI. SU was forced to make a pitching change down 3-0 but TSU didn’t back down as Pam Richardson walked. SU committed back-to-back errors as TSU finished the inning ahead 5-0.
 
Madison Martinez walked with one out in the third and scored after an SU error. Karisma Garcia upped the lead to 7-0 with a sac fly followed by Angel Morales’ single for an 8-0 margin. Jasmine Dodd drove in the game’s ninth run with an RBI single to left.
 
From that point, it was all about Bell as she cruised through the game on her senior day. Southern would hit a bloop single in the fifth to end the potential perfect game but she ended the game with a strikeout to preserve the win.
 
Johnson and Madison Martinez both had two hits and two runs scored while Johnson and Morales both had two RBI. Bell struck out three on one hit in five innings of play.
 
TSU 6, SU 5
The capacity crowd was treated to a thriller as TSU defeated Southern following a walkoff for the second straight day in a 6-5 extra inning win.
 
It was a pitching duel between both teams early on as TSU finally broke through in the fourth as Marisa Perla hit a two-run homer for a 2-0 lead. Lanay Carr’s RBI double followed by Angel Morales’ sac fly upped the score to 4-0 in the fifth.
 
TSU starter Madalynn Gonzales was cruising on the mound until the sixth as SU squeezed out five runs to claim a 5-4 lead. TSU changed pitchers in the seventh as Melonie Guardiola overcame a leadoff single to get three straight outs to keep TSU within striking distance.
 
Paris Johnson opened the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff single, stole second and moved to third on Lanay Carr’s sac bunt. TSU successfully executed a double steal as Johnson scored to knot the game at 5-all. TSU had runners in scoring position as the inning went on but couldn’t drive them in as the game went into extra innings.
 
Guardiola became stronger as the game went on with six straight outs. In the ninth, Johnson led the inning off with a single and stole two bases. Lanay Carr’s shot to left field ended the game as Johnson scored on the walkoff.
 
Johnson and Madison Griggs had three hits apiece while Carr and Perla had two hits. Carr and Perla also led the way with two RBI. Guardiola earned her fourth win of the season with three innings of one-hit ball while striking out two.
 
With the wins, TSU wrapped up second place in the SWAC West. TSU is back in action tentatively on Tuesday as they’ll host Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a makeup game from March. The location is TBA.