Box Score

MUSKOGEE, OK:  The Texas Wesleyan University softball team (12-16 10-3 RRAC) took the first stanza of a three-game set at Bacone College (13-17, 8-5) on Friday.  The Rams used a grand-slam from Lindsay Cline in the top of the ninth inning to end a back-and-forth battle at 9-5.
 
Bacone jumped ahead early with a two-run homer from Ashley Covington in the first inning.  In the third, Raven Moreno and Makelle Akin were both hit by a pitch to put two on with no outs.  After a sac bunt from Marissa Rangel, Moreno scored on a wild pitch, and Christina Kelley pushed Akin home with the tying run on a groundout.
 
BC’s Karina Watson drew a leadoff walk and scored in the bottom of the inning to put the Warriors back on top 3-2.
 
With two outs in the top of the fifth, Rangel singled and Kelley followed with a two run blast to swing the game back into Texas Wesleyan's favor.  Bacone answered with an RBI double from Covington in the bottom of the inning to level the game at 4-4.
 
After seven innings, the game remained knotted and rolled into extra innings.  Cline blasted a solo home run leading off the eighth inning, but the Warriors had an answer yet again.  In the bottom of the eighth, Keri Schmidt belted a leadoff bomb to keep Bacone alive.  The Warriors proceeded to load the bases with no outs, but Alexis Beltran worked out of the jam with a ground ball, a pop up and a strikeout.
 
In the ninth, Moreno, Akin, and Rangel all singled to load the bases.  With one out Cline stepped to the plated and touched off her second home run of the day (fifth of the season) to put the game away at 9-5.
 
Cline went 3-for-5 with 5 RBI and two runs scored on the day.  Rangel added three hits in four at bats, and Kelley went 2-for-5 with 3 RBI as the Rams outhit the Warriors 15-4.
 
Beltran (7-4) allowed five runs, four earned, on four hits and four walks while striking out six in nine innings of work.  Taylor Paulson allowed nine runs on 15 hits while working all nine innings in the loss.
 
The Rams and Warriors will complete their series with a doubleheader on Saturday.  Game one is scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. start.