ALEXANDRIA, LA - Texas Wesleyan Softball (2-7) took No. 8 Mobile to nine innings Saturday morning, but couldn't come away with a victory, falling 4-3. No. 17 William Carey stayed unbeaten in the Lady Rams' second game of the day, defeating TXWES 6-0.
The Lady Rams strongest inning of the day was the top of the second against Mobile.
Lacy Mann singled up the middle to get things started.
Sandra Lopez doubled to left center moving Mann to third. Mann was brought in on the next at-bat when
Kaitlyn Johnson found a seam.
Saeya Esparza saw Lopez score on a wild pitch before singling to third base to bring in Johnson - putting the Rams up 3-1 after Mobile got a run in the first frame.
After Mobile tied the game at 3 in the bottom of the fourth, pitching and defense really stepped up for the Lady Rams.
Makenna Aycock struck out two during the four-inning stretch of scoreless softball and earned four strikouts overall in 8 1/3 innings. The outfield caught 11 fly-outs and the in-field put out 10 on ground balls. With a base-runner placed on second (per extra inning rules), Mobile used two sacrifice bunts to bring the runner home for the game-winner.
Four different hitters got hits in the second game against William Carey:
Kaylee Davenport,
Taylor Sutton,
Bailey Terry and
Ashton Davis. Runners were left stranded on second and third off of two hits in the top of the fourth frame without a run - one of the few options to score given up by a stingy William Carey bunch that will likely be moving up the next Top 25 NAIA Coaches Poll Rankings with their play this weekend. Mann pitched the whole way for TXWES - 101 throws total - only giving up one hit that did more damage than a single, getting a couple of strikeouts along the way.
The Lady Rams are poised to bounce back - the softball program hasn't lost five games in a row since 2015 and will have two weeks to regroup thanks to a rare off-week during tournament season. Despite the start to the 2019 campaign, Texas Wesleyan continues an impressive streak of limiting opponents runs - now eight or fewer in 22 consecutive games dating back to April 19, 2018.
WHAT'S NEXT
After the off week, the Lady Rams will head to Wichita, Kansas for the Friends University Softball Invitational. There, TXWES will face Mount Mercy University, host Friends and Morningside College on Friday March 1. Slated for matchups with Texas Wesleyan on Saturday March 2 are Ottawa University and Bethany University.
