ABILENE, Texas – The Abilene Spring Break Tournament began on Wednesday, as the McMurry University softball team opened up with an 8-5 non-conference win over the University of St. Thomas (Texas) at Edwards Field.
The War Hawks (4-3) had season-highs in runs (8), hits (10) and total team batting average (.357) in the victory. Much of the offense did not come until the late innings, as the team scored three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to rally from behind in a close game.
Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning, senior Ashley McClellan hit a leadoff single to put a runner on base. That brought up senior Savannah Flinn, who was looking to break out of an early season funk. She did so with one swing of the bat, homering to left field to give her team a one-run lead.
In the very next at-bat, it was another senior, Emily Michki, who stepped in and crushed a solo homer to the same spot to extend the lead, 5-3.
Flinn came back up to do more damage in the sixth with runners on the corners, ripping a double into the left-center gap to drive in two more runs. Later in the frame, a sac fly by Cayleigh England scored Flinn to make it 8-3.
St. Thomas (5-6) attempted to rally in the seventh with two runs, but senior pitcher Bekah Chance forced a flyout to end it.
At the plate, Flinn finished 3-for-4 with a homer, a double and four RBI. Coming into the day, Flinn only had two hits in 20 at-bats through six games. Meanwhile, Michki extended her hitting streak to five games with her homer. McClellan added two hits and scored two runs.
In the circle, Chance improved to 2-0 with a complete game victory. For the day, she allowed nine hits, four earned runs, two walks and had three strikeouts. Fourteen of the team's putouts came on groundouts, while just three were on flyouts.
UST took an early lead with a pair of runs in the first frame. Down to its final out in the second inning, McMurry took advantage of a fielding error on a missed infield popup, keeping the inning alive. The play allowed Brianna Martinez to score and would later set up pinch hitter Kasey Woolard for a game-tying RBI single.
UST added one more run in the third before McMurry took the lead back in latter innings.
Pitchers of record:
W – Bekah Chance (2-0)
L – Marissa Vasquez (1-2)
On Deck
The Abilene Spring Break Tournament continues at Edwards Field tomorrow against Centenary. First pitch is set for noon.
