SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College softball team dropped both halves of its home twinbill against St. Thomas on Saturday, falling 6-4 in game one and 11-2 in game two against the Celts. The 'Roos are now 8-17 overall and 3-5 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.
In game one, both teams went scoreless in the first before Austin College jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second, with Hailie Swiatkowski drawing a bases loaded walk to start the scoring before Lizzy Preston belted a three-run double. St. Thomas got one run back on a solo homer from Jaelyn Simmons in the third, and three runs came home in the fourth to square things up at four runs apiece.
The Celts got a bases loaded walk in the top of the sixth to make it 5-4, and another run came home in the seventh to make it a 6-4 game. Austin College put runners on second and third in the bottom half of the inning but were unable to generate any runs in their final set of at-bats. Karsen Lampkin took the loss in relief, giving up two runs, only one earned, on two hits in 2.1 innings of work with five walks issued. Preston went 3-for-4 with three RBI to pace the 'Roos at the dish.
St. Thomas took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second in game two, and the margin grew to 2-0 in the fourth before Lyndsey Busch drove in a run and Calleigh King scored on a wild pitch to even things up at two runs apiece in the bottom half of the inning. The Celts had loaded the bases with no outs in the top half of the fourth, but Carrie Johnson caught a liner to center and started a triple play, getting the force at second with the third out coming as St. Thomas attempted to tag from third.
The Celts would load the bases again in the fifth, however, and this time they'd push six runs across to go on top 8-2. The lead grew to 11-3 in the sixth on a three-run homer from Addison Lehew, and that's where things would end. Swiatkowski got the loss for Austin College, giving up six runs - five earned - on eight hits in 4.0 innings of action. Lauren Orozco went 2-for-3 with a double and King added a 2-for-3 performance at the plate for the 'Roos.
Austin College and St. Thomas wrap up their weekend series on Sunday with a single game, currently scheduled to begin at noon at Old Settlers Park.