'Roos Split with Dallas

IRVING, Texas - The Austin College softball team split its doubleheader at the University of Dallas on Saturday, taking game one 6-5 before falling 10-4 in game two. The 'Roos are now 7-7 overall and 3-0 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play, with today's second game counting as a non-conference contest.

Game one was scoreless until the fifth inning, when Keiten Day singled home a run to put the 'Roos on top. The Crusaders evened things up in the bottom half of the inning, but the 'Roos erupted for five runs in the sixth to make it a 6-1 game. Kaitlyn Barrett got the scoring started with an RBI single, and Joli Kirkpatrick drew a walk with the bases loaded to make it 3-1. Day knocked in two more runs, and Elizabeth Preston reached on an error, bringing home Day to make it 6-1. 

Dallas got one run back in the bottom of the sixth and pulled to within one in the bottom of the seventh, but Calleigh King managed to shut the door and enable the 'Roos to hold on for the win. AD Smith got the win for Austin College, giving up one run on five hits in 5.0 innings of work. Day finished 2-for-3 with three RBI to pace the 'Roos at the dish, while Katie Duffy-Relf led UD with a 2-for-4 performance.

In game two, Austin College jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first behind an RBI double from Brooklynn Cook and a 2-run single from Kalee Rush, but the Crusaders responded with five runs in the bottom half of the inning to surge ahead 5-3. The margin grew to 8-3 in the second, and Dallas would eventually go on top 10-3 in the fourth. Austin College got one run back in the top of the seventh when King brought home Preston to make it 10-4, but that's as close as things would get.

Cook absorbed the loss for Austin College, surrendering eight runs - seven earned - on nine hits with three walks in 2.1 innings of action. Cook, King, and Faith Butler each had two hits for Austin College, while Abby Lasley and Mariah Hinojosa had three hits apiece for the Crusaders.