Softball Tops Hillsdale, Falls in Extras to OLLU

The Austin College softball team topped Hillsdale Baptist College 8-0 and fell 5-4 in extra innings against Our Lady of the Lake University on Saturday, bringing the team's overall record to 13-18 this season.

Austin College jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one inning in the first game of the day against Hillsdale Baptist, as Taylor Steelman scored on a wild pitch and two more runs crossed the plate following an error. Two more runs would score in the second as Rachel Ramos came home on a wild pitch, and Sophia Hernandez would drive in Steelman to make it 5-0.

The lead grew to 7-0 in the third as Lindsey Pollard knocked in a run, and Rachel Ramos doubled home Mary Whitworth. That remained the score until the bottom of the fifth, when Whitworth launched her third homer of the season to end the game at 8-0 via the run rule. It was Whitworth's second walk-off homer of the season.

Whitworth finished 2-for-2 and Steelman went 2-for-3, while Tori Herrera earned her seventh victory of the season, shutting down the Saints in 5.0 innings and allowing just three hits and no walks while striking out four.

Against Our Lady of the Lake, the 'Roos fell behind 1-0 after the top of the first but plated three in the bottom half of the inning, with two runs coming home on a passed ball and another scoring on a solo homer from Briana Hernandez. OLLU scored again in the second to trim it to a one run game, but Lilly Chavez scored on a sacrifice fly by Steelman to push it to a 4-2 advantage after two.

OLLU cut it to a 4-3 game in the fourth, and a run in the fifth squared things at 4-4. Neither team would score in the final two innings, sending the game into extras, and the game would remain tied after the first extra frame before the Saints tallied with two outs in the top of the ninth. Austin College but two runners on in the bottom half of the inning but were unable to equalize, making it a 5-4 final in favor of the Saints.

Sophia Hernandez went the distance in the loss, surrendering five runs, three earned, on 11 hits. Hernandez also went 2-for-4, while Briana Hernandez also ended the game going 2-for-4, and Steelman finished 2-for-5.

Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

About Austin College

Austin College is a leading national independent residential liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope's influential book Colleges that Change Lives.