St. Ed's holds Hounds in check for series sweep

AUSTIN, Texas – Freshman second baseman Megan Morris singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th, and St. Edward’s completed a three-game Lone Star Conference softball sweep of Eastern New Mexico University with a 2-1 win on Sunday.

The Hilltoppers (12-6, 6-4 LSC) held the Greyhounds to just three runs over the weekend, posting 3-0 and 8-2 wins in Saturday’s twin bill.

Senior right-hander Brook Leger (8-3) took her second tough loss of the series, allowing just seven hits and one earned run over 9 1/3 innings.

ENMU (12-9, 4-5) broke on top in the third when freshman first baseman Ashley Nickerson delivered a two-out RBI single. St. Ed’s tied it in the bottom half, scoring an unearned run without benefit of a hit and taking advantage of two Hounds errors.

Sophomore left-hander Cadie Belle Currie (5-2) also went the distance in the circle, allowing four hits with four walks and one strikeout.

ENMU committed three errors on Sunday and seven for the series, compared to just one for the Hilltoppers.

The Hounds return to Greyhound Softball Field for a three-game LSC set this weekend against Texas A&M International, beginning with a 3 p.m. doubleheader on Friday.

St. Edward’s 3-8, ENMU 0-2 (Saturday) – Leger absorbed her second loss in a row despite allowing just six hits and two earned runs.

St. Ed’s senior right-hander McKenna Leamon (3-4) kept the Hounds’ bats at bay, tossing 5 1/3 no-hit innings and finishing with a two-hit shutout. She had some trouble late, though, giving up her first hit to senior Azalea Martinez and a walk to junior Alondra Vasquez with one out in the sixth before escaping with a fielder’s choice grounder and a strikeout.

In the seventh, an error and a double by sophomore Edyn Lopez put runners in scoring position with one out and brought the tying run to the plate, but Leamon finished it with her eighth and ninth strikeouts of the contest.

St. Ed’s took advantage of two ENMU errors to post an unearned tally in the first. The Hilltoppers made it 2-0 in the fifth on doubles by freshman Arianna Vidales and sophomore Megan Morris, and added one in the sixth on an RBI single from sophomore Katie Dillon.

In Game 2, Lopez finally got the Hounds on the board when she scored on a wild pitch, tying the contest 1-1 in the second. The Hilltoppers went in front for good on a two-out, two-run single by another freshman, Ella Hutzler, in the third.

ENMU closed to 3-2 on an RBI groundout by freshman Madison Begaye in the top of the sixth, but St. Ed’s responded with five runs on five hits in the bottom half, keyed by a two-run double from freshman Lauren Hoyt.

Freshman Kylen Padgett (2-0) earned the win with three innings in relief of starter Cadie Belle Currie. Senior Renna Toomey retired five consecutive batters to notch her second save.