#15 HUSKIES TAKE FIRST MEETING WITH #23 RAMS
April 13, 2006

FORT WORTH, TX:  On Thursday, two nationally ranked softball teams and the top two squads in the Red River Athletic Conference faced off at Sycamore Park.  Something had to give as #23 Texas Wesleyan University (42-14, 12-4 RRAC) entered the game ranked in the top-10 nationally in nearly every offensive category while #15 Houston Baptist (23-17, 13-1) entered the contest ranked in the nation’s top-10 in nearly every pitching category.  Unfortunately for the Rams, good pitching topped good hitting as the Huskies took a 1-0 win in a game one thriller and prevailed in game two 8-2.

To put the match up into perspective, HBU’s leading hitter entered the game at a .369 clip while the Rams entered the contest hitting .363 as a team.  On the other hand, Texas Wesleyan’s top pitcher entered the contest with a 2.66 ERA while HBU’s team ERA stood at 1.36.

Pitching ruled the day in game one, but Texas Wesleyan’s Rachel Lamont was up to the task.  Seven innings was not enough for a classic pitcher’s duel as Lamont and Houston Baptist’s Laura Hess went pitch for pitch and carried a scoreless game into the ninth inning.

Hess (13-3) allowed just two hits and only one base runner as far as second base while striking out 13 in nine innings pitched.  Lamont was nearly as good as she scattered seven hits across eight innings while striking out six.  However, one of those seven hits was a leadoff home run in the top of the ninth to the Huskies’ Hannah Garza, and HBU came away with a 1-0 win.

In game two, back-to-back doubles from Krissie Conner and Cheri Wood got the Huskies on the board in the top of the first.  After a Texas Wesleyan error prolonged the inning, Houston Baptist stretched its lead to 4-0 with an RBI single from Melissa Wright and a two-run triple from Rebecca Stanley.

HBU added a run in the second to bring the score to 5-0.  With two outs in the bottom of the third, Brooke McNabb connected for a two-run homer to put the Rams within three.  In the bottom of the sixth Erika Vargas ripped a solo shot, and the Huskies turned a Texas Wesleyan error into another run.  An unearned run in the seventh brought the score to 8-2.

Cheri Wood (6-2) earned the win after allowing just two runs on four hits while striking out seven in seven innings pitched.  Devin Blew fell to 8-2 on the year after surrendering five runs (two earned) on five hits in two innings of work.