ABILENE, Texas – Howard Payne's softball team split an American Southwest Conference doubleheader with Hardin-Simmons on Thursday afternoon at Ellis Field, winning 5-4 in the first game before falling 2-1 in nine innings in game two.
In game one, the Lady Jackets opened up a 5-2 advantage after their at bat in the sixth. Howard Payne allowed two runs in the bottom of the inning but held on for the 5-4 victory.
Hardin-Simmons scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning but Howard Payne responded scoring a run on a wild pitch in the fourth and
Celina Ortiz had a three-run home run in the fifth making it 4-2. The Lady Jackets made it 5-2 in the sixth when Hardin-Simmons's pickoff throw was wide of first allowing
Rachel Hitt to score.
Celese Tirres allowed three earned runs on six hits in seven innings to earn the win.
Celina Ortiz and
Gaby Muniz had two hits each for Howard Payne.
In game two, Hardin-Simmons would need extra innings to defeat Howard Payne 2-1 in the ninth frame.
Celina Ortiz had an RBI double for Howard Payne in the third inning to give the Jackets a 1-0 lead. It stayed 1-0 until the bottom of the seventh when a Lady Jacket throwing error on a bunt allowed a run to score.
In the ninth, Hardin-Simmons led off with a triple and scored when the next batter singled through the left side for the game-winning hit.
Tirres allowed one earned run in eight-plus innings of work for the Lady Jackets. She allowed seven hits and struck out three.
Howard Payne is 11-14 overall and 8-12 in conference action. HSU is now 13-11 on the year and 9-11 in league play. The teams will decide the series on Friday with a single game at noon.
