BROWNWOOD, Texas – The Howard Payne University softball team rolled to a 10- 5 victory during the final game of a three-game series vs the University of the Ozarks on Saturday afternoon.
The game got off to a quick start, with both teams offenses' scoring a combined three runs in the first inning. Howard Payne strung together an excellent performance at the plate in the bottom of the third inning to pull out to a 6-3 lead.
The Eagles responded by scoring two runs in the top of the sixth to bring the score to 6-5 heading into the bottom of the inning. But the Lady Jackets responded with a four-run sixth inning and held on to capture the 10-5 victory.
Howard Payne received some quality pitching from freshman
Tonya Thompson who was in the circle for the majority of the game for the Lady Jackets. Thompson finished the day with three strikeouts over five innings while surrendering just one earned run to help the Lady Jacket defense tame the Ozarks' potent offense.
Regarding her performance, Coach Mata said, "We were really proud of how freshmen
Tonya Thompson stepped up in the circle again." After Thursday's loss to the Eagles, Coach Mata stated that he would like to see his squad get their bats going to help give his pitchers a little relief. He got his wish today as Howard Payne tallied 10 runs on 10 hits.
Coach Mata again, "It was a positive sign for our offense to give 10 run support to the pitching staff today." They did so by receiving contributions from six players who scored one or more times on the day.
Haley Slater finished with three RBIs during a perfect 2-2 performance at the plate. She hit a triple with the bases loaded to deep center field to help seal the victory for the Yellow Jackets.
Audrey Simpson went 2-2 from the plate and drove in two runs while scoring three times and Tiffany Hinklemen was 2-2 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Tayler Rushing scored two runs and stole one base while finishing 2-3 at the plate and
Kayla Boucher finished the day 2-3 in hitting.
The Lady Jackets will next face the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton for another ASC three-game road trip. The series will begin next Friday, February 17th at 1:00 PM and you can find live stats and more at HPUSports.com. Also, follow along on Twitter @HPUSoftball and on Instagram @HPUSports for in-game updates, interactive content and more.
