Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Brownwood, Texas - The Howard Payne University softball team hosted the visiting Mountaineers of Schreiner University during the 2018 season home opener on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Jackets split the series, falling 10-1 in game one but rallied back from a 6-1 deficit to force a 7-7 tie during extra innings in game two. The game was called in the ninth inning due to darkness.

Howard Payne was able to hold Schreiner scoreless through the first two innings with Tonya Thompson in the circle. However, Hannah Ortiz also turned in an impressive performance on the mound for the Mountaineers. Going the full five inning's while holding the Lady Jackets to one run on seven hits. Ortiz' pitching, combined with a five-run inning in the top of the third, rallied Schreiner to the 10-1 victory.

Junior Haley Slater attempted to spark a rally in response to the Mountaineers' five-run top of the inning by leading the inning off with a single up the middle. After Hannah Pfleuger pinch ran for Slater, Junior Katelyn Dickerson stepped to the plate and punched her in with a liner up the middle. Ortiz would settle down though and force a ground out to end the inning and kill the rally. 

Junior Morgean Schultz finished the game 2-2 from the plate with a walk and Katelyn Dickerson went 2-2 with one RBI. Haley Slater was also 2-2 and Tonya Thompson went 1-1 in the game. Thompson also pitched two full innings with the Lady Jackets splitting time between three pitchers throughout the contest. Junior Kendra Evans turned in two full innings and Audrey Simpson logged the other inning on the mound.

Game two started more quickly for Howard Payne as Shawneece Jones led off the game and drew a walk.Tonya Thompson followed with a single to right field to put the Lady Jackets into scoring position and Kayla Boucher's single up the middle loaded the bases. Moregean Schultz then capped the inning by singling through the right side to bring in Jones and score the first run of the game. 

HPU would hold that lead through two innings of scoreless ball only to see the Mountaineers go off for six runs in the top of the fourth inning. But the Lady Jackets fought back and scored five runs in the bottom of the inning to tie it back up, this time at 6-6. 

Freshmen Jazmine Bridges reached base on an error to lead off the inning and Gabrielle Roque followed with a walk. After Shawneece Jones' single loaded the bases, Freshmen Bri Davis took a walk to force one run home. Katelyn Dickerson's single scored Roque and Kayla Boucher drilled a ball to the left-center fence to take two bases while scoring Thompson and Jones. A sac RBI from Schultz drove in Dickerson before the Mountaineers changed pitchers and closed out the inning.

A scoreless fifth inning was followed by a 1-1 sixth inning from both sides. Kayla Boucher was able to drive in her second run of the game with a liner through the right side to tie the game back up at 7-7. The score would stay that way through 2.5 innings until the game was called due to darkness. The game would end in a 7-7 tie and the two sides would split their two-game series.

Senior Kayla Boucher finished the game 3-5 with two RBI's and a double while Morgean Schultz went 2-3 and added two RBI's of her own. Tonya Thompson finished 2-3 and Junior Shawneece Jones was 2-4 from behind the plate. Howard Payne had a total of 13 hits and turned in an entire team effort in the ballgame.

Next up for the Lady Jackets is a doubleheader road contest vs. Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, Texas. The contests are slated to begin at 1:00 and 3:00 PM on Tuesday, February 6th.