BROWNWOOD, Texas - A Haley Slater double to right field scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth and helped lift the Howard Payne University softball team to a 5-4 victory in seven innings. But the Lady Jackets dropped the first game 12-1 and split the day with Sul Ross State University, 1-1.

Game One:

Sul Ross leaned on the steady presence of their pitcher, Jackie Gonzalez during the day's first action. Gonzalez pitched five full innings for the Lobos, striking out seven while holding Howard Payne to just one run in the game. 

A four-run first inning gave Gonzalez and the Lobos a nice cushion to work with and they would go on to score at least one run in each of the games remaining four innings.

Howard Payne's lone run came on a beautiful liner from Gabrielle Roque, who broke up the shutout in the second inning after a Kayla Boucher leadoff double down the left field line put the Jackets in scoring position. 

Boucher would go on to try and force a rally for the Lady Jackets by starting out the fourth inning with another nice hit. This time a double to the rightfield fence. Freshmen Bri Davis followed with a nice hit to deep center field but Boucher would get held up at third. 

It would prove to be the last opportunity for Howard Payne to score as the Lobos stayed with Gonzalez's arm in the circle to shut things down and register the 12-1 victory in game one of the series.

Senior Kayla Boucher finished 2-2 with a run scored and a double and Bri Davis, Gabrielle Roque, and Alizabeth Moreno each registered one hit apiece in the loss.

Game Two:

Howard Payne came out determined to win the game and it showed from the very first at-bat. Shawneece Jones laid down a beautiful bunt and then scored after Boucher doubled to right field to give the Lady Jackets the 1-0 lead. 

The Lady Lobos answered right back in the top of the second though, scoring two runs on two hits to capture the early 2-1 lead. But Ferrah Ford responded by belting a double in the bottom of the inning to score Roque and tie it back up at 2-2.

Sul Ross hung tough though and scored an unearned run in the top of the third to pull back ahead, 3-2. The Lobos made some substitutions and held the lead through the bottom of the fifth.

The Lady Jackets used a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth to give them a 5-4 lead. It started with a Tonya Thompson bunt and a Morgean Schultz walk. It ended when Haley Slater doubled to right to score Thompson and Schultz and give HPU the 5-4 lead.

Audrey Simpson would then settle in and take care of business in the circle, holding the Lobos scoreless in the last two innings to help give the Lady Jackets the 5-4 victory in seven innings of play.

Ferrah Ford went 2-3 from the plate and Howard Payne combined to collect five runs on eight hits in the contest. Slater, Davis, Roque, and Ford each collected doubles during the victory.

Howard Payne will now play host to SRSU for the third and final game of the series. Game time is set for 1:00 PM and it will be fans' last chance to catch the Lady Jackets in action this season. Hope to see you all out at Lady Jacket Field for the game but if you can't make it out, tune into www.youtube.com/hpusports for the live video feed.