Howard Payne softball opened the weekend on Friday with a doubleheader against Dallas Christian College, battling through both contests with flashes of offensive production and gritty innings despite coming up short in the final scores.

Game one saw Howard Payne put together quality at-bats throughout the lineup, finishing with eight hits in the contest. The Yellow Jackets struck first in the third inning after building early momentum on the base paths. Brianna Warriner ignited the frame with a single and aggressive base running, later coming around to score. Ashley Baylock also crossed the plate in the inning as Howard Payne pieced together timely contact to grab an early advantage.

Makayla Fuentes delivered one of the biggest swings of the game, driving a double into the gap that brought home two runs and highlighted a strong day at the plate. Fuentes finished with multiple RBIs while also reaching base safely.

Brianna Warriner turned in one of the top individual performances offensively, going 2-for-3 while adding a stolen base and consistently pressuring the defense. Graciela Quiroz contributed with a hit and later scored, while Colbi Goodwin added a base hit of her own to keep innings alive.

Inside the circle, Alyssa Silva logged a complete-game effort, working through traffic and finishing with four strikeouts across six innings of work.

In game two, Howard Payne again showed offensive fight, stringing together quality swings and putting runners on base across multiple innings.

Cassy Trevino set the tone early with a hit, while Brianna Warriner continued her strong day at the plate by collecting another base knock. Makayla Fuentes stayed productive offensively, delivering extra-base power that helped generate scoring chances.

Across the doubleheader, Howard Payne saw multiple players string together consistent at-bats, with Brianna Warriner and Makayla Fuentes leading the charge offensively while several others added timely contributions.

Head Coach Bianca Gonzales praised her team's competitiveness following the games.

"I'm proud of the way we kept fighting pitch after pitch," Gonzales said. "We had quality swings up and down the lineup and put ourselves in scoring positions multiple times. The results didn't fall our way today, but the effort, the energy, and the way we competed is something we can absolutely build on as we move forward."

Howard Payne will look to carry the offensive momentum and defensive growth from the weekend into its next stretch of games as The Lady Jackets will face Dallas Christian again but with the home field advantage with a double-header on Saturday, February 21st in Brownwood, TX.