Photo: Bryton Wright recorded UMHB’s lone RBI in Thursday’s game (Photo by Luke Zayas/True To The Cru
MARSHALL, Texas–For the second straight year, UMHB Softball dropped its opening-round ASC Tournament game, falling to Concordia, 4-1, on Thursday morning. And just like last season, The Cru’s path to a tournament championship game appearance will run through the elimination bracket.
UMHB resumes conference tournament action at 12:30 p.m. Friday, facing the loser of today’s 5:30 p.m. matchup between top-seeded ETBU and Hardin-Simmons/LeTourneau.
Concordia established its lead early, pushing two runs across in the second inning after a first inning in which the Tornados tallied two hits, but stranded both runners on base. Back-to-back UMHB errors opened the second, and Megan Hooper and Kylie Pavlicek stood on first and third with nobody out and Emily Schmuck at the plate.
On the first pitch to Schmuck, Hooper took off for second, as UMHB catcher Tori Skinner threw to second baseman Madeline Stephenson in an attempt to catch the would-be-base stealer. But while Hooper sprinted towards second, Pavlicek raced from third to home, and Stephenson quickly fired the ball back to Skinner. As Skinner received the ball, her foot moved into the baseline, prompting a somewhat controversial obstruction call by the home plate umpire that resulted in Pavlicek being called safe, despite being tagged out by Skinner.
A double from Kylie Denaro to left center field scored Hooper two batters later, and CTX gained a 2-0 lead. One inning later, Pavlicek doubled to left, bringing Grace Coleman, who walked to begin the inning, across the plate.
UMHB scored its lone run on Bryton Wright’s RBI single to center field in the bottom of that inning. Taylor Henken singled, advanced to second on a base hit from Bailey Frenzel, then came across the plate, all with two outs.
Three of The Cru’s four hits in the contest came in the fourth inning and UMHB did not record a hit in the game’s final four innings. CTX starter Mayson Post improved to 11-6 as she tossed a complete game in the circle, making quick work of the UMHB lineup.
The Tornados solidified their advantage in the sixth on Denaro’s second RBI of the day, a single to center field. Concordia moves on to face McMurry at 3 p.m. today.
Game Notes
- UMHB’s four hits in the loss are tied for the Crusaders’ third-fewest in a game this season.
- The last time UMHB tallied four or less hits in a game was on March 23 of this season, in a 6-0 loss to ETBU in Marshall.
- With her third-inning RBI to score Henken, Bryton Wright has now recorded an RBI in each of UMHB’s last four games, all of which have been played against Concordia.
- Wright is second on the team in RBIs, with 19.
- Carmen Vela pitched in relief, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings with no hits and no walks. It marked the fourth appearance of the season for the ETBU transfer as she became the fourth Crusader pitcher this season with at least 8.0 innings pitched.
- UMHB drops to 2-6 in neutral-site games this season.
- The Crusaders are now 0-2 all-time in postseason games against Concordia. Both losses came by a three-run margin, with CTX having defeated UMHB, 3-0, in a 2000 ASC Tournament contest.
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