Weather may have cut the Lady Buff Invitational short this weekend, but the WTAMU softball team made a big impression on the Lone Star Conference during its three games on Feb. 10.
The Lady Buffs started out the weekend and their season by taking on Oklahoma Panhandle State in the first of a triple-header. WT rolled over the team, scoring five runs in the first inning. The fourth inning would be the biggest inning for the Lady Buffs as they scored six runs, with four of those coming from Allie Cranfill’s grand slam in her first career hit on the team.
The team ended the game in the fifth inning, winning 11-1 against the Aggies. Marci Womack struck out nine OPSU players while allowing only four hits and walking one batter during the game. While the win was big, even bigger may have been Meghan Brown becoming the LSC’s all-time career walks leader with 125.
“[Brown] forces pitchers to throw strikes and for her to achieve that honor is testament to her discipline at the plate and I’m really proud of her,” Head Coach Kevin Blaskowski said.
After a short break, the Lady Buffs stepped onto the field again to take on UT-Permian Basin. Shortstop Alyssa Lemos put a run on the board for WT in the bottom of the first, the first tally of an 8-6 game. Allie Cranfill proved that she is a strong addition to the Lady Buffs, hitting her second homerun of the day in the second inning. The Falcons would make a late surge in the game, but WT’s Amber Spencer would stop the team in their tracks, striking out two batters and ending the game by getting a ground ball to third base.
The Lady Buffs win would go to Adriana Garcia, only giving up two runs on five hits. The pitcher would record no walks and one strikeout in her five innings in the circle.
WT’s undefeated weekend would be highlighted by their final game of the night as Marci Womack recorded her first career no-hitter against St. Edwards. The Lady Buffs took ahold of the game in the second inning, scoring four runs before recording three runs in the third and one in the fourth to end the game in five innings.
Womack was credited for two of WT’s three wins on Friday, with 18 strikeouts in 10 innings for an ERA of 0.00. Her no-hitter is only the fourth in school history.
“I thought Marci Womack was outstanding in the circle. She did a great job and really gave us a chance to win the two games she threw,” Blaskowski said. The rest of our pitchers still have some work to do, but it’s early so we’ll see what we get done this week.”
The Lady Buffs’ undefeated tournament allows them to start the season with a record of 3-0. They return to the field next weekend for the WT Lady Buff Classic at Buffalo Sports Park starting at 2 p.m. on Feb. 17 and going through Feb. 19.
