CANYON, Texas – The #2 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M battled thru numerous delays but couldn't come up with the big hit in the seventh inning as they dropped the final two regular season games of 2015 to the visiting Pioneers of Texas Woman's in front of over 200 fans at Schaeffer Park in Canyon, Texas to wrap-up Alumni Weekend. The Lady Buffs fall to 42-9 (22-6 LSC) while the Pioneers lock up the second seed in next weekend's LSC Tournament with an overall record of 27-19-2 (19-7-2 LSC).
With their walkoff win in game two of the series, WT claimed their second straight Lone Star Conference Championship and the right to host the LSC Championship on May 1-2 as they will be the top seed in the event and receive a bye in the quarterfinal round and play the winner of the Cameron/Angelo State matchup in the semifinals in Friday night's finale at 6:30 p.m. Stay tuned to GoBuffsGo.com for the tournament website and ticket information to be released in the upcoming days.
Game #1
Texas Woman's 4, #2 West Texas A&M 2
The teams traded zeroes in the first inning as they both stranded a base runners followed by a Lady Buff fielding error that put a Pioneer on first base with two outs in the top of the second inning but Lacey Taylor would end the frame as the junior gunned down the would-be base stealer at second base to end the frame with the teams tied at 0-0. The Lady Buffs took the lead in the bottom of the third inning as Ashley Hardin launched a leadoff solo blast to left center field on the first pitch she saw to give WT the 1-0 lead.
The Lady Buffs threatened in the bottom of the fourth inning as TWU issued a pair of walks to leadoff the inning followed by a fielding error to load the bases with no outs, Allie Cranfill flew out to the wall in center field but a WT mistake to not tag up and score would end up costing them as a pair of flyouts would strand three runners on base to end the frame with the Lady Buffs leading 1-0 after four complete. TWU made the Lady Buffs pay in the top of the fifth inning as Alyssa Galaz stayed hot at the plate with a three run homerun to center field with two outs to give Texas Woman's the 3-1 lead.
The Pioneers added to their lead in the top of the sixth inning as Sarah Wittenburg doubled off of the left field wall to leadoff the inning followed three batters later by a Tealey Farquar RBI single up the middle, Taylor threw out her second attempted steal of the game to end the inning with TWU leading 4-1.
WT wouldn't go down without a fight as Hardin made a diving play for the last out in the top of the seventh followed by her second solo homerun of the day in the home half to cut the lead to 4-2, Hannah Limmer doubled off of the top of the black monster in left to turn over the WT lineup followed by a five pitch walk to Stacey Ramirez to put runners on first and second with no outs. TWU elected to go to the bullpen and bring in their ace Tori Bice as the D1 transfer forced three outs over the next five batters to end the game, 4-2. Hokianga picked up the loss (18-5) for the Lady Buffs, giving up four runs on six hits with four walks and six strikeouts in the complete game loss.
Game #2
Texas Woman's 11, West Texas A&M 10
The Pioneers took the early lead in the nightcap as they plated two runs on three hits as they stranded the bases loaded in a lengthy half inning that experienced a medical delay, the Lady Buffs responded as they retook the momentum with a two run monster bomb by Renee Erwin over the scoreboard and onto WTAMU Drive to score Stacey Ramirez followed later in the inning by a Cranfill RBI single to left center to knock the TWU starter from the game and take the 3-2 lead after a full inning of play. TWU responded in the top of the third inning as Katy Stephens connected on a grand slam to left center with no outs followed later in the inning by an RBI double to left center by Laura Mabary to give the Pioneers the 7-3 lead.
WT cut into the lead in the bottom of the third as Dacosin led off the frame with a double to left field followed by an Andrea Sitter flyout to deep center to move the runner up 60 feet, Allie Smith singled to left field to score Dacosin followed by another Hardin bomb, this time a two run shot to left center field by the freshman to cut the lead to 7-6 after three complete innings of play. The Lady Buffs tied the game in the bottom of the fourth as Cranfill doubled to right center with two outs to score Dacosion from third base followed by Hardin's fourth homerun of the day as she launched a three run shot to left field to give WT the 10-7 lead.
The Pioneers cut into the lead in the top of the sixth inning as a Lady Buff error with two outs and runners on the corners allowed one run to score followed by an infield RBI single followed by a two run double to the left center field gap by Nicole Nordie to give TWU the 11-10 lead headed to the bottom of the sixth inning.
There was another 30 minute lightning delay to start the 7th inning before Bayer worked around a double and a wild pitch to strike out two Pioneers in the inning as she stranded a runner on third to head to the home half of the seventh. Brittany Gehle singled up the middle to start the frame followed by a wild pitch to move her to second base, Erwin walked on a full count offering followed by a flyout to left for the first out. TWU forced a fielder's choice groundout to get the lead runner at third base followed by a line drive out to the third baseman to end the game, 11-10. Bayer picked up the loss (6-2) for the Lady Buffs, giving up four runs (all unearned) on six hits with one walk and five strikeouts while Kilee Halbert allowed seven runs on seven hits with three walks and one strikeout in her 2.0 innings of work.
