CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M freshman outfielder
Kourtney Coveney went a combined 4-of-6 at the plate with seven RBI as the #22 Lady Buffs rolled past the visiting Newman Jets (15-0, 18-2) in a pair of run-rule victories to conclude the 2016 Lady Buff Invite at Schaeffer Park in Canyon, Texas on Sunday afternoon. The wins keep the Lady Buffs unbeaten at 16-0 while the Jets fall to 4-8 overall.
GAME #1The Lady Buffs used the long ball in the bottom of the second inning as
Kourtney Coveney took a 2-1 offering deep down the left field line for a solo bomb to give WT the early 1-0 lead, the WT defense stepped up in the top of the third as the Jets lined into a double-play to
Brittany Gehle at second base followed by a flip to first base to end the frame.
WT added to their lead in the bottom of the third as
Shea Ibrahim doubled down the right field line with runners on first and second as
Stacey Ramirez raced around to score with no outs,
Lacey Taylor laced a double to center field to drive in two runs followed by a Newman error and an RBI single by
Stacey Ramirez. The Lady Buffs weren't done yet as Gehle doubled to the right center field gap with the bases loaded to drive in three more runs followed by an Ibrahim RBI bunt single to run the WT lead to 10-0. The Lady Buff defense came up big again in the top of the fourth as the Jets registered their first hit of the contest with a triple to center field followed by a popup to
Kourtney Coveney at second and a diving play in right field by
Brittany Cruz to end the frame.
Coveney added to the WT lead in the home half of the fourth with an RBI single followed later in the frame by a Cruz two run double down the right field line, another Newman error allowed another Lady Buff error followed by a
Briana Garza RBI single up the middle to run the lead to 15-0.
Chelsea Skipper picked up the win (2-0) for WT in the circle, giving up no runs on three hits with no walks and one strikeout in the complete game shutout.
GAME #2The Jets started off the scoring in the top of the first inning before the Lady Buffs responded with three runs in the home half of the frame as Hardin singled home a run followed by RBI walks from
Allie Smith and
Shayne Starkey to run the lead to 3-1. WT added to their lead with a Taylor RBI triple followed by a Smith two run double to left field as the Lady Buffs took a 6-1 lead into the third inning.
The Jets cut into the lead in the top of the third inning before the Lady Buffs responded with three more runs as Gehle flied out to center field for a sac fly followed by a two run double off of the right field wall to score Ramirez and Cruz to run the WT lead to 9-2. The Lady Buffs would put the game away in the home half of the fourth inning with nine runs on eight hits highlighted by five Coveney RBI's in the inning with a double and triple to give WT the 18-2 win.
Tori Bayer picked up another win (5-0) for the Lady Buffs, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits with one walk and four strikeouts in the complete game victory.
NEXT UPThe Lady Buffs return to the friendly confines of Schaeffer Park next weekend as they begin the defense of their Lone Star Conference Title with a four-game series against the #10 TexAnns of Tarleton State starting on Friday night at 5 p.m. in Canyon.
