CANYON, Texas – On Friday, the West Texas A&M softball team opened its home schedule with a pair of run-rule victories as part of the 2025 WT Invitational. The Lady Buffs put up 30 runs in 10 innings to move to 7-0 on the season.
 
WT returns to Schaeffer Park tomorrow for day two of the tournament, facing MSU Moorhead at 3:45 p.m. and UCCS at 8:15 p.m. Times are subject to change.
 
THE BASICS
Game 1 Score: #13 West Texas A&M 20, Lincoln 1 (5 inn.)
Pitching: (W) Heidi Vortherms (3-0); (L) Abby Pulliam (0-1)
Playing as the visitor, the Lady Buffs took the opportunity to score first as a Lauren Granger double followed a Kiley Avery single put two runners on. The Blue Tigers recorded their first out, throwing out Granger trying to steal home. After a wild pitch moved Avery to third, Abby Howell ripped a single down the line to score Avery.
 
WT broke the game open in the top of the second as a one-out walk from Avery Cannon and a single from Emily Liskai set up a Granger triple into the gap. Granger would come in to score on an error from the Lincoln defense on an Avery bunt. Howell recorded her second RBI of the night as the freshman singled down the line once again. Later in the inning, singles from Heaven Moreno and Halie Stoneking scored two more. Trinity Kuntz capped the scoring in the inning on a groundout to second base, extending the lead to 8-0. The Blue Tigers broke up the shutout in the bottom half of the inning when a leadoff double came in to score on a throwing error.
 
The WT offense caught fire in the top of the third as a Granger solo blast to start the inning started a six-run inning where six Lady Buffs recorded six hits. After two and a half innings, WT held a commanding 14-1 lead.
 
The Lady Buffs finished their offensive clinic with six more runs in the top of the fifth on seven hits, creating a 20-1 difference for the bottom of the fifth. After pinch-hitting in the top half of the inning, Kendall Selitzky stayed in the game to pitch. Selitzky fired a 1-2-3 inning on just 12 pitches to secure the victory.
 
THE BASICS
Game 2 Score:  #13 West Texas A&M 10, MSU Moorhead 1 (5 inn.)
Pitching: (W) Emilee Boyer (3-0); (L) Teagan Clemmons (1-2)
In a game that ended at nearly 1 a.m., the Lady Buffs stole momentum from the first pitch as Boyer cruised through the first inning. The bats picked up where they left off against Lincoln, scoring three runs in the first frame. A leadoff triple from Granger followed by an Avery single and steal set up a one-out triple from Boyer to the gap. On what would have been the third out of the inning, Cadence Colborn reached on an error as Boyer came into score.
 
In the second inning, WT used a triple and single once again to plate a run as Emily Liskai scored on Granger's base hit. Boyer would add to her RBI total when the junior roped a ball down the right field line to score two and put the Lady Buffs up 6-0. MSU Moorhead would break up the shutout in the top of the third on an RBI double, but a strikeout ended the inning and brought WT back to the plate.
 
A third triple-single combo from the Lady Buffs brought home a seventh run followed by a one-out RBI single from Granger to make it 8-1. A double steal from Riley Stiner and Liskai brought the run-rule into play at 9-1. A second double steal added to the lead and gave the Lady Buffs an insurance run to end the ballgame early.
 
In the top of the fifth, Ashley Mandell came in and worked a 1-2-3 inning on 13 pitches to close out day one of the WT Invitational.