CANYON, Texas – The #8 Lady Buffs dropped their first matchup of the day to McKendree before rebounding with a run-rule shutout in the nightcap over Palm Beach Atlantic during the second day of the Chattanooga Invitational at Warner Park.
 
The Lady Buffs close out the weekend on Sunday as they take on Alabama-Huntsville (10:00 a.m. CT) and Lee (12:30 p.m. CT) in Chattanooga.
 
McKendree 5, West Texas A&M 3
McKendree took an early lead with two runs in the first inning, thanks to an RBI double by Ali Grenzebach and an RBI single by Jasmine Myers. The Lady Buffs were unable to respond immediately, going scoreless in their initial at-bats. After a quiet second inning, McKendree expanded their lead to 5-0 in the third, highlighted by a solo home run from Grenzebach and a two-run homer from Myers.
 
WT began to rally in the bottom of the third inning. Jordyn De Los Santos and Abby Howell reached base, setting the stage for Cadence Colborn's two-RBI single, cutting the deficit to 5-2. In the fifth inning, Colborn again was pivotal, leading off with a single and scoring on Brooke Janning's RBI double to deep left field, narrowing the gap to 5-3.
 
The remaining innings saw defensive stands from both teams, with the Lady Buffs' Janning pitching effectively to keep McKendree from adding to their score. However, WT was unable to produce further runs, resulting in a 5-3 victory for McKendree.
 
West Texas A&M 8, Palm Beach Atlantic 0 (5 Innings)
The scoring opened in the third inning when Janning delivered a crucial double to left center, bringing home Jordyn De Los Santos and Abby Howell. This was followed by Emily Liskai's two-run homer to deep left field, extending the lead to 4-0.
 
In the fifth inning, De Los Santos' single to center field set the stage for Howell to drive in another run, increasing the lead to 5-0. The final surge came in the sixth inning, with Lily Mulder scoring on a single by Bella Holland. Howell then singled up the middle to bring in Holland, and Janning capped off the inning with another RBI single, finalizing the score at 8-0.
 
Janning also shone on the circle, pitching a complete game shutout with eight strikeouts, allowing just two hits.