Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 Grand Prairie, Texas—After taking two losses on day one of a three-day tournament hosted by the City of Grand Prairie Department of Parks, Arts & Recreation and Lubbock Christian University, the Oklahoma Panhandle State University softball team bounced back to win three of the next four games, and improve to an 8-9 season record as they prepare to enter Heartland Conference play this weekend.

The North Texas Softball Bash took place Feb. 19-21 and consisted of nine teams that were paired up to play six games over the course of three days. The games were spread among four fields within the Jennifer McFalls Park in Grand Prairie. The Heartland Conference had three teams represented in the tournament with OPSU, LCU and UTPB each getting one pairing within the league that would not count towards conference standings; this allowed each to get an early glimpse of what lies ahead on the Heartland schedule. Other teams competing were the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Bethany College (Kan.), Clarke College (Iowa), Eastern New Mexico University, Oklahoma City University and Texas Women's University.

OPSU opened on Friday against Clarke College in game one and were defeated in a close contest 4-6; but game two was cut short as the Aggies suffered a disappointing 0-16 shutout against Oklahoma City University. The ladies came out ready to play on Saturday, taking an early lead over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and notching a 7-5 win in their first matchup of the day. Saturday's second pairing saw OPSU meet with a, then, 14-5 conference foe from Lubbock Christian University; the Lady Chaps added win number 15 in a seven-inning shootout that scored three LCU runs in the final inning for the 8-4 victory over the OPSU. By Sunday, the Aggies were in full swing, and swing they did, taking two wins with 13 runs in each (all earned). They pulled out a victory at the end against Eastern New Mexico 13-12 and defeated Bethany College 13-5 in six innings to close out the tournament with three wins and three losses.

Sophomore Brooklyne Bolton put in a powerful performance at the plate, sending seven hits on 17 at bats for a tournament total of ten RBI; of her seven hits, three were home runs and two, doubles. Bolton started hot and finished strong bringing in all four runs for the Aggies in game one against Clarke College, and connecting on three hits that went for five RBI in their final game against Bethany on Sunday. For the six-game series, Bolton averaged .412 in batting and covered 18 bases for a 1.059 slugging percentage.

The Aggies, as a team, held a .313 batting average and totaled 50 hits including nine doubles, two triples and six homeruns. Faith Guzman was another heavy hitter for OPSU averaging .750 on six hits from eight at bats; Guzman hit three doubles and one triple for one RBI on the weekend, she also scored five runs for the Aggies and was walked five times. Other big-time batters for Panhandle were: Daisy Recinos (2 RBI), Ashley Jarzombek (3 RBI), Darcie Wilson (6 RBI) and Anyssa Barbosa (6 RBI)who hit one double and one homerun each. Madison Heathington (2 RBI) hit her seventh homer of the season, a solo against Bethany, and Sarah Gregori hit a triple for two RBI against UAPB; Julia Ibarra had five singles that combined for three RBI and had the game-winning hit against ENMU.

Ibarra carried one win and two losses in the circle for the series, getting the start against Bethany on Sunday and earning her third win of the season in the game (3-3). She totaled 15.2 innings on the weekend and gave up 11 earned runs on 20 hits. Senior Samantha Arledge added two wins to her record (2-1) with starts against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Eastern New Mexico; she pitched 13 strikeouts over 14.2 innings of work and allowed 18 hits and 13 earned runs in the series. Freshman pitcher Janna Ruether took the loss against Oklahoma City University after one inning on the rubber. OPSU pitchers finished with a combined ERA of 8.77 and their opponents averaged 9.57 in earned runs.

Defensively, the Aggies took out two on a double-play against Pine Bluff (2B-Villerreal to 1B-Wilson) and caught one of six stolen base attempts (P-Ruether to C-Bolton). As a team OPSU fielded at .895 percent and totaled 20 errors, with ten in the OCU game alone. Their opponents combined for a .307 batting average and .930 in the field with 11 total errors.

OPSU Softball will open Heartland Conference play this weekend with a three-game series in San Antonio, Texas against St. Mary's. Friday's double header begins at 4 p.m. and game three on Saturday is set to start at Noon. Aggie fans can look ahead to the first home softball games coming up on March 2. The ladies will play two games against New Mexico Highlands beginning at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.