Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 Las Vegas, N.M.—Madison Heathington had hits in all four of the Aggies' games against New Mexico Highlands over the weekend. The senior catcher totaled seven RBI and went five of 14 at the plate with two homeruns and one double in the series.

Highlands had some big hitters as well, taking a team-total of 55 hits for 41 RBI over the four-game stint. The Cowgirls came away with their first three wins of the season with victories in game one 11-6, game two 11-2 and game four 11-10. Panhandle added their ninth season win in game three by a score of 16-8 over five innings.

Game one on Saturday got off to a slow start for Panhandle as NMH held an 8-0 lead going into the fourth inning. The cowgirls scored one run in the second and put up seven in the third, aided by three Aggie errors. Starting pitcher Julia Ibarra held the loss for the Aggies on 3.1 innings. Criselda Luna came in with one out in the third and finished the game with four runs; one in the third, two in the fourth and one in the sixth inning. Freshman Chrislyn Dovers added three runs for the Aggies with a big homerun to center field in the fourth. A fielder's choice play on Brooklyne Bolton in the fifth narrowed the gap to 10-4 for the Aggies; and a wild pitch helped bring in the final two runs for Panhandle in the top of the seventh.

Freshman Emily Worley took her second loss of the season for the Aggies in game two on Saturday. The game ended in five innings after the cowgirls put up seven runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a nine-point lead. The Aggies scored their two runs early in the first with a fielder's choice by Salina Galindo and a two-run homer by Darcie Wilson. NMH went up with three runs in the bottom of the first inning and scored one run in the second. Worley finished with 14 hits and eight earned runs on the game.

Sunday's first matchup was another five-inning battle, but this time ended in Panhandle's favor. The Aggies opened with six runs in the first inning including a triple from Krissy Sardelich that went for three RBI. NMH came through with three runs in the bottom of the inning and put up another five in the fourth to edge a two-run lead. A huge fifth inning for the Aggies saw ten runners cross home plate. Heathington had a two-run homer and a double that went for two RBI along with a triple that scored three off the bat of Faith Guzman. In all, six hits and one error accounted for Panhandle's ten runs that inning. Ibarra earned her fifth win of the season, pitching a full five innings.

In game two on Sunday, the Aggies scattered runs across five of the seven-inning contest. An RBI single by Danielle Villarreal got things going in the second, but the Cowgirls answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 lead. Both teams brought in one run in the third with a big leadoff triple by Faith Guzman followed by a sac-fly scoring one for the Aggies. Highlands had a one-run homer in the third and a single that went for two runs in the fourth to pull ahead 5-2.

Guzman had another hit in the fifth and later scored on a three-run homer by Heathington; Dovers then stepped up with an RBI double to swing the lead in the Aggies' favor 6-5. Things were looking up in the top of the sixth when another double by Guzman put runners in scoring position; two errors in the inning helped bring in two more runs for Panhandle State. The Cowgirls then proceeded to reclaim a one-run lead with a grand slam homerun in the bottom of the sixth. Each team added two runs in the seventh leaving the Aggies still back by one for a disappointing loss in a hard-fought game.

Panhandle State Softball enjoys this weekend off before hitting the road for two days of doubleheaders. Tuesday, Feb. 28 the Aggies compete at Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee and will then head to Chickasha on Wednesday, March 1 to play two games against the University of Science and Arts. Aggie fans can look forward to the first home game of the season coming up on Tuesday, March 7 when Panhandle Softball takes on Midwestern State in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.