Softball | 5/1/2018 9:52:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 Goodwell, Okla.—The Panhandle State softball team had a busy weekend, playing eight straight games over a four-day span. The team added six wins to secure a post-season spot in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament, finishing their season 25-30 with a 12-20 SAC record.

The Aggies took on two conference matchups starting with a four-game SAC series against Mid-American Christian Friday and Saturday. A split series posted two wins for the Aggies in games two (19-5) and three (7-4), and two losses to the Evangels in games one (1-7) and four (4-7).

MACU opened with a 7-1 win over the Aggies in game one on Friday, as centerfielder Jewell Lee was the only Aggie to cross home plate on a fielder's choice play by Jena Konieczka. Pitcher Julia Ibarra held the loss with 11 hits and four earned runs to her name; the Aggies struggled in the field, committing four errors in the game.

Game two got off to a fast start as 11 runs were collectively scored in the first inning alone. The Evangels put up five runs in the top-half, and the Aggies answered with six runs scored in the bottom of the first. Catcher Haleigh Scott reached base on an error to send through the first Aggie runner, and Jaylinn Reyes and Chrislyn Dovers each followed with two-run doubles; an RBI single by leadoff hitter Jewell Lee put the sixth run on the board. Reyes then stepped up with an RBI single in the second before Panhandle State went on an 11-run spree in the bottom of the third inning. The Aggies batted through the order with runs scored by Julia Ibarra, Chrislyn Dovers, Jewell Lee, Karah Ortiz, Brooklyne Bolton, Jena Konieczka, Brileigh Murphree and Abby Gregory. The inning ended with a three-run double by Bolton that edged the Aggies into an 18-5 lead. Third baseman Jaylinn Reyes finished off scoring with a solo homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth. Junior Lindsay Jacobs got the big win with six hits and five earned runs on the game.

Saturday brought a big senior sendoff for five Aggie softball players as Julia Ibarra, Daisy Recinos, Brooklyne Bolton, Faith Guzman and Jackie Sanchez all took their home field for the final time. The five veterans were joined by family and friends for a special pre-game recognition that included University President, Dr. Tim Faltyn and Head Coach and Athletic Director Meghan Mulcahy. Each player graced the starting lineup for both games, with Ibarra getting the start in the circle for game one. The senior pitcher held the Evangels scoreless through the first two innings, as the Aggies gained a 1-0 lead with Bolton bringing an RBI single to the plate in the bottom of the first. MACU evened the score with one run in the third, and pulled ahead 4-1 after scoring three runs in the fourth. The team came together to rally a comeback with a six-run inning in the sixth. Haleigh Scott hit a double with two on to score Bolton from second; and Jena Konieczka followed-up with a two-run double to tie the game at 4-4. With two-on and no outs, senior Jackie Sanchez took, what would be, the game-winning shot over the fence with a three-run homer to swing the advantage in favor of the Aggies 7-4. Ibarra faced four batters in the seventh and retired three with a fielder's choice, swinging strikeout and pop-up.

Jacobs took the circle for the Aggies in game two and took 17 hits over the seven-inning contest. She held the Evangels scoreless in the first, but gave up two runs in the second, two in the fourth and three in the seventh. The Aggies owned a 3-2 lead after scoring one run in the first and two in the second on singles by Reyes and Jacobs, Bolton's RBI-walk added the third run. Down 7-3 going into the bottom of the seventh, Panhandle left three runners stranded with just one run scored in the final inning of the game.

On Sunday and Monday, the Aggies faced Bacone College for a re-scheduled matchup, with games originally set for April 20-21 that were moved due to weather. Tied with the Warriors for the sixth slot in the SAC standings, Panhandle was playing with purpose to gain a higher seed in the conference tournament, and that they did. The series sweep ensured a sixth seed with four wins coming on scores of 10-9, 15-7, 7-6 and 9-8.

Pitchers Lindsay Jacobs and Julia Ibarra each earned two wins on the series, with Jacobs starting things off in game one on Sunday; she gave up four hits and zero runs through the first three innings of play. The Aggies put six on the board in the first inning, with Reyes, Konieczka, Jacobs, Sanchez and Lee each batting in runs. A wild pitch and RBI-double from Jacobs in the second notched an 8-0 lead for the home team. Sophomore Emily Worley came in to relieve Jacobs in the top of the fourth, and faced only four batters with one hit allowed. Worley then took the box and hit an RBI-single, giving the Aggies a nine-run advantage over the Evangels. Jackie Sanchez brought in the tenth run of the day on a ground-out play. The Warriors staged a comeback taking five runs in the fifth and four in the sixth to come within one run of the Aggies. Jacobs re-entered the circle with two outs and one runner on base after the Warriors scored three in a row on an error, stolen base and base hit; she faced four batters in the seventh and let one runner on base to hold off the upset.

With Ibarra at the rubber in game two, the game held at 0-0 through the first two innings. The senior pitcher tossed out three of four batter faced in the second inning. The Warriors struck first, taking three runs in the third, but the Aggies battled back with six runs in the bottom of the inning. Four singles and a two-run double by Ibarra shifted the lead to 6-3 Aggies. The score held through an empty fourth inning, and Bacone kept things alive by adding two runs each in innings five and six to gain a one-run lead. The Aggie bats were brought back to life in the sixth, scoring nine runs to end the game early. Plating runs on seven hits, Karah Ortiz started scoring with an RBI-triple, and was backed by Scott who hit a two-run single, and Bolton who doubled for two runs; two errors in the inning accounted for four additional runs.

Monday made for two interesting matchups as the Aggies found themselves trailing through four innings of game one and five innings of game two before fighting back for one-run victories in both contests. In the first meeting with the Warriors, the Aggies were down 6-3 going into the bottom of the sixth inning. Jewell Lee sparked a rally with an RBI fielder's choice to score one run in the bottom of the sixth. A bases-loaded walk by Karah Ortiz brought in a second run, and a wild pitch to Bolton scored the tying run to knot things up at 6-6. Lindsay Jacobs led the Aggies from the circle through six innings, bringing Ibarra in to close out the seventh. Ibarra threw three groundouts and walked one to hold the score even. The bottom half of the inning started with the first three Aggie batters reaching base, which set up a walk-off RBI-single by Jackie Sanchez. Jacobs earned her seventh win of the season and Ibarra got the save.

Bacone pulled away with a 5-2 lead after the fourth inning of Monday's second game, but the Aggies batted in three runs in the bottom of the fifth bringing a four-game sweep in sight. Jaylinn Reyes narrowed the gap to 5-4 with a two-run double, and pitcher Julia Ibarra held steady for and RBI base on balls to tie things up. The Warriors had two hits in the sixth but left runners on base, leaving it up to the Aggies to break the score. Ortiz led off with a double and Bolton followed with a single. With two down Jaylinn Reyes brought both runners home as an infield error assisted the Aggies with two runs. To keep fans on the edge of the seats, Bacone added three runs in the top of the seventh reclaiming a one-point lead 8-7. The Aggies held strong and put their first three hitters on base, a wild pitch to Jewell Lee pushed the winning run in. Ibarra finished out her final home game with a win and owned a 14-11 record on the season.

Panhandle State softball qualifies for post-season play for the first time in ten years and will compete this week in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament. The tournament is held at dual sites in Oklahoma City (UCO) and Chickasha (USAO) May 3-5. More details and a tournament schedule will be released separately.