Softball | 5/7/2018 3:27:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 Chickasha, Okla.—In their first post-season appearance since 2008, the Panhandle State softball team tallied a 1-2 record at the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament hosted by the University of Science and Arts-Oklahoma May 3-4. The Aggies fell short in their first two contests against TWU (7-4) and USAO (8-0), before ending their season with a shutout win over Bacone College (7-0).

Heavy rains hit the area Wednesday evening, prompting several rounds of schedule changes for Thursday's first set of games. The Aggies, originally scheduled to take the field at 11 a.m. versus Texas Wesleyan, were stalled to an eventual 6 p.m. start time for Thursday's opening matchup with the Rams. Senior Julia Ibarra led off in the circle and pitched 4.2 innings for Panhandle State. Junior Lindsay Jacobs took the loss in the final 1.1 inning of play.

As the visiting team in game one, the Aggies plated two runs in the top of the first inning to get a great start on a tough Rams team. Both runs came on a home run hit by senior first baseman Brooklyne Bolton. Panhandle held the lead through the top of the fifth inning, allowing just two hits and one run to the Rams over their first four sessions at the plate. The Aggies added two runs in the top of the fifth to pull a 4-1 edge on TWU, as Bolton brought through one run on a double to centerfield, and shortstop Jena Konieczka hit a sac-fly to score the second. The Rams rallied in the bottom of the inning, sending in six runs on six hits to shift the lead in their favor 7-4. That score would hold to be final with empty innings for both teams in the sixth and seventh.

On Friday, the Aggies met with two SAC opponents starting with a 1 p.m. meeting with the host team, USAO. Ranked No. 3 in the country, the Drovers took the field as the league runners-up with an impressive 50-5 overall season record and 28 conference wins. The Drovers made quick work of the Aggies, only giving up two hits over the five-inning outing. Sophomore pitcher Emily Worley entered the circle for Panhandle State and went two innings before being relieved by Lindsay Jacobs in the third. Worley took the loss as the Drovers brought in four runs in the second inning, after leaving two on base in the first. USAO went on to add one run in the third and three in the fourth to claim the run-rule victory 8-0. Panhandle's two hits came as singles off the bats of Brooklyne Bolton and Lindsay Jacobs.

Game three was settled in the first inning, as the Aggies scored all seven runs in the opening stanza. Ibarra led off in the circle and threw a complete game, allowing five hits for zero runs to mark her 15th win of the season. Bolton led off with a double and was backed up by a single from Karah Ortiz, walk by Jaylinn Reyes and a two-run double by Jena Konieczka to open scoring for the Aggies. Ibarra then reached on an infield error, pushing through another runner. With one down, right fielder Brissa Rivera stepped up with an RBI-single to score the fourth run of the inning. Left fielder Chrislyn Dovers knocked in a run with a single, followed by a two-run single by Bolton that brought the score to 7-0 Aggies, going into the second inning. The Aggies were allowed just one more hit in the game, a single from Konieczka in the fourth.

As the team celebrated their final victory of the season, four seniors lamented their last stands on the field as Aggies. Senior Brooklyne Bolton shared these words after the game, "I couldn't have asked to go out a better way. This team and sport all together have done nothing but bless me, especially this last year. While catching the last inning, with one out to go, it took everything in me to fight back tears while I looked at my fellow seniors on the field as we finished out the last game we would ever play. A moment I will cherish forever. I am truly blessed for all the memories I have made here the past four years and will never forget the people and moments that made it great. I'm proud to say, I will always be an Aggie."

Bolton led the team in hitting in post-season play, batting .600 with six hits over ten plate appearances. She knocked in five runs and scored two, and added extra bases with two doubles and a home run to hold a 1.100 slugging percentage on the series. Sophomore Jena Konieczka was second in RBI for the tournament with three, and totaled two hits on seven at-bats including one double.

The Aggies finished their season sitting sixth in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings with an overall record of 26-32, and an SAC record of 12-20. Head Coach Meghan Mulcahy expounded with pride, "We set a team goal to make it to the conference tournament, and worked hard throughout the year to achieve that goal. It was great to see that effort pay off, and to share in a post-season victory for our final game of the year and send our seniors off with something to be proud of. Now that we have tasted success, and witnessed what dedication and passion can help us attain as a team, we will start setting our sights even higher for next season."

The players and coaches send specific gratitude to the students, fans and family members who showed up to support the team throughout the season. "It really helps push us through the tough stretches, when we receive that extra motivation and encouragement from the crowd, Mulcahy added. "Seeing fans in the stands both at home and on the road makes the games so much more enjoyable, and reminds the players that they have a great group of people out there who genuinely care about the team, and are always there to cheer them on."