Storm open season with doubleheader in Texas

ABILENE, Texas - The Simpson College softball team opened its season in Texas by taking on Hardin-Simmons, dropping a pair of hotly contested games.

Game 1

The Storm (0-2) got off to a rough start, as the Cowboys (6-0) loaded the bases with zero outs after a Storm error in the bottom of the first inning. However, starting pitcher Taryan Barrick-Wessels limited the damage to just two runs after a big strikeout and groundout after the first run from the Cowboys.

Barrick-Wessels settled in after that, only allowing one hit over the next three innings, as the Storm offense came to life in the fourth inning. Alexis Ehlers started the inning off strong with a leadoff single, but was caught stealing right after. Rylee Purvis worked a one-out walk and after another out, freshman Caelynn Oberton smashed a triple into left field, cutting the Cowboys' lead to 2-1.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Storm outfield made a big play to keep the score at 2-1. With two outs, the Cowboys had runners on first and second and after a hit into the outfield, the Storm threw the runner out at the plate to end the inning.

The play proved to be extremely important as the Storm offense exploded the following half inning. With two outs, Kate Kriegel tied the game with an RBI single. After the Cowboys made a pitching change, Maddie Luderman gave the Storm the lead with an RBI single into right field. Still with two outs, Kriegel, now on third base, doubled the lead to a 4-2 advantage by scoring on a wild pitch. Finally, Karlie Hill nailed another two-out hit that scored Caroline Pellett, pinch running for Luderman.

The Cowboys fought back in the bottom of the sixth, however, scoring three times to tie the game at 5-5. The Cowboys also had a chance to walk off the game the following inning, but Barrick-Wessels came up with two massive back-to-back strikeouts to send the game to extra innings. The Storm scored a run in the top of the eighth to take a 6-5 lead, but the Cowboys walked it off on two outs, after a throwing error, to take the first game, 7-6.

Game 2

The second game started much like the first, with the Cowboys jumping out to a 3-0 lead early, but Game Two starter Kylee Tucker settled in after and the Storm got a run back in the fourth inning through an RBI single from Ehlers.

The Cowboys responded with two more in the bottom half of the inning to lead 5-1, but the Storm came roaring back again. Ava Lowden connected with an RBI double to cut the lead to 5-2 and then Ehlers stepped up and launched a three-run home run to tie the game in the top of the sixth. Ehlers had four total RBI's on four hits throughout the two games, leading the Storm in all categories.

The roller coaster ride continued once again in the next half inning though, as the Cowboys took back the lead with a two-run double followed up by a home run. After tacking on one more run, the Cowboys got three outs in the top of the seventh to secure the win.

Up Next

The Storm finish off their Texas trip with a doubleheader against the University of Dallas at 12 p.m., Saturday.