Walk Off Sinks Lady Saints Against Lions

Liberal, Kansas – After starting their 2024 season strong this past weekend the Seward County Lady Saints softball team began a twelve-game road stint that saw them take on the Lions of North Central Texas where despite keeping both game close in the doubleheader, falling 11-10 in game one off a walk off home run from the Lions and 3-2 in the second game of the day.

Seward County began the game with some big plays in the top of the first inning as Aaliyah Gutierrez was able to make her way home off a wild pitch from North Central Texas to get the scoring started early for the Lady Saints with a 1-0 lead. Raeana Ortiz grounded out to the middle of the field but helped drive in Kaylin Jones to keep the score growing while Brooklyn Castagnetta helped Alyssa Morgan find her way home also to take a 3-0 lead. The first inning scoring was not done yet for SCCC with Mollie Hardy singling on a fly ball out to right field to bring in Castagnetta and Jayah Tellez to make it 5-0 lead before ending the first inning.

The next four runs added to the board were all made by the Lions as they stole home in the bottom of the first while singling in the second to drive in a second score and a home run out to left field allowed North Central Texas to climb back with the Lady Saints leading by only one run 5-4. Castagnetta connected on another big time hit with a triple on a fly ball to center that brought Ortiz around the bases to grow their advantage back to two in the third inning with a 6-4 lead. A sacrifice bunt by Kamryn Martinez in the fifth brought Ortiz in for her second score of game one while a sacrifice fly by Tellez and a single from Hardy drove in another two to further their lead out to 9-4 over the Lions.

A second home run bomb by North Central Texas in the sixth gave them another two scores on the board to make it a three-run game 9-6 before a single from Samantha Gomez to right field drove in Jones who pushed their lead back to four 10-6 in the seventh. From their it was all Lions as two straight singles on a hard ground ball drove in a pair of runs and a line drive out to center brought in another two runs to lock the score up 10-10. The Lady Saints sent two batters packing with one left to go, but the final batter for the Lions hit a walk off single to drive one last run in to end it as Seward County fell in game one 11-10.

Scoring in the second game of the afternoon as both sides went through the first two innings with neither side finding their way around the bases until North Central Texas hit an inside the park home run that drove in two runs to take a 2-0 lead over the Lady Saints. Seward County matched the Lions in the top of the fourth when Castagnetta singled a ground ball to center to drive in Tellez and Ortiz to tie the score back up 2-2. The scoring stalled with the defense for both teams holding the other at bay but once again it was the Lions who triumphed off another walk off single to bring home the game winning run to make it 3-2 and sweep the Lady Saints.

Seward County now sits at a .500 record early in the season with a 3-3 record after falling both games to North Central Texas. The Lady Saints will continue their road trip as they make their way towards Murray State to take on their NJCAA DII nationally ranked opponents tomorrow with game one starting at 12 and game two of the doubleheader beginning at 2 PM.