(Shreveport, La.) – Texas Lutheran Softball won its sixth consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship on Sunday with a 5-0 victory over Southwestern.
At the Centenary College Softball Complex, the Bulldogs defeated the Pirates in the first of two possible championship final games.
TLU went 3-0 in the SCAC tournament and did not need the “if necessary” game for the fifth time in six tournament championships. The Bulldogs have won the SCAC Softball Championship in each of their six seasons in the league.
TLU is now 19-1 all-time in the SCAC Softball Championship. The Bulldogs opened the tournament with a 10-2 run-rule win over Schreiner on Friday and followed with a 10-2 run-rule win over Southwestern in Saturday’s winners bracket semifinals.
In the latest championship victory, junior right-hander Kayla Oliveira improved to 12-3 with 6-1/3 innings of work. Oliveira struck out four, walked two and scattered four hits.
“Today I came in the with the mindset of being dominant,” said Oliveira, a junior college transfer in her first year with the Bulldogs. “I wanted to be dominant today. I came in with the mentality that I didn’t want them to get any hits off of me. The thing that made it the easiest was that my team and my coaches were behind me, and they that are making every call. It couldn’t be done without them.”
Oliveira did not give up a hit until the fourth inning.
“(Kayla) competed her tail off,” said Wade Wilson, TLU’s head coach. “I am so proud of that kid. From the get-go, she was on. She did well. And I thought she was all around the zone. Even the pitches that she missed, that were balls, they were right where we needed them to be.
“She didn’t make many mistakes today, and she competed. And that is what we want from all of our kids.”
Chassey Raines, TLU’s freshman outfielder, drove in three runs. Two came on a bloop double in the fifth that extended TLU’s lead to 4-0.
“It comes down to those timely hits,” said Wilson. “If they would have had one with the bases loaded, it would have been a totally different game. The breaks went our way today, and I am excited about that.”
“Our kids had such great energy this weekend, and it’s fun to be a part of that. I’m just excited for them.”
Kassie Maddox retired the final two Pirates in the seventh. Skylar Ouelette made a sliding catch in shallow right field to set off the TLU celebration.
Maddox also drove in a run with a hit-by-pitch. Casey Martin made it 5-0 in the sixth with an RBI single.
In Saturday’s semifinal, Madisyn Cates singled down the left-field line to bring home Kelly Jurden with the game-ending run in the fifth. Cates went 3-for-4, drove in four, and scored twice.
At the top of TLU’s order, Jurden and Casey Martin combined to score five runs and steal three bases.
Skylar Ouellette had two hits and drove in a pair.
Raines improved to 8-0 overall with five innings of work. She allowed four hits and one earned run. Raines also went 1-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI.
TLU fell behind Schreiner 1-0 after the first half inning of Friday’s tournament opener but jumped to a 5-1 lead after three innings and ended the game with five runs in the fifth.
In Friday’s win, Jurden went 3-for-3 with two runs scored, two RBI, and a stolen base. Madisyn Cates also drove in a pair of runs, and she had two hits.
Sarah Metzer hit her first career home run, a solo shot to left-center field in the fifth inning.
Kassie Maddox singled home Cates in the fifth to end the game.
Kelsie Stone pitched three innings of relief and notched her fifth win. Stone (5-2) allowed just three hits and one earned run.
The Bulldogs improved to 30-7 overall. Southwestern dropped to 35-6. The Bulldogs entered the SCAC tournament ranked No. 13 in the latest NFCA poll for NCAA Division III. Southwestern sat at No. 22. Southwestern has a chance at an at-large berth to the NCAA playoffs.
The Bulldogs are in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship for a sixth consecutive year and will learn their NCAA regional destination on May 6.