-Bryce Hayes, TLU Sports Information
(Seguin) – Kelly Jurden is the new stolen base queen of Division-III college softball.
In front of the home crowd at Ed Kruse Stadium, Jurden stole base No. 196 during Texas Lutheran’s 7-2 win over Austin College on Friday to break the tie with University of Texas-Dallas’s Melissa Livermore (2016-19) to be the NCAA Division-III career stolen base leader.
Jurden, the current national leader in stolen bases for the 2022 season with 27, stole the historic base in the bottom of the fourth inning versus Austin College. Jurden went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk for the game.
After the 7-2 win on Friday, Jurden and the Bulldogs (20-4, 6-0) went on to sweep the three-game SCAC series with 8-0 and 6-0 wins on Saturday.
Friday’s game saw eight Bulldogs collect hits, with six collecting an RBI.
After being held scoreless in the first, the Bulldogs would push across runs in the next three innings. In the second, the Bulldogs would score three runs via bases loaded walks to take an early 3-0 lead. In the third, Faith Hernandez plated Kirsten Williams on an RBI single. The fourth saw Chassety Raines and Laura Hernandez bring in runs as the Bulldogs lead stretched to 6-0. Kayla Guerra would score on a wild pitch in the sixth inning to bring the score to 7-2 entering the seventh inning.
Sophomore Sydney Ouellette went five innings in the circle for the Bulldogs for her fourth win of the season – holding the ‘Roos scoreless, striking out five and surrendering just two hits. Murphy Williams would toss the final two innings allowing two runs on two hits.
Saturday’s 8-0 win was highlighted by a no-hitter from sophomore Ashlyn Strother. The sophomore struck out 14, bringing her season total to 94, and was a sixth inning error from a perfect game. The no-hitter marked the first individual and second no-hitter of Strother’s collegiate career – combining with Sydney Ouellette for a combined five-inning no-hitter in 2020. Strother now leads the SCAC in earned-run average with a 1.01 ERA and ranks in the top five nationally in strikeouts.
As a pitching staff, Strother and Amanda White combined to strike out 24 batters.
Freshman Kylee Jack combined for six RBI in her six at-bats on the day, tallying four in game one and two in game six.
In game one, six Bulldogs recorded a hit with Jack leading the way with a 2-for-3, four RBI effort including a three-run walk off home run, the second of her career, to bring the game to a run-rule conclusion.
Casey Martin, the SCAC’s batting average leader, went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases and a run scored. Jurden and Bailey Hudgeons each added an RBI.
The Bulldogs turned around to beat Austin in game two 6-0 to complete the series sweep. Amanda White stole the show striking out a career-high 10 batters in her third complete game shutout victory of the season. White only allowed four hits and a walk on the day to move to 6-1 on the season.
Kylee Jack and Brandalyn Dee contributed offensively with each bringing in a pair of runs. Six Bulldogs recorded a hit and four brought in at least one run in game two.
Texas Lutheran begins a five-game road trip on Friday as the Bulldogs travel to Georgetown to face the Southwestern Pirates in SCAC action. First pitch is scheduled for 5 PM. All streaming and live stats links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.