By Brad Welborn, Northwestern State Assistant Sports Information Director; featured photo by Brad Welborn
ARLINGTON, Texas – Northwestern State came up just short in a pair of close games on Sunday in the finale of the Boerner Invitational hosted by UT Arlington.
The Demons (1-13) struggled to find their swing in the early-morning opener, falling to Yale (1-3), despite a late-game comeback attempt, 5-2. NSU’s aggressive approach led to more offensive opportunity in the finale against UTA (7-7), but they were not enough to support a stellar outing from Brooklynn Stohler in the circle in a 2-1 loss to the Mavericks.
Yale took an early lead on a two-out solo home run in the top of the first, getting the 9 a.m. game off to a quick start and giving the Bulldogs a lead they never relinquished.
The Demons were poised to answer the long ball in the bottom of the inning after Sophia Livers shot a ball right back up the middle, moved to second on a passed ball and then to third on a sacrifice bunt from Bailie Ragsdale.
A strikeout and groundout to short left Livers standing at third, and the Demons’ only significant scoring threat through the first four innings of the game with it.
Following Livers’ single, 16 of the next 17 batters were retired by Yale starting pitcher Emma Taylor without a hit. The only base runner to reach for the Demons during that time was Riley Schwisow who was hit by a pitch to begin the second inning.
The Bulldogs added to their lead with an RBI single in the third and two-run double to left center in the fifth to give them a 4-0 lead in the late stages.
Livers was the next Demon to reach base, getting aboard via a throwing error by the third baseman with one out in the sixth. On the eighth pitch of Cameron Curtis’ ensuing at bat, the Demons were right back in the game.
The sophomore launched her first home run of the season, and second of her career, to straight away center field cutting the lead in half at 4-2. A walk and second hit by pitch to Schwisow brought the go-ahead run to the plate but the Demons were unable to extend the rally beyond the two-run homer from Curtis.
A pair of walks in the top of the seventh led to Yale’s final run of the game on a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded.
The discussion between games of the split doubleheader centered around NSU’s approach at the plate, with the message creating lots of early-in-the-count swings.
“We talked about between games that a lot of talented pitchers throw first pitch strikes so if it’s there, make that swing count and attack that first pitch,” head coach Jenny Fuller said.
The Demons swung early and often in the game with 14 at bats reaching their result in two or fewer pitches throughout the game.
Down 2-0 entering the top of the second after UTA capitalized on a pair of free passes in the bottom of the first, the aggressive nature led to the Demons only run of the game.
With the bases loaded and one out after a pair of hits from Carissa Hernandez and Tori Clayton and a walk from DJ Lynch, leadoff batter Sophia Livers shot a ball through the left side on the second pitch she saw to bring in Hernandez from third and cut the lead in half.
Bailie Ragsdale hit a sharp grounder off the pitcher’s glove, also on the second pitch of her at bat, that caromed to the short stop who made an accurate enough throw to the plate for the second out preventing the tying run from scoring.
While the aggressiveness led to a run in the second it also made for a handful of quick innings at the plate. NSU went in order in the third, fourth and fifth innings all on less than 10 pitches per inning.
The quick innings at the plate by the Demon bats were matched by quick innings in the field thanks to one of the best outings from freshman Brooklynn Stohler on the young season, backed up by a sound defensive effort.
After allowing two runs on two hits in the first inning, Stohler locked down the hot UTA bats the rest of the game limiting them to just one hit with five straight scoreless innings to finish the game. She retired the final seven batters of the game in a row and did not allow a hit after the second inning.
“She gave up those two runs early but didn’t give up any more after that,” Fuller said. “Really proud of her ability to bear down there. She’s shown moments of what she’s capable of and carrying the load of the pitching staff so really happy with where she’s at and think she’ll continue to get better this season.”
Short stop Camryn Becnel provided multiple run-saving plays throughout the game, keeping the ball in the infield and using her arm to keep runners off the base paths. She finished the game with three put outs and six assists, a season best for the freshman from Thibodaux.
“She definitely saved a lot of runs in that second game,” Fuller said. “We learned to kind of shift her over into that five-six hole a little bit and she was able to shut them down and showed us what she can do defensively. When you’re a pitcher and the defense has your back it allows you to relax a little more and let them make the plays.”