Softball opened up the 2022 season with a series sweep over Concordia University. After a thrilling come-from-behind win in game one, the Celts would waltz past the Tornados in the game two, run-ruling them in five innings.

Game One: UST 5  CTX-4

 St. Thomas would find trouble early on, digging themselves in a four-run hole after just three innings of play. In the box, the Celts would be stumped, only recording one hit during this time frame.   

After logging back-to-back one-two-three innings, St. Thomas' bats would get hot in the bottom of the fifth. With the bases loaded, freshman shortstop Lindsey Gonzalez would deliver with her first collegiate RBI to break the Celts cold spell. The very next at-bat, Kayleigh Deakle would record an infield single, bringing home two runs to cut the Celts deficit to just one. Mallarie Munson would open the flood gates with her double to deep left field, driving in a run while also maneuvering her way across home plate due to heads up baserunning.

Now with a 5-4 advantage, Marissa Vasquez would wrap up her stellar performance in the circle with two consecutive shutout innings.

Vasquez (1-0) would pick up her first win of the season, pitching four innings while only surrender one hit.

Game Two: UST-10  CTX-2

Unlike the opening game of the series, the Celts would start out red-hot in the first inning, getting on the board first. Mallarie Munson would yet again prevail for St. Thomas, doubling to left field, knocking in a run.

As the game continued, The Celts would slowly add onto their lead, tallying runs in the third and fourth inning. However, the Tornados would stay within striking distance, cutting their deficit to one run after a two-run fifth inning.

With their lead now cut to a workable number, St. Thomas would answer in a huge way. With bases loaded, Brenna Ruether would send a shot to deep center field to nearly clear the bases. The very next pitch, Grace Coffelt would bat in a run, stifling the Tornado pitching staff. With just one out recorded in the frame, RBIs from Delaney Mereno, Lindsey Gonzalez and Taylor Le would seal up the series with a run-rule.

Lindsey Longuet (1-0) recorded her first win of the year, facing 19 batters while only giving up a one hit. Longuet, who led the SCAC in strikeouts last year, added four in her five innings pitched.

Mallaire Munson would go a perfect three-for-three with one RBI. For the day, Munson recorded three RBIs and scored two runs herself. Going three-for-four with a pair of RBIs would be freshman Lindsey Gonzalez while sophomore Brenna Ruether would drive in three runs of her own, going one-for-one from the plate.

The Celts will be back in action next weekend when they travel to Victoria to take on UH-Victoria for a two-game series.