HOUSTON – The University of St. Thomas softball opened the final weekend of the regular season Saturday with a doubleheader split against Centenary College (La.).
The Celts (21-13, 13-7 SCAC) won the opener 2-1 while Centenary took game two by a score of 6-5.
UST can clinch second place outright in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference with a win Sunday over the visiting Ladies. A loss would drop the Celts into a second-place tie with Trinity (Texas), but the Celts have the advantage in a tiebreaker scenario, having taken two wins at Trinity last weekend.
The Celts will conclude their series against Centenary and honor the team's graduating seniors Sunday at the West University Softball Association Fields. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
The SCAC Softball Tournament will begin Friday at the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas. UST's schedule at the tournament will be announced this week.
GAME ONE: Celts 2, Centenary 1
A pair of sacrifice flies in the first inning were all the Celts needed to take game one.
In a classic pitcher's duel, UST's Lindsey Longuet outlasted Katelyn Moss en route to a complete-game victory. Longuet, a senior from Missouri City, Texas, struck out nine while pitching a two-hitter, with both Centenary hits coming in the first inning.
After the Ladies plate a run in the top of the first, Jaelyn Simmons wasted no time igniting the Celts offense as she led off the bottom of the inning with a triple. She came home when the next batter, Lindsey Gonzalez flew out to right for a sacrifice fly.
Mallarie Munson, UST's next batter, drew a walk and then moved to third when Addison Lehew's fly ball to the outfield was dropped. Brenna Ruether lifted another fly ball that allowed Munson to score unearned on the sacrifice.
Three of the game's four hits came in the first inning, with Ruether's fourth-inning single being the only hit from the second frame onward. Longuet's win improved her season record to 14-5, while Centenary's Katelyn Moss took the loss on an unearned run.
GAME TWO: Centenary 6, Celts 5
The Ladies jumped out to a 6-1 lead and then stanched a last-inning UST rally that came up just short to split the Saturday doubleheader. UST took a 1-0 lead in the first when Sydneye Cromwell singled home Gonzalez; Centenary tied the game in the third on a wild pitch with the bases loaded.
Centenary's four-run fourth inning gave the visitors breathing room as the Ladies chased Munson from the pitcher's circle.
Down to their final at-bat, Ruether and Delayne Moreno reached base to lead off the seventh inning, which was then followed by Simmons hitting her second triple of the day to cut Centenary's lead to 6-3. Simmons then came home on another sacrifice fly from Gonzalez.
With the bases empty, Centenary relief pitcher Ashley Hunter then got two quick outs before the Celts rallied again. Cromwell recorded her second base hit of the game, which was then followed by Lehew drawing a walk. Taylor Le then hit an RBI single that scored Cromwell from second base before Hunter ended the game with a strikeout while UST's tying and winning runs were on base.
Munson took the loss for the Celts, while Anna Scarbrock earned the victory for the Ladies.
Centenary's win snapped UST's eight-game winning streak at the West University Softball Association Fields, as well as a 10-game winning streak against Division III opponents at the complex dating back to last season. Nationally-ranked Texas Lutheran swept UST's last home series, but those games were played at Houston Baptist University.
