April 16, 2008

Box Score

CANYON, Texas - Head Coach Kevin Blaskowski reached the 400 win plateau for his collegiate coaching career on Wednesday afternoon as the West Texas A&M softball team sweep at doubleheader from Oklahoma Panhandle State at Lady Buff Yard. WT emerged victorious in the opener, downing in the Aggies by the count of 9-1 in five innings and returned to action in game two to again beat OPSU 9-1 in five innings.

The Lady Buffs improved their overall record this season to 22-29 while Blaskowski's record now stands at 400-387 in 16 seasons as a head coach at the college level, the last three coming in Canyon.

WT softball is back in action on Friday when it hosts St. Edward's in a doubleheader at Lady Buff Yard, beginning at 1 p.m. The series will be 80's day at the ball park, so fans are encouraged to dress up in 1980's attire and join the festivities.

Game 1 Recap (West Texas A&M 9, Oklahoma Panhandle 1- Five Innings)
The Lady Buff bats struck early and often in route to a 9-1 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State. After scoring one run in the bottom of the first, WT leadoff Dani Couger hit a double to left field before scoring on an Erin Hartigan sacrifice fly. Junior outfielder Jessica Ruzicki gave the Lady Buffs a 3-0 lead with an RBI double to left field to score Caitlin Schmidt.

Freshman third baseman Audrey Wallace continued the WT scoring when she connected on her fifth home run of the season, followed by Hartigan also blasting her fifth in the bottom of the fourth to give the Lady Buffs a 7-1 lead.

West Texas A&M wasn't done yet, after Kaitlyn Witte led off the bottom of the fifth with her school record ninth long ball of the year, Breanna Adams ended the game with a walk-off double to right center to score Courtney Moore, giving WT the victory.

Senior Andrea Renteria picked up the win in the circle for the Lady Buffs, improving to 8-12 on the year.

Game 2 Recap (West Texas A&M 9, Oklahoma Panhandle 1- Five Innings)
The WT offense remained hot during the day's second game as the Lady Buffs pounded out eight hits in the night cap to bring home the 9-1 victory. In the game, Adams went 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBI.

Witte started off the WT scoring, with an RBI double that scored Amber Farr, followed by a Couger double down the left field line to plated Witte. The second inning saw the Lady Buffs score two more runs on Jace Holton's sacrifice fly and a fielding error by the Aggies.

West Texas A&M broke the game open in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs on three hits. After the first two batters of the inning walked, Adams stepped to the plate and roped a triple in the right center gap scoring Wallace and Couger. Hartigan singled home Adams, followed by a Schmidt groundout that scored Hartigan.

Chantel Pearson (2-3) picked up the win for the Lady Buffs in the circle, giving up five hits and one run in a complete game performance