Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 LAREDO, Texas – The Heartland Conference's third and fourth place teams took to the diamond on the campus of Texas A&M International for a doubleheader on Friday. The third place Dustdevils (13-22, 6-4 Heartland) hosted the fourth place University of Texas of the Permian Basin (6-21, 3-5 Heartland), sealing a split with a 6-1 loss in game 1 and a 4-0 win in the backend.
The pair will conclude the series with a noon rubber game at Dustdevil Field on Saturday.
GAME 1: UTPB 6, TAMIU 1
Dustdevils starting pitcher Kyndall Reaves ran into early trouble, falling into a 5-0 hole by the third inning before finding her footing in the complete-game effort.
The Falcons scored a run in the second inning and laid on four more in the third before being silenced with just one run in the final four innings. Reaves (5-6) finished the game with seven innings pitched with six runs allowed – just three earned. She struck out five and walked just one in her sixth loss of the season.
Her five strike outs stand as a season-high, matching her performance on Feb. 22 against Cameron – which was also a losing effort.
Mariena Gallardo led the lineup for the Dustdevils, going 3-for-4. Brittany Mussett went 2-for-3 while Esme Gonzalez (1-for-4), Cassandra De Leon (1-for-4), Brenda Parnin (1-for-4) and Victoria Gomez (1-for-2) each registered a hit.
The Dustdevils scored their only run in the sixth inning. Mussett led off with a single to left field, advancing to third when Gallardo and Parnin belted back-to-back singles to load the bases. Desiree Ramos pinch hit for Reaves, grounding into a fielder's choice – which saw Parnin thrown out at second while Mussett slid home.
GAME 2: TAMIU 4, UTPB 0
The Dustdevils did all their damage in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings en route to Mariena Gallardo's (6-9) complete-game shutout win. Gallardo struck out a pair, walked one and threw a six-hitter while facing just 27 batters.
A quartet of Dustdevils doubles – two by Mussett and one apiece by Gonzalez and Gallardo – helped fuel TAMIU's offense.
De Leon led off the bottom of the fourth with a walk before Mussett doubled to put both runners in scoring position. Gallardo was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for a Parnin walk – which turned into a RBI when De Leon scored.
The fifth inning began with Gonzalez's double into center field. Chelsea Capello singled to put runners at first and second for De Leon's fly out to center. Gonzalez tagged toward third, forcing a fielding error by UTPB's third base player, allowing Gonzalez to score. Capello took third on the miscue. Gallardo doubled one batter later, plating Capello before the inning ended.
In the sixth, Cassie Garcia eyed a one-out walk before being pinch run for by Reaves. Anna Parnin stunted a bunt single to put runners on first and second, with both advancing on a subsequent wild pitch. Gonzalez then grounded out to second base, allowing Reaves to score TAMIU's final run.
Gonzalez (2-for-4) and Mussett (2-for-4) each roped a pair of hits while Capello (1-for-3), Gallardo (1-for-2) and Anna Parnin (1-for-3) each recorded one hit.
