Lamar State College Port Arthur's softball team claimed an NJCAA Region 14 win in its first try and nearly pulled off the sweep over Galveston College on Friday afternoon, beating the Whitecaps 5-4 before falling 11-7 in the nightcap.
The Seahawks, now 10-11 overall and 1-1 in NJCAA Region 14 play, will take on Alvin Community College in Alvin on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
LSCPA 5, Galveston 4
The Seahawks fell behind early, exploded for a huge fourth inning, then held on late for their first league victory of the season.
Galveston opened the game with a run in the bottom of the first inning but the Hawks answered with a run in the third when freshman Britni Hunt doubled to score Makasha Brown to knot the game at 1-1. On that same play, sophomore Olivia Rivera tried to stretch the lead by heading for home but was thrown out at the plate to keep the game even.
Galveston went back up 2-1 in the bottom of the third and it looked like it might stay that way in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs and two runners on, Rivera hit a ground ball, reaching on an error by the Galveston pitcher. Vanessa Espitia scored on the play to tie the game again at 2-2.
With the bases loaded, freshman Rebecca Delome doubled to center field, scoring Brooke Smith, Brown and Rivera for a 5-2 Seahawks lead.
Galveston came back again later in the game, scoring two runs in the fifth inning to close the gap to 5-4 with just one out. Seahawks pitcher Hunt took control, striking out the next two Whitecaps batters to end the inning.
After a three-up, three-down sixth, Galveston threatened again in the seventh, moving a runner to second base after a walk and a move to second on a ground-out. Hunt responded again, striking out the final batter to end the game.
Hunt threw the complete-game win, allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits with six strikeouts. She also doubled in going 1 for 4 with a run batted in. Maddy Stone was 3 for 4 at the plate for the Hawks, while Delome finished 2 for 4 with three RBIs.