A heartbreaking Game 2 loss meant a split for Lamar State College Port Arthur softball on Thursday afternoon as the Seahawks took a 6-5 win in the first game of the doubleheader against Galveston College before falling 11-8 in the second game at Martin Field.
The Seahawks are now 14-19 overall and 5-9 in NJCAA Region 14 play, while Galveston College moves to 11-24 and 6-8. The Hawks welcome Alvin Community College to Port Arthur for a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader Friday. The games mark the final home appearances by the team's sophomores, who will be honored during a special ceremony after the second game of the day.
Galveston College 11, LSCPA 8
The Seahawks put together a heroic seventh-inning rally to score three runs to tie Game 2 at 8-8 but couldn't hold on as the Whitecaps returned the favor with a three-run shot in the top of the ninth in the 11-8 decision.
LSCPA fell behind by a run in the second inning but recovered to tie the game at one apiece in the bottom of the third. Galveston responded with a run in the fourth and five more in the fifth to muscle out to a 7-1 lead.
A two-out single by Brooke Smith accounted for the Seahawks' run in that inning as Lilly Renteria crossed the plate for a 1-1 tie. Renteria had reached on a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Makasha Brown.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Brown reached on an error and Smith followed up with a home run shot to center field to pull the Hawks to within 7-3. It looked like LSCPA would do more damage in the inning with Taylor Frederick singling and Elicia Gonzales following with a double but that's where the threat ended as Galveston got the final out on a line drive to center.
Galveston added a critical eighth run in the top of the seventh inning, moving the score to 8-3.
With the Seahawks' backs to the wall in the final inning of regulation play, Olivia Rivera singled, followed by a Jessica Saenz home run to cut the Galveston lead to 8-5.
With one out, Brown singled and Smith walked. After a strikeout to leave Galveston one out away from a win, Frederick lifted a ball over the left field fence for three runs and a tie score, 8-8.
Both teams went scoreless through the eighth inning but in the top of the ninth, after a walk and a base on error, the Whitecaps hit a home run to center for the three-run difference in the game.
Smith finished 2 for 4 with three runs batted in and two runs scored, Frederick was 2 for 5 with three RBIs and a run scored, while Saenz went 2 for 3 with two RBI and a run scored.
Saenz took the loss on the mound in relief, allowing four runs, one earned, on six hits. Starter Kassandra Vargas allowed seven runs, six earned, on nine hits with two strikeouts and two walks.