Freshman Stone leads Hawks to 6-2 Game 1 win over Alvin

ALVIN – Freshman Madeline Stone was perfect at the plate in Lamar State College Port Arthur's first game against Alvin Community College on Saturday, leading her team to a 6-2 NJCAA Region 14 win. The Seahawks couldn't replicate that same dominance in Game 2, though, as Alvin took the second game of the league doubleheader 7-3.

Stone went 4 for 4 with two runs scored and two runs batted in to help lead the Seahawks to their second conference win of the young Region 14 season. The Hawks are now 11-12 overall and 2-2 in Region 14 play.

After back-to-back conference doubleheaders on the road, the Seahawks come home for their first league game at Martin Field in Port Arthur this Friday and Saturday. They'll face Blinn College on Friday, March 22, and San Jacinto College on Saturday, March 23. First pitch for both doubleheaders is 1 p.m.

The Seahawks were all business on offense, scoring three runs in the first inning and two in the second as they ran away with a 6-2 final over Alvin in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader.

Stone, a Beaumont freshman, led the charge, picking up a line drive single in the first inning to score Makasha Brown for a 1-0 lead. Vidor sophomore Taylor Frederick tripled in the next at-bat, scoring Stone and Cleveland, Texas sophomore Olivia Rivera, who reached on a single earlier in the inning. Up 3-0, the Seahawks then went on the defense, relying on freshman pitcher Britni Hunt to do the work on the hill, holding Alvin scoreless through the first two innings.

The Seahawks added two more runs in the third when, with the bases loaded and one out, freshman Brooke Smith singled to plate Frederick for a 4-0 lead. Brown earned a bases-loaded walk to pick up an RBI and push the Hawks out front 5-0.

Alvin managed a run in the bottom of the third inning but the Seahawks got that one back when they scored one in the top of the sixth to make the score 5-1. Stone singled home Lilly Renteria, who was pinch-running for Rivera, who had reached on a fielder's choice.

Stone led the Seahawks at the plate, going 4 for 4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs, while Hunt finished 2 for 4. Brown recorded no at bats in the game, earning four consecutive walks. Freshman Vanessa Espitia and Frederick each picked up a triple in the game. Brown and Renteria both had stolen bases for the Hawks.

On the mound, Hunt earned the complete-game win, going 7 innings, allowing 2 runs, one earned, on 13 hits with one strikeout. She improved her record on the mound to 6-4 overall and 2-0 in three NJCAA Region 14 appearances.