DENTON – North Texas softball split Saturday's doubleheader with Middle Tennessee. The Mean Green (33-17, 18-5 C-USA) took game one 1-0 with the Blue Raiders (27-25, 11-12 C-USA) taking game two 4-2.
The Mean Green still have a shot at being the 2019 Conference USA regular season champions, but will need some help going into Sunday.
"We can't worry about anything else," head coach
Rodney DeLong said. "If we win tomorrow, we're still top two in the Conference and still have a chance."
North Texas 1, MTSU 0
Game one of Saturdays double helping was an old fashioned pitcher's duel, with the two teams combining for just six hits. Sophomore
Hope Trautwein drew the start for the Mean Green going the complete game only surrendering one hit and striking out six.
"Hope was good," DeLong said. "She hit spots, pounded the zone and worked out of one tough situation. She had a great performance."
Middle Tennessee had the first opportunity to break open the scoring when they loaded the bases with just one out in the second inning. Trautwein avoided the threat with back-to-back strikeouts. From that moment on, the Blue Raiders did not get a runner past first base.
The Mean Green had their own woes in game one, accounting for just two hits in the first five innings off of Middle Tennessee's Kailey Ahlstrom (9-10).
North Texas would come alive in the sixth inning. Senior
Harley Perella would lead things off with a single and advance to second on a sacrifice bunt from junior
Lacy Gregory. Freshman
Tayla Evans would add an infield single, moving Perella to third and would end up on second after a Middle Tennessee error.
Senior
Hannah Gerecke executed a perfect squeeze play to plate Perella for the game's first and only run. Trautwein had a shutdown seventh inning to secure the win for North Texas.
Middle Tennessee 4, North Texas 2
Freshman
Bailey Tindell got the start for the Mean Green in game two and was off to a great start facing the minimum through two innings. However, the Blue Raiders would get to her for two runs in the third off of three hits.
Middle Tennessee would add two more runs in the fifth inning after Trautwein entered the game.
North Texas stranded 13 runners on base. The Mean Green left the bases loaded twice, and left at least one runner on base in each inning.
"We had multiple opportunities and beat ourselves," DeLong said. "We had good hitters up in those situations. I think we pressed a little bit and tried too hard. I hope we can relax a little bit tomorrow."
The Mean Green got their first run in the fourth after an RBI single by junior
Katie Clark, plating senior
Sally Gastelo. Their only production with the bases loaded would come on a walk to Gregory, plating junior
Jenna Goodrich in the sixth.
North Texas still has a shot at being named the 2019 Conference USA Regular Season Champions. To win the title outright, the Mean Green would need to win Sunday and would need Southern Miss to win at least two of three against Louisiana Tech.
If Louisiana Tech and North Texas have matching results this weekend they will be named Co-Champions, but a sweep by the Lady Techsters would give them the title outright. In event of the two schools being name co-champions, North Texas would hold the number one seed in the 2019 Air Force Reserve Conference USA Softball Championship next week in Birmingham.
"We've gotta let go of today and take care of business tomorrow." DeLong said.