DENTON, Texas (4/10/09) The North Texas softball team took two games from conference leader Troy on Friday afternoon at Lovelace Stadium. The Mean Green shut out the Trojans, 3-0, in the first game and came back to defeat the visitors, 7-3, in the nightcap.
The Mean Green improves to 23-18 overall and 9-7 in the Sun Belt, while Troy falls to 30-13 and 13-4 in the conference. NT still trails the series against Troy, 9-6, but has won the last three meetings. It is the first time that the Mean Green has swept a doubleheader against Troy.
“This is a huge conference win for us,” said North Texas coach TJ Hubbard. “Being able to take two from the No. 1 team in the conference is always a good thing. More importantly for us is that we have been continuing to play well since Sunday. I was very impressed with our defense. Kadie made some spectacular plays in right field, Megan Rupp covered a lot of ground in left, and our infield played well. Our pitching was great.”
Ashley Lail pitched her third shutout this season, allowing just two hits in seven innings of work in the first game. Lail pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the second and then allowed just one hit the rest of the way. Lail improves to 9-7 overall, a team high. She is two wins shy of her win total from her sophomore year.
Rebecca Waters jump-started the offense in the third, leading off with a single. Lyndi Samuelson advanced her to second with a sacrifice bunt, Megan Rupp drew a walk, and Mariza Martinez brought them all home with a three-run longball. Martinez also hit a three-run shot in NT’s last game against Texas Tech.
The Mean Green outhit Troy in the first game, 6-2. Courtney Bradshaw was the lone Mean Green with two hits in the game. Kadie Platt sealed the win with a diving catch out in right field, robbing Troy of an extra-base hit.
Kayla Lawson continued the solid pitching in the second game. She gave up runs early but shut down the Trojans in the final three innings. The junior improves to 7-4 this season.
Martinez continued her long-ball hitting with a solo shot in the first inning, giving North Texas a 1-0 lead. The home run was the ninth this season for the sophomore, surpassing her freshman year total of eight. The nine home runs is tied for third on NT’s single-season home run record list. Only Susan Waters has hit more than nine home runs in a single season. Martinez is also third in career home runs with 17, behind only Waters and Katya Muller.
Troy tied the game in the second with a solo home run and took the lead in the third with an RBI double. After Troy scored a third run in the fourth off a passed ball, North Texas came back with a big fifth inning.
Down 3-1 with two outs in the fifth, freshman Lisa Johnson came up to the plate and started the offense going again with her fifth home run of the season. Sarah Jones and Jennifer Smith followed with back-to-back singles. Caitlin Grimes gave North Texas the lead with a two-RBI single. The freshman catcher went 2-for-3 in the nightcap and also posted a pinch-hit single in the first game.
The fifth inning continued after Platt reached base on a Troy error and another run scored for the Mean Green. Freshman Megan Rupp knocked in the final two runs with a bases-loaded single.
North Texas and Troy finish up play with a Saturday game at 12 pm at Lovelace Stadium.
