MARSHALL, Texas – Setting the tone early in the NCAA Division III Marshall, Texas Regional Tournament, #6 East Texas Baptist shut out SUNY-Geneseo, 6-0, to stay in the winner's bracket. ETBU moved to 39-5 on the year and are now 29-0 at Bell Park at Taylor Field.
"Our focus is taking it one game at a time and focusing on how we are playing our ball," said head coach
Janae Shirley. "The girls have done a good job of staying focused through this first game."
Hannah Kelley pitched a gem going six of the seven innings allowing just one hit. She had a perfect game through four innings before giving up one hit in the fifth inning. Facing 19 batters, she struck out five with 11 flyouts and two ground outs.
"It's super amazing to have those runs up front from the start as my team has my back being on the field and at the plate," Kelley says about the early run support in the game. "There's no feeling like that, for sure, having your team behind you like that."
ETBU collected eight hits as
Courtney White,
Tauryn Cummings, and
Jalen Perez had two hits each. Cummings led with two RBI while
Tristen Maddox, White, and Perez had one RBI.
Perez commented on her first experience in the NCAA Tournament saying, "This is definitely been my best softball experience as I was at a JUCO before this. Now experiencing playing these really good teams – being with this really cool team that is full of energy and excitement – it's been so much fun."
Scoring six runs in the first two innings, ETBU started early with the runs and never looked back. Maddox led off the game as the first batter sending the ball over the centerfield wall for the 1-0 lead. White followed with a double and two batters later Cummings singled her in to make it 2-0. After a
Corley Carpenter fielder's choice, Perez singled up the middle as Cummings was the third run of the inning.
Maddox was walked in the second inning with one out and then stole second to be in scoring position. White followed with a double down the left field line bringing in Maddox for a four-run lead. Two batters later, Loya doubled in White for a 5-0 advantage. Cummings finished off the scoring with the fourth double of the game scoring White for the final run.
ETBU will now face Belhaven University at 12:00 p.m. on Friday in the winner's bracket for a chance to move into the championship game.
