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sports
The Wichitan
March 9, 2011
Left: an MSU softball player swings away at bat. Above: junior third baseman Mallory Mooney prepares to throw an opponent out of play. Lower left: Senior pitcher Brittney Tanner puts on her game face at pitch. (Photos by Hannah Hofmann)
Softball strikes victory at home tournament Andre Gonzalez Sports Editor The Mustangs softball team opened up with a victory against Abilene Christian Friday afternoon during the Holiday Inn at the Falls/MSU Invitational tournament at Mustangs Park. Senior pitcher Brittney Tanner only allowed a one-out single to ACU’s Candice Miller during the fourth inning and allowed two runners past first base. Tanner also notched seven strikeouts and walked one. MSU put numbers on the scoreboard in the second inning when freshman catcher Kim Jerrick extended her hitting streak to seven games. Jerrick came plate-ward after Carey Campbell hit a pop single to left field, giving the Mustangs a 1-0 advantage. MSU took advantage of their speed in the third inning when sophomore outfielders Elena Bennett and Megan Chartier reached on consecutive bunt singles, then advanced to second and third base after sophomore outfielder Courtney Bingham grounded out to first then scored when junior third baseman Mallory Mooney jolted a two-run double high off center field to push MSU to 3-0. Bennett, Mooney, and senior outfielder
Alyson Reynolds added two hits to each to their records. The Mustangs rolled with two more victories Saturday afternoon, this time against Fort Hays State University and St. Edward’s University. The contests resulted in a 4-0 win against Fort Hays and a 13-5 defeat on St. Edward’s. Bennett set a new standard as she collected hits in her 17th and 18th straight games while going 4-for-8, including a stolen base in MSU’s match up with Fort Hays. Bennet’s hitting percentage of .581 came in handy during the stretch while scoring 22 runs and a total of 16 base steals. Senior pitcher Kristina Gutierrez spun a four-hitter for her fifth shutout of the season. MSU was granted another run on Reynolds’s run-scoring double to center field. At the bottom of the sixth inning, Bingham and Jerrick drove in runs to push the advantage to 4-0. Chartier notched in three hits while Bingham and Jerrick both copped two. Later in the afternoon, MSU had a hard start as St. Edwards took notice of the Mustangs’ three errors to put in runs in the first four innings. SEU owned a 5-2 advantage over the
Mustangs at the bottom of the fourth inning. Then MSU took base eight consecutive times during a seven-run frame as senior infielder McKenzie Sickler’s RBI triple to right field, a Bingham two-run double and a two-run blast to center field by Jerrick. The tournament came to a close on Sunday afternoon as MSU closed off with victories against Arkansas Tech, 4-0, and Incarnate Word, 5-0. Tanner and Gutierrez pitched for MSU’s 10th and 11th shutouts, pushing the Mustangs’ record to a 13 game winning streak while improving their best start to 22-1. Tanner put on a fourth run with her second home run of the season. Gutierrez dominated against Incarnate Word, putting up her sixth shutout and limited the Cardinals to two hits. In the fourth inning, Reynolds bumped her third home run to forward three Mustangs to home, giving MSU a commanding lead of 3-0. Bennett extended her hitting streak to 20 games by going 2-for-3 against UIW. Next, MSU opens Lone Star Conference North Division play this Friday on the road against Southeastern Oklahoma State. Time is set for 3 p.m.
Tennis takes triple wins against Tarleton, McMurry, UT-Tyler Andre Gonzalez Sports Editor
The Midwestern State Lady Mustangs kept the ball rolling last Wednesday afternoon after taking down Tarleton State at the MSU Tennis Center, 5-4. The contest was heated, however, as Leah Roberts and Abbie Lewis battled nearly two hours against TSU’s Adriana Jaskova and Melanie Barnes for the no. 2 spot in doubles, 9-8. Coming in at no. 1 for the twoon-two competition was Alex Odell-Michels and Rozike van Rensburg who subdued Mariana Frietas and Alicia Perez, 9-7. Following into the no. 3 slot was Lindsey Holcomb and Ashley Huse who completed the match with a score of 8-3 against Kayla Deathrage and Silvia Nieva. Tarleton shined during the singles, beating out MSU in the first four slots. Perez defeated Rensburg, 1-6, 7-6, and 10-2, while Jaskova took down Odell-Michels3-6, 7-5, and 10-7. Filling up no. 3 and 4 was TSU’s Frietas and Barnes who took down Roberts and Lewis, respectively. Coming in at no. 5 for MSU was Holcomb defeating Deathrage, 6-2, 6-0. Huse refused to lose, beating Nieva after she succumbed to an arm injury and had to retire, leaving the sets at a 4-6, 6-1 re-
Left: Rozike van Rensburg waits to make a return on the first serve. Right: Bo Zaputovic swats the ball back to his opponent. Both the men’s and women’s team dominated The University of Texas-Tyler with scores of 9-0. (Photos by Hannah Hofmann)
sult. Saturday morning gave both MSU teams another victory on their record as they rolled over McMurry. The women clearing a 9-0 sweep, and the men 8-1. Lewis and Roberts went up for a challenge against MCM’s Hillary Stone and Chelsea Miller, 8-3, to claim the no. 2 spot in the doubles. All ladies defeated MCM in
the singles, almost all with 6-0 results. In the no. 4 spot, Lewis defeated Stone, 6-1, 6-0. Going into the men’s matches, Vjekoslav Stipanic and Luke Joyce warded off Chris Bumann and Bryan Rainwater, 8-3, for the no.1 spot in doubles. Bo Zaputovic and Mario Urban defeated Daniel Olivares and Chris Breaux for the no. 2 postion, 8-4.
Then at no. 3, Chad Meeks and Jarrod Liston balled out Adam Ewing and Michael Parker, 8-5. In the singles, MSU claimed the 1,2,3,and 4 spots as Urban, Joyce, Zaputovic, and Octavian Dinuta won over MCM. Breaux claimed the no. 5 position, winning over Rory de Boer, 1-6, 7-5, 10-7. Coming in at no. 6 was MSU’s Tiago Vilarinho defeating Tony Williams, 6-0, 6-3.
Tuesday afternoon, both teams finished off The University of Texas-Tyler. Dominating the scoreboard, 9-0 for both women and men. Roberts and Lewis led the doubles, warding off Sydni Hermsdorf and Emily McRae, 8-3. Rensburg and Odell-Michels came in for no. 2 with a score of 8-1 against Michelle Hagler and Jessica Blundell.
At no. 3 was Holcomb and Huse taking down Ashley Albro and Lauren Giovannini, 8-3. In the singles, Rensburg led the Lady Mustangs against Hagler, 6-3, 6-3. Roberts dominated Hermsdorf for no. 2, 6-1, 6-2. Sweeping for no. 3 was OdellMichels defeating Giovannini, 6-1, 6-0. Lewis took down Blundell for the no. 4 position, 6-2, 6-1. At nos. 5 and 6, Holcomb beat Britany Trich and Huse defeated Morgan Wilkins, respectively. On the men’s spectrum, Stipanic and Joyce finished the doubles at no. 1 beating Andrew Reznik and Josh Chavez with a score of 8-6. The no. 2 spot belonged to Zaputovic and Urban, taking down Adam Chirhart and Henrique Bellini, 8-4. Liston and Meeks fought for no. 3 as they clouted Kevin Singer and Kevin Wright, 9-7. Stipanic led the singles with a contest win against Chavez, 6-3, 6-2. Urban gained the no. 2 rank against Bellini, 6-1, 6-4. Joyce fought for no. 3 against Chirhart, 6-3, 7-5. Zaputovic, Octavian Dinuta, and Tiago Vilarinho finished up the singles at nos. 4,5, and 6, respectively. Next, both tennis teams go on the road to California on Tuesday to face Concordia. First serve is set for 3 p.m.