BRANSON, Mo. - In the opening weekend of college softball, the Truman State Bulldogs went 1-3 at the Branson Lead Off Classic. The Bulldogs lost a pair of 2-1 games, won 6-5 and lost in the finale 5-3.
The Bulldogs opened with Emporia (Kan.) State on Friday and the Hornets scored twice with two outs in the third inning and held on for a 2-1 win. A two-out walk followed by a double and single led to both runs in the third.
Cassie Smith opened the sixth with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Emily Wood to pull the Bulldogs to within one. However, the Bulldogs went quietly in the seventh to fall.
Truman bounced back with a come from behind win over East Central (Okla.) in the Friday nightcap. Trailing 5-1 after three, Avaree Taylor led off the fourth with a double and scored on a double by Caragan Baker. Charlotte Chelich delivered a two-out single to plate Baker to make it 5-3. In the fifth, Maddie Hickman started with an infield single and came around on a triple by Wood. Baker picked up the two-out RBI with a single to left scoring Wood to tie the game.
In the sixth, Chelich doubled with Cassie Smith following with a single and Hickman drew a walk all with one out. Wood singled to score Chelich to go up but the Bulldogs failed to add on.
East Central put the first two runners on in their last at bat but the Bulldogs got the lead runner at third for the first out and picked up the game ending double play to end it . Chelich picked up the win in relief of Kaylyn Jones.
Saturday morning saw Arkansas Monticello walk off the Bulldogs in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 2-1 win. A wild pitch led to UAM's first run in the third and Taylor brought in Cassie Smith to tie the game in the fourth. The first three reached for UAM in the seventh before the winning run crossed the plate on an error.
The Bulldogs grabbed the early lead against Northwestern Oklahoma State as Wood singled in Smith in the bottom of the first. The visitors did their damage in the third inning with a leadoff walk and single leading to four runs.
Wood drove in Smith again in the fifth to cut the deficit to 4-2 but Northwestern got the run back on a bases loaded walk with two outs in their half of the inning.
Smith singled up the middle to score Camryn Kinsella with one out in the sixth but a double-play ended the threat. Baker drew a two-out walk in the seventh but a ground out closed the game out.
Wood drove in five runs in the four games for the Bulldogs and hit .462 for the weekend. Smith hit .385 and Baker .333 to lead the Bulldogs.
Kaylyn Jones struck out 12 batters in five-plus innings pitched.
The Bulldogs will head to Bentonville, Arkansas next weekend for six games on the schedule. They will see three of the same opponents from this past weekend in Emporia State, Arkansas Monticello and East Central. They will also face Northeastern (Okla.), Southeastern Oklahoma and Harding (Ark.).
