SAN ANTONIO - Texas Southern softball split its final two games of the H-E-B Classic on Saturday as they opened with a win over Creighton and a loss to North Dakota.
TSU 5, Creighton 3
Paige Jackson's 2-RBI single in the sixth gave TSU late insurance runs as the Tigers opened the afternoon with a 5-3 win over Creighton.
Creighton jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two innings due to a pair of home runs but TSU rallied back and tied it at 2-all in the top of the third as Haley Castro scored on Jackson's RBI. On batter later, Daryn Haslam's sac fly brought home Crimson Davis.
Mila Rodriguez opened the top of the fourth with a solo homer as TSU led 3-2. The Tigers returned to the scoreboard in the fifth as Coren Davis drew a leadoff walk which paved the way for Ashling Shahan to pinch run. Shahan advanced to second on Haley Castro's sac bunt and moved to third after an error on Crimson Davis' single. Two batters later, Jackson drove both Shahan and Davis home for a 5-2 lead.
After a pair of heartbreaking losses in the sixth on Friday, Creighton attempted another as they opened the seventh with a leadoff double which eventually led to its third run. However, the Tigers closed the door as Jazmine Gendorf picked up the save with a strikeout.
Crimson Davis and Tevanae Tate led TSU with a pair of hits while Jackson drove in three RBI. Chelsea Baxter earned the win while Gendorf picked up her first career save.
North Dakota 5, TSU 2
A pair of two-run innings was the difference as North Dakota held off TSU in the finale of the classic on Saturday.
North Dakota opened the second with a leadoff walk but TSU pitcher Naomi Reyes regrouped and recorded a strikeout. The Fighting Hawks hit back-to-back singles with the latter leading to a pair of runs after a TSU fielding error.
Paige Jackson opened the bottom of the second with a leadoff single but was thrown out at home on Tevanae Tate's double. Tate moved to third after a groundout and scored on a wild pitch for a 2-1 deficit. North Dakota responded in the third with a pair of runs to lead 4-1 and crossed home its fifth run in the fourth.
A'Leccia Bell drove in an RBI to cut the deficit to 5-2 in the fourth but that would be the last offensive threat of the afternoon for TSU as North Dakota held on for the win.
Jackson and Tate led TSU with a pair of hits as both went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Reyes was tagged with the loss despite eight strikeouts on the afternoon.
TSU heads to Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday afternoon for a single game at 3 p.m.
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Courtesy: TSU Athletics