The No. 3-ranked Lady Buffs took advantage of the friendly confines of Schaeffer Park to complete a crucial three-game sweep of No. 6 UT Tyler in a thrilling series on Friday and Saturday afternoon.
WTAMU won the earned a 4-3 walk-off win to open the series in Game 1 on Friday, followed by a 7-5 victory in the night cap. The Lady Buffs then completed the sweep with another walk-off 4-3 win to complete the sweep on a very cold Saturday afternoon.
WTAMU snapped a seven-game losing streak to UT Tyler previous to the matchup and earned their first sweep of the Patriots since 2020.
WTAMU is off to a great start to the season at 11-1 including a 3-0 start to LSC action while the Patriots fall to 8-4 overall and 0-3 in the league.
WTAMU now hits the road for the three-game series with UT Permian Basin beginning on Saturday.
How it happened
Game 1
West Texas A&M 4, UT Tyler 3Â
The Lady Buffs used a strong pitching performance from Heidi Vortherms and timely hitting to earn a 4-3 win to get things going on Friday afternoon.
Trailing 3-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, WTAMU started a rally with wild pitches and then sealed the contest with a single from Lauren Granger that plated Megan Guericke and Emily Liskai for the game-winning run off an error by UT Tyler.
Vortherms (5-0) worked all seven innings allowing three earned runs and racked up seven strikeouts. Brittni Rufus delivered a key 2-RBI double in the fifth.
Game 2
West Texas A&M 7, UT Tyler 5Â
Friday’s night cap saw WTAMU jump out to a 6-1 lead and never look back.
Murtha got the offense going blasting a 2-run home run in the bottom of the second giving the Lady Buffs a 2-1 advantage they’d never relinquish.
Rufus had another solid outing going 2-for-4 on the night with an RBI, and Emilee Boyer (5-1) was strong in the circle going all seven innings, overcoming nine hits and three walks to strikeout four hitters.
Game 3
West Texas A&M 4, UT Tyler 3Â
The Lady Buffs used the dramatics once again to earn the three-game sweep in their final at-bat.
The Patriots led 3-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, but once again WTAMU wouldn’t be denied.
Needing a run to extend the game, Lauren Granger started the inning with a walk. Back-to-back singles from Rufus and Boyer loaded the bases with no outs. With no open bases, Murtha drew a walk on a full count to score Granger, tie the game, and bring up Madison Johnson. Johnson wasted no time to end the game as the senior lifted the first pitch of the at bat to right field sacrificing in Rufus for the winning run.
Vortherms once again was outstanding in the circle pitching a complete game allowing three runs but did ring up 10 K’s.
Johnson finished 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs.