The Lady Buffs and Lady Chaps braved gusty conditions to split a doubleheader on Friday with LCU taking the first game 8-7 before the Lady Buffs bounced back for a 9-1 thumping of LCU in the night cap.
After extreme winds forced game three to Sunday, WTAMU was able to take the rubber match of the series thanks to a 5-2 victory.
The Lady Buffs stay all alone atop first place of the LSC at 27-3 while moving to 35-4 overall and an incredible 18-1 at home.
WTAMU continues its homestand hosting St. Edward’s with a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon, then the series finale at noon, Tuesday.
Games 1 and 2
The first game didn’t go as planned as the Lady Buffs suffered their first home loss of the season.
The Lady Chaps took a 6-1 lead early and though the Lady Buffs tried to battle back closing the gap at 7-6, WTAMU’s comeback fell short.
Despite the loss, Emilee Boyer was 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs. Gabriella Valforte chipped in with a 3-for-4 outing including a double with an RBI.
In the night cap, the Lady Buffs regrouped in a hurry jumping out to a 5-0 lead highlighted by a Boyer two-run bomb in the first and a Valforte two-run double in the third.
Boyer was superb at the plate once again going 3-for-4 on the night with that long ball and three runs driven in. She also worked six scoreless innings in the circle with four strikeouts to improve to an eye-opening 15-1 on the year.
Game 3
In Sunday’s finale, the Lady Buffs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second behind a double from Diana Murtha and added two more in the fifth on a home run from Lauren Granger that led to a 6-2 victory.
Boyer once again handcuffed LCU with strong work in the circle. Boyer (16-1) made that lead stand tossing a complete game with eight strikeouts allowing only two earned runs.
Murtha was 2-for-3 on the afternoon with the two RBIs as teammate Valforte went 2-for-3.