Welcome back to campus, Bulldogs! I hope everyone had a fun, safe spring break and safe travel back. A few of your fellow Dawgs’ athletics had some games over spring break and have some events coming up very soon. Here’s an update:
SWOSU softball started its busy spring break with a series against Arkansas Monticello. This was the first conference series win for the Bulldogs. They opened the series with a 6-0 shutout. Alexis Taylor started on the mound and earned this shutout win. She kept UAM at a minimum with a career high of 13 strikeouts. Here offensive saw the control in the circle from Taylor and knew it was time to get some runs behind her. That’s when they busted the game open with a five-run inning in the second. Three of these runs came off one hit, a triple by No. 7 Emily Wedel. Bases were loaded when she stepped up to the plate, and she found a gap out in the outfield, and she was off to the races. With her speed, a triple was easy for her. The scoring didn’t stop there as the RBI’s kept coming. The Bulldogs racked up multiple hits this game. They finally got their offense going, which they have needed all season. Game two of this series came down to the last few innings. Going into the bottom of the fifth, the Bulldogs were behind 2-0. UAM then committed two errors in a row to give up a run to SWOSU. Josie Oakley then came up to bat, and she delivered a single to score another run for the Bulldogs. Now with a tied game and in the bottom of the sixth inning, SWOSU was looking to get ahead, and No. 15 Landry Bayless was up to bat. She stepped up to the plate, looking to get a rally going; she found her pitch and hit a gap to get a leadoff triple for the Dawgs. No. 2 Sierra Woods was up next, and she found herself a single to score Bayless from third. This put SWOSU up 3-2, and all they needed to do was keep UAM from scoring. Taylor was back on the mound to keep it shut down. She knew what she had to do, and she succeeded. The game ended in a 3-2 win for SWOSU, securing their first conference series win of the season. These weren’t their only games over spring break. They also had a mid-week non-conference series against Newman, where they took home two wins. These wins helped carry them into their next conference series against ranked #7 Southern Arkansas University. They didn’t take home a series win, but they did steal one game from SAU, which is a huge takeaway. It all came down to the last few innings again, but this time they went into extras. In the sixth and seventh innings, SWOSU managed to find some runs to back up their pitcher, No. 0 Blaire Gentry, as she was throwing up zeros every inning prior. With two outs in the top of the eighth inning, No. 5 Kennedi Caine was up to bat with a runner in scoring position, and she delivered with an RBI single to put the Bulldogs ahead. Gentry then went back to close out the game and earned herself a save as she threw the final out with bases loaded. This was a huge win for SWOSU, being able to upset the #7th-ranked team. SWOSU softball ended spring break with this series, and now they will face East Central University March 27th-28th in Weatherford, OK. This is also the “Pack the Park” game. There will be free t-shirts, food, and giveaways. So get out there and support your SWOSU softball team.
SWOSU Baseball also had a long spring break full of games. They struggled to find some wins in the series they played. They began playing UAM and lost all three games. Following these losses, they had a series against Southern Arkansas University where they found one win in the opening game. This was a game that came down to the last few innings. The Dawgs were down until the bottom of the eighth inning, where they picked up three runs to put them ahead 9-8. These runs were built off singles from SWOSU. They managed to work out the gaps after struggling to find a hit at the beginning of the game. Going into the top of the ninth with the lead, the Bulldogs then gave up one run to SAU, which tied the game. This was the only run they gave up in the ninth, and it was time to get back on offense. SAU couldn’t handle the pressure and gave up a single to No. 9 Kotaro Wakui. Then they gave up an error to give SWOSU another base runner. Now with runners at second and first, SAU decided to intentionally walk the next batter in hopes they could get the force out. It now came down to No. 33 Nolan McCrossin to find a way to score a run. McCrossin battled with the pitcher until he gave him the pitch he wanted. McCrossin then found a gap in right field, and the runner from third was able to score. This was a walk-off win for the Bulldogs, 10-9. This was the only win SWOSU found over spring break, but it was an amazing game. They are hoping to pick it back up this weekend against ECU in Ada, Oklahoma.
Men’s and Women’s rodeo had a recent competition in Fort Scott, Kansas, where the women’s team took home another first-place win, and the men’s team took home seventh. The women’s team was led by two huge wins by Reagan McIntyre in long round and goat tying. McIntyre wasn’t the only Bulldog to podium in goat tying; Cheyenne VandeStouwe was right behind her in second place. Braylee Ward also finished fourth in barrel racing. With all the top finishes by multiple women’s team put them in first place overall. The men’s team didn’t have a bad outing, just not enough top finishes to get them overall. Heston Harrison had a second-place finish in Tie Down Roping. The rodeo team now had one more competition before the 53rd Annual SWOSU Rodeo, April 9–11 in Weatherford.
The women’s golf team had one match over spring break in Litchfield Park, Arizona, where they finished third overall. Multiple players had a top ten finish, keeping the Bulldogs in the top three overall. They are now coming close to finishing up their season, as they have one more tournament before the conference tournament. They are set to play in Monkey Island, Oklahoma, at the Spring Central Region Preview April 6-7th.
The men’s team did not have any matches over spring break, but they are preparing for their final tournament before the conference tournament. They are going to be playing at the Firekeeper Open in Mayetta, Kansas, April 6-7th.
There were a lot of games played over spring break, and many teams are coming to the end of their season. With that, there is still games to be played so get out there and support your fellow Bulldogs when you can. Go Dawgs!
