CANYON, Texas (February 14, 2016) – It took extra innings once again for the Lady Chaps to take game one in the WT Invitational, this time from Fort Lewis College in a 7-6 win, before falling to No. 10 Tarleton State 6-2 in game two to complete play on Sunday.
 
BACK AND FORTH BATTLE
To open the day, LCU (10-5) was first on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning when the Fort Lewis (2-7) third baseman dropped a fly ball allowing Lindzi Clemmer to score from third. In the top of the second, the Skyhawks took a 2-1 lead off of a two-out single that plated Mandy Owens and Lauren Caldwell. During the next inning, LCU would regain the lead 3-2 when Molly Davison doubled to drive in Morgan Colburn and Baylee Goolsby. After FLC tied the game up in the top of the fifth, the Lady Chaps again took the lead with Colburn's two-run bomb down the left field line. The Skyhawks answered in the next half inning by getting two runs of their own to tie the game at 5-5.
 
EXTRA INNINGS
For the third time this season and the second in the WT Invitational, the Lady Chaps had to play into the eighth inning. With the International Tie Breaker (ITB) rule in effect, the Skyhawks placed Owens on second base to start the inning. FLC was able to bring her home via a sacrifice bunt followed by a sacrifice fly to take a 7-6 lead. The Lady Chaps put Liz Torres at second in the bottom half of the inning where she reached third on a double by Colburn before Katlin Reed would hit a shot into left to score both Torres and Colburn for the walk-off win.
 
IN THE CIRCLE
Katlyn Holmes (3-1) notched her third victory of the year by going the full eight innings for LCU. Holmes only allowed three earned runs while striking out two. Victoria Johnson (2-2) took the loss for the Skyhawks, allowing eight hits and seven runs while walking five Lady Chap batters.
 
FAMILIAR FOE
In game two the Lady Chaps faced Tarleton State (9-3), a team they played last weekend in San Antonio. The TexAnns started the same pitcher, Haley Freyman (7-2), and LCU managed 10 hits against Freyman today, a better showing than the three they had against her previously.
 
However, the game followed the same story as last week's. In their previous meeting the Lady Chaps allowed four unearned runs, which was the difference in the ballgame. In today's showdown, three Lady Chap errors in the third inning led to five unearned runs scoring, proving to be more than LCU could overcome.
 
Lady Chap ace, Katera Eltsosie (6-2), went the distance against the TexAnns by giving up five hits and a single earned run. Eltsosie struckout four but suffered her second loss of the season.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Lady Chaps will continue their month-long road trip traveling to participate in the North Texas Softball Bash next weekend in Grand Prairie, Texas at the Jennifer McFalls Softball Complex. LCU will face former assistant coach, Katie Welborn, and her Eastern New Mexico University Greyhounds at 12 p.m. Friday.