April 27, 2008

Box Score

CANYON, Texas - Junior center fielder Jessica Ruzicki went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI, but it was not enough to lift the West Texas A&M softball team to a victory on Sunday afternoon during the teams season finale as the Lady Buffs dropped the deciding game of a three-game Lone Star Conference South Division series to Abilene Christian 3-2 in eight innings.

The game closes the book on the Lady Buffs' 2008 season as they end the year with a 25-33 overall record and a 6-12 mark in LSC South play. The future for WT softball looks bright as the young and upcoming team is in a position to return every single player on its roster with the exception of pitcher Andrea Renteria, who was honored prior to Sunday's game as the squad's lone senior.

The Wildcats took an early 2-0 lead after the top of the third inning, but the Lady Buffs answered back in the home half of the third on a Breanna Adams RBI single to cut the `Cats lead to 2-1. The Lady Buffs tied the game up in the fourth inning, with an Erin Hartigan leadoff single followed by two sacrifice bunts and a Ruzicki double down the left field line that knotted the game at 2-2.

After the Lady Buffs were unable to score in the bottom of the seventh, the game went into extra innings where ACU took advantage of the added frame. With one out in the inning, Melissa Rodriguez singled with a pair of runners on to give the Wildcats what would prove to be the game's winning tally.

Freshman pitcher Shannon O'Dea turned in her second impressive performance of the weekend in the pitching circle, limiting ACU to only four hits in her school record 20th complete game of the season.