CONWAY, Ark. - Westminster softball split its opening day of the season, recording the team's first win of 2018 16-1 against Hendrix.
Westminster opens the season 1-1.
"I was very pleased with our first game of the season," said Westminster Head Coach Joe Henderson. "We hit the ball well and played very solid defense. It was a great start and one we have no typically experienced in this tournament in previous years."
The Blue Jays dominated the first game of the day against Hendrix, finishing the game 16-1 and ending in five innings.
Westminster exploded in the first inning of the game with six runs, including RBI singles from Amber Tepen, Brooke Laidley, Katie Price and Callie Collier. Emily Holloway also added an RBI by drawing a walk with the bases loaded.
Katie Price went on to pitch four straight shutout innings. The Blue Jays added another run in the third on a triple from Holloway, and then added nine more runs in the top of the ninth. Collier started the scoring with an RBI single, followed up by back-to-back RBI doubles from Tepen and Laidley to earn two RBI apiece. Sydney Marcum added a sacrifice fly for another run, and Jordan Milam capped off the inning with a bases-clearing double for three more runs to make the score 16-0.
Hendrix tried to put together a comeback in the bottom of the fifth, but Price was just too dominant, allowing one run before striking out the final two batters to take the lead.
Laidley led the Blue Jay offense with four RBI, following by three each from Tepen and Milam. Price allowed just one run on six hits, striking out seven.
The win marks the 60th for Head Coach Joe Henderson and his staff, becoming the winningest staff in program history, surpassing Shelli Manson's 59 wins from 2010-2014.
In the second game against Centenary, Westminster dig itself into a hole by giving up seven runs in the first two innings. Over the next four innings, Westminster would outscore Centenary 10-3 to tie the game up at 10 runs apiece going into the final inning. Katie Price eventually took the 11-10 loss by giving up the final run on two hits.
Collier, Tepen, Price, and McKenzie Meyers all recorded multiple hits in the loss.
"With such a young team made up of one senior and all freshmen and sophomores, I was excited to see the energy and the fun this team was having," said Henderson. "Rebooting after a conference championship is hard, but to start this way and outscore the opposition 26-12 on our opening day was rewarding. We'll be back at it tomorrow with the same energy."
Westminster continues the tournament Sunday with a 10 a.m. mathcup against Centenary followed by a 12 p.m. game against Hendrix.
