Mustangs win Tournament Opener

WICHITA FALLS, Texas - The Midwestern State University Mustangs got their own Mustang Invitational Softball Tournament started on the right foot as they defeated Southern Arkansas 5-3 in opening round play on Friday afternoon at the Wichita Falls Softball Complex.

MSU (7-4) jumped out to a five-run lead before having to hold on to defeat SAU (5-5).

Mustangs first baseman Jessica Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a solo home run to leadoff the third inning.

Freshman pitcher Katie Petersen tossed a four-hitter with three strikeouts and a walk, but allowed three runs, all earned, in the sixth.

MSU got on the board first in the second when Kelli Shaw led off with a double and advanced to third on a throwing error.Shaw scored Tara Staten singled to right.Staten later scored when Cheyanne Paschal smacked a sharp grounder to second, but the throw home was not in time to get Staten.

The Mustangs added runs in the fifth and sixth to claim the 5-0 advantage.

Southern Arkansas tried to catch up in the bottom of the sixth, taking advantage of a walk and a hit batsmen to put two on, followed by an RBI single by Samantha Hoelscher.Whitney Brannon then ripped a two-run single into right before Petersen got the next two batters to pop out.

In other games in the tournament Friday, Northeastern State got to play its first game of the season, handing West Texas A&M an 8-0 defeat in five innings and St. Mary's picked up a 7-1 victory over East Central.

NSU pitcher India Williamson threw a one-hitter and struck out nine in getting the win and Rachel Christian went 2-for-3 at the plate.NSU is now 1-0, while WT fell to 1-6.

St. Mary's catcher Kelcy Walker blasted two home runs for five RBI as she went 3-for-3 in the opening game.STMU pitcher Taryn Munoz went five innings, allowing just one hit with three strikeouts before being lifted.

Play continues in the tournament on Saturday at 11 a.m., when MSU meets West Texas A&M, St. Mary's plays Northeastern State and East Central takes on Southern Arkansas.

At 1 p.m., MSU faces St. Mary's, East Central goes against West Texas A&M and Southern Arkansas plays Northeastern State.

The tournament's final round is at 4 p.m. with as the top team of MSU, East Central and Northeastern State plays the top team of St. Mary's, Southern Arkansas and West Texas A&M.The number two teams will play each other as will the number three teams after pool play.

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MSU vs. Southern Arkansas Box Score

St. Mary's vs. East Central Box Score

Northeastern State vs. West Texas A&M Box Score