St. Edward's opened its defense of the Heartland Conference title with a 6-2 victory over Texas A&M-International Thursday afternoon at Diane Daniels Field.
St. Edward's (33-19) opened the scoring in the second inning when Miranda Yeager (Sophomore, Katy, Texas) reached base on a two-out single. Pinch-runner Natasha Marin (Freshman, Austin, Texas) advanced to second on a single by Jenny Varteressian (Sophomore, Austin, Texas). She then came in to score on a clutch single by Lana Jo Hairston (Sophomore, Lake Jackson, Texas) to put St. Edward's in front, 1-0.
The Hilltoppers busted the game open in the third inning, plating five runs on five hits, combined with two Dustdevil errors. Stacy Giles (Junior, Spring, Texas) and Varteressian both had two RBI, while Yeager added another to push the home team ahead, 6-0.
TAMU-International (21-30) plated two runs in the fifth inning to cut the Hilltopper lead to 6-2.
However relief pitcher Diana Cezeaux (Junior, Houston, Texas) took over from there, retiring six of the last seven Dustdevil batters to pick up the save. Paige Sandahl (Sophomore, Dripping Springs, Texas) picked up the victory, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits, while striking out seven batters.
The Hilltoppers will be back in action Friday as they advance to the winner's bracket final where they will take on St. Mary's. First pitch is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. at Diane Daniels Field. Live audio and stats will be provided on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.