The Temple College Leopards softball journeyed to the Houston area on Tuesday afternoon as they faced the San Jacinto – South College squad at Ravens Field.
The Leopards smashed 19 hits the course of 14 innings and survived a late Ravens' offensive swoop as Temple escaped San Jac with a two-game sweep.
Scores of the doubleheader were 6-3 and 16-15.
Temple's bats and pitching steadied the Leopards in the opener. Brooklyn Walton's double to left field scored Myah Starks in the top of the second inning put Temple (8-2) on the board. Lexi Dudeczka followed with a single to center to score Marli Kennedy.
Jasmine Benavidez's homer in the third inning scored Jess Reyes to increase Temple's lead to 5-0.
After the Ravens reached the scoreboard on a ground out in the third inning, Walton's ground out to second base in the fourth scored Kennedy to reestablish a five-run lead.
The Ravens picked up solo homers by Ary Garcia-Santana in the fourth and sixth innings respectively.
Kam Kram went the distance to pick up the win in the circle for Temple. She went seven innings, allowed three runs on six hits, struck out five and walked one.
Kennedy led the Leopards with two hits in their six-hit attack. Dudeczka, Walton, and Benavidez each had two runs batted in.
In game two, Starks' single to center field scored DeLeon to give Temple a quick 1-0 lead in the first.
The Ravens answered in the bottom of the first on Madelyn Perez single, Breanna Norman bases-loaded walk, and Ella Mangus sacrifice fly to give San Jac a 3-1 lead.
The Leopards got six runs in the top of the third to regain the lead. A bases-loaded walk to Starks, two-run double by Ryley Litchfield, RBI single by Jess Reyes, an error on a throw by Kenadie Guthrie scored Litchfield, and an error by Mangus on Kennedy's sharp grounder to third that scored Reyes lifted Temple to a four-run lead, 7-3.
Sacrifice flies by Norman and Zoie Powell helped the Ravens cut margin in half in the bottom of the fourth. Mia Ortega's single and a pair of subsequent Temple errors scored two runs to tie the game at 7-7.
Temple scored nine runs over the fifth and sixth innings.
Angie DeLeon's grounder to shortstop Kamryn DeLeon was mishandled to score Kennedy and Benavidez's bases-loaded triple gave the Leopards an 11-7 lead in the fifth.
Kennedy's RBI double increased the lead to five. Walton's fielder's choice push bunt was mishandled to score Kennedy and Reyes, and Cottrell's sacrifice fly scored Walton to give the Leopards a 16-7 lead.
The Ravens regrouped and posted three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Kamryn DeLeon's sacrifice fly, Ortega's RBI single, and Garcia-Santana's RBI pulled the Ravens to within six.
After the Leopards were retired in order in the seven, San Jac made its final attack. Kamryn DeLeon's RBI double, Guthrie's two-run double, Perez RBI ground out, and Temple error scored Bree Winkelman to pull the Ravens to within a run. Mangus flew out to Kennedy to end the game, with San Jac having stranded the tying run at third base.
Reyes had four hits and Dudeczka had three in Temple's 13-hit outing. Benavidez had three runs batted in, and Starks and Litchfield each added a pair of RBI.
Temple rolled through four pitchers. Kram picked up the win in relief and Dalanee Ekster having picked up the save.
The Leopards are scheduled to play at the Texoma Health Winter Classic in Denison this weekend.
