The University of the Southwest Softball team had a two-game series this past weekend going up against Wayland Baptist University, who came into the matchup opening up their 2023 season against the Lady Mustangs. The Lady Mustangs were looking to bounce back after the tough midweek matchup against Sul Ross, losing both games of the doubleheader.
 
GAME 1 
The Lady Mustangs got the offense rolling early, with Senior Felicity Villanueva leading off the bottom of the first with a single and then two straight stolen bases and eventually getting brought in by Junior Marley Morales. 

The Lady Mustangs would tack on two more runs before the game ended. In the third inning, Freshman Hannah Campos knocked in a run with an RBI double. In the fourth, Villanueva would single for the Lady Mustangs' third run.
 
Sophomore Ashley Alvarez would get the win on the mound, pitching four innings and allowing only two hits while striking out 7. Senior Felicity Villanueva would be responsible for 2 of the three runs for the Lady Mustangs, going 2-4 at the plate with 1 RBI and two stolen bases. 
 
GAME 2
Wayland's offense learned from the mistakes of the last game by getting going a little too late and decided to put the Lady Mustangs back on their heels by putting up a run in the top of the first inning. 

The Lady Mustangs would find themselves down by three runs all the way until the bottom of the sixth, but once the offense got started, they did not stop until they had complete control. 

Junior Amanda Perez would get the scoring started with an RBI triple to bring in Freshman Kilee Raulston. Hannah Campos would follow that with an RBI double, bringing in Perez. Junior Mikayla Martinez followed that with an RBI double of her own. Two batters later, Xyla Madry drove Martinez in with a sacrifice fly. 

After the four-run sixth inning gave them the lead, the Lady Mustangs would take the game as Junior Hope Quinones finished off her third inning of relief pitching to earn the win on the mound by not allowing any hits or walks and still striking out eight. 

Following the series sweep, Head Coach Chris Petroski said, "I am glad we had the opportunity to be a part of Wayland's first-ever softball games for their program. There were a lot of firsts for them, and we really enjoyed the competition early in our season. We won as a team and came up big on Saturday in the 6th inning when it counted. My girls showed up, and we're capable of getting the job done in both games for the series sweep. Our pitchers threw very well and shut the door when needed. We'll continue to improve on offense and produce more runs.

"I was able to see a lot of things that we need to work on before heading into our Conference schedule. Moving forward into six non-conference/exhibition games this week will give our program a lot to work on and opportunities for growth heading into Conference." 

USW Softball will stick around at home as they host Western Texas College for a doubleheader on Tuesday beginning at 1 pm. Continue to follow USW Athletics and USW Softball on all social media for scores and updates throughout the season.