Keplinger Lifts SWOSU to Split

March 22, 2006

Weatherford, OK - Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Lacie Keplinger again delivered the heroics but this time it came in the Bulldogs final at bat. The Lawton sophomore came through with a one-out, base-hit-single to lift SWOSU to a 4-3 victory over Truman State in Weatherford Thursday. The win allowed the Bulldogs, who lost the opener 5-3, to salvage a split with their Missouri visitors.

Keplinger, already a hero once before after a two-run homer against East Central earlier in the week, drove in Whittney Beach with the winning run. Beach led off the seventh with a single and reached scoring position when teammate Crystal Clay followed with a base hit of her own.

The win was SWOSU’s third in the last four games and improved the Bulldogs overall record to 7-20. Truman State dipped to 5-7 with the split.

Freshman pitcher Ashton Garrett picked up the win in relief and moved her record to 3-5. Garrett took over from starter Kaci Carpenter and delivered two solid innings in which she allowed just one run against the explosive TSU team.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks primarily to a pair of fielding miscues by Truman. Sarah Hamilton doubled and scored April Nash and Jennifer Buccola before later scoring herself.

Truman would later tie the game in the sixth before taking a 3-2 lead with a run in the seventh.

SWOSU returns to action Wednesday when they host Lone Star Conference rival Cameron University in a doubleheader set for 2 p.m. in Weatherford.