MAGNOLIA, Ark. (Feb. 6) – TWU junior Tori Bice came one strike short of a no-hitter and the Pioneers capped off another sweep on the second day of the SAU Softball Invitational.  TWU defeated Lincoln 8-3 and then run-ruled Southwest Baptist 9-1 in five innings.
 
Bice, who was part of a combined no-hitter on Friday, pitched 4.2 hitless innings against Southwest Baptist before allowing a double.  In the two days at the tournament, she pitched 10.2 hitless innings before allowing the hit.  Bice tossed six innings without a hit against Newman on Friday in the combined no-no.
 
In the first game against Lincoln the Pioneers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-RBI single by senior Laura Mabary.  TWU made it 4-0 in the second with two unearned runs.  Freshman Lindy Kennedy and senior Tealey Farquhar each had a RBI.
 
Lincoln made it 4-2 with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth but the Pioneers got one back in the bottom of the inning on a RBI ground out by Kennedy. After a scoreless fifth, TWU added three more in the sixth.  Juniors Katy Stephens and Morgan Harrison and Kennedy all scored runs in the inning.  Lincoln scored their final run, unearned, in the top of the seventh.
 
Freshman Nicole Gandy made her first career start in the circle and picked up the win after pitching four innings.  Junior Hailey Dixon came in relief and pitched three innings for the save.
 
In the second game the Pioneers again scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning on RBI singles by Bice and sophomore Amanda Gray.  TWU then sent eight batter to plate in the third to score four runs to make it 6-0.  Gray picked up two RBI in the inning while Bice also drove in a run.
 
The Pioneers scored three more times in the fourth including two unearned runs for a 9-0 lead.  Gray picked her fourth RBI of the game in the inning.
 
Bice allowed a one-out walk in the top of fifth but got a popup for the second out.  She had two strikes on the next batter but allowed a double to the right field and Southwest Baptist scored its only run.  Bice got a ground out on the next batter to seal the win and picked up her third victory of the season.  She struck out five batter in the game.
 
The Pioneers showed off their speed on Saturday with 18 stolen bases on 19 attempts.  Harrison and Mabary each had four steals while junior Logan Polasek finished with three.
 
"We played really well and came up with timely hits for the second straight day," said TWU head coach Genny Stidham.  "Our defense was great in both games except one miscue.  We were aggressive on bases and took advantage of our speed."
 
The Pioneers will wrap-up their trip with two more games on Sunday, Feb. 7.  TWU will face Delta State at 12:00 p.m. before taking on the host Southern Arkansas at 2:00 p.m.