DENTON, Texas – Paige Tamayo racked up five hits with eight RBIs, Avery Williams also turned in a five-hit afternoon and Bailey Turner picked up the win in both ends of the twinbill as the Texas Woman's University softball team (5-9) swept Ottawa (Kan.) on Saturday in the Pioneers' home opener at Dianne Baker Field, winning the first game 9-4 before rallying to take a 10-7 victory in the nightcap. 
 
"We took care of business on all sides of the ball today," said head coach Amber Barker. "It was great to see us hit throughout the entire lineup, and show up big on defense. Our pitchers didn't get flustered in situations and did what we asked. Both wins were complete team wins. And what a great crowd for our home opener as well."
 
Tara Solomon, Tamayo, Sydney Johnson, and MaKayla Cook all had two hits in the opener, while Tatum Briggs drew a pair of walks. It was Briggs who put the Pioneers on the board with an RBI single in the second inning, and after Ottawa tied the game in the third, Solomon and Tamayo used back-to-back RBI singles to give TWU a 3-1 lead in the third. Those singles kicked off a five-run inning for TWU, as the Pioneers jumped the lead to 6-1 after the third frame. 
 
A timely extra-base hit for Ottawa in the fifth cut the Pioneers lead to 6-3, and the Braves pulled to within 6-4 in the sixth, but Tamayo belted a two-run homer in the sixth to stretch the TWU lead back to 8-4, and the Pioneers later added an insurance run on an RBI single by Tatum Stover to set the score at the game's final margin. 
 
Turner picked up the win after fanning eight in 5.2 innings of work, scattering 10 hits and allowing four earned runs. Stover picked up her first save of the year after allowing just one hit in 1.1 innings of work. 
 
Williams was a perfect 4-for-4 in the nightcap, while Tamayo was 3-for-4 with five RBIs, and Briggs, Stover, and Tyler Greene all added two hits in the finale. Tamayo did big work early in the nightcap, using an RBI double in the first and another two-run homer in the third to give TWU an early 3-0 lead. Stover added an RBI single in the third to stretch the Pioneer advantage to 4-0. 
 
Ottawa cut that in half with a two-run homer of their own in the top of the fourth, but Solomon answered with another two-run bomb that gave TWU a 6-2 advantage in the bottom of the fourth. 
 
The Braves rallied in the fifth, plating five runs to take a 7-6 lead, but the Pioneers came back strong in the sixth inning as Tamayo added another two-run double to give TWU an 8-7 lead, and then a two-run single by Greene stretched the lead out to 10-7, the game's final margin. 
 
Turner picked up her second win after throwing two innings of stellar relief, allowing just one hit and fanning three. 
 
After a Wednesday doubleheader at Texas A&M-Commerce, the Pioneers return to Dianne Baker Field on Friday, March 6, hosting a Lone Star Conference doubleheader against Oklahoma Christian.