DENTON, Texas (March 30, 2026) - The Texas Woman's University softball team split a four-game series this weekend, dropping two games and winning two, against Midwestern State and Lubbock Christian, snapping a seven-game winning streak that carried into the home matchups. TWU (22-15, 16-8) extended their winning streak to eight games after rolling to their seventh run-rule victory of the season, a 14-0 blowout over the Mustangs (5-27, 3-19) in game one on Friday, before dropping the second game.
On Sunday, the Pioneers faced the visiting Lady Chaps (18-16, 14-10) in a closely contested series split, taking the opener 4-1 before Lubbock Christian rallied to win the nightcap 7-2, evening the series. The weekend left TWU in sixth place in the conference standings, while Midwestern State remained at 16th and LCU sits seventh.
The Pioneers' offense remained strong, delivering timely hits and driving in key runs, but a handful of missed opportunities to bring runners home, combined with lapses in defensive consistency, prevented TWU from sweeping either opponent at Dianne Baker Field.
IMPACT PLAYERS
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Randi Crawford: 2 GP/2 GS - 11.1 IP, 10 H, 1 ER, 16 K, one shutout
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Tamia Cherry: 4 for 13, 5 hits, 5 RBIs, 2 runs, 1 triple, 1 SB
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Hawwa Townsend: 4 for 12, 3 hits, 4 RBIs, 1 double, 1 HR
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Lizzie Smith: 4 for 8, 4 hits, 1 RBI, 1 run, 2 SB, 2 doubles
PIONEER POWER MOMENTS
Game 1 vs. MSU (TWU won 14-0, 5 innings)
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TWU opened the scoring in the first inning as Townsend singled to center field, driving in Marissa Espinoza to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead.
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The offense added three more runs in the second inning, including a sacrifice fly from Espinoza and a two-RBI triple from Cherry, extending the lead to 4-0.
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TWU exploded in the fourth inning, scoring 10 runs to push the lead to 14-0. Cherry, Townsend, Riley Todd, Zaryah Williams, and Espinoza each drove in runs during the inning.
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Multiple MSU defensive errors helped TWU turn hits into additional runs and secured the run-rule victory.
Game 1 vs. LCU (TWU won 4-1)
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Malarie Medina drove in Madison Lux in the second inning with a fielder's choice, giving TWU a 1-0 lead.
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Lux added an RBI single in the third inning to bring home Cherry, increasing the advantage to 2-0.
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Townsend hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 3-0, and TWU added another run later in the inning on a defensive error, making it 4-0.
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Lubbock Christian scored in the seventh, but TWU held on to secure the 4-1 win.
Game 2 vs. LCU (TWU loss 7-2)
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Smith put TWU on the board in the fourth with an RBI double to cut the deficit to 3-1.
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Cherry drove in a run in the seventh to make it 7-2, but TWU could not overcome the early deficit in the loss.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH GAY MCNUTT
"Another great performance from Randi Crawford and pleased with the wins. We've just got to do a better job of scoring with runners in scoring position moving forward."
NEXT UP
The Pioneers will hit this road this week for Wednesday and Friday doubleheaders against Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M.
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