LONGVIEW, Texas -- The LeTourneau softball team could not overcome visiting St. Thomas in a doubleheader on Saturday at the Joyce Family Athletic Village. The visiting Celts took game one, 6-3, before winning the finale, 8-4.

GAME ONE: St. Thomas 6, LeTourneau 3

LeTourneau had a 3-1 lead after five innings, but a four-run sixth gave St. Thomas the lead and the Celts hung on for a 6-3 victory in Saturday's first game.

The YellowJackets tallied five hits in the loss as Maddie Flanery, Maddi Smith, Mickenzie Murry, Leighton Landreth, and Jenna Carter all one had apiece.

It was Carter that gave LeTourneau its first lead in the second inning. Carter smashed a hard grounder through the infield and to the fence that scored both Landreth and Murry to put the YellowJackets ahead 2-1.

In the fifth, LeTourneau tacked one another. Flanery led off with a bunt single and then stole second and third before scoring on Kylie Grisham's grounder to third to make it 3-1.

St. Thomas took advantage of its opportunities in the sixth and scored four times. Celeste Luna's RBI single capped the frame and gave the Celts a 5-3 lead. St. Thomas added one more in the seventh for the final tally.

Kirstin Ferguson made her LeTourneau debut in the circle and went four innings allowing one run on three hits with two strikeouts on 57 pitches. Laney Taylor (0-1) got the loss in relief after going three innings.

Allison Hughes (2-0) picked up the win for St. Thomas as she went the distance allowing three runs on five hits.

GAME TWO: St. Thomas 8, LeTourneau 4

LeTourneau totaled eight hits, but could not rally from an early deficit in an 8-4 loss in the finale.

Hailee Leger went 2-for-2 at the plate and made the start in the circle. Leger (0-2) allowed one earned run on nine hits with one strikeout over 5.2 innings.

LeTourneau got down 4-0 after two-and-a-half innings as St. Thomas scored three times in the second and once in the third. In the home-half of the third, Payton Bauer collected a pinch-hit RBI single that plated pinch-runner Corinne Van Cleef to put the YellowJackets on the board at 4-1.

The deficit extended to 6-1 before Alexa Neilon's RBI single in the sixth brought home Flanery.

LeTourneau (0-4) scored twice in the seventh as Lilly Longoria added an RBI single before St. Thomas sealed the win.

Ferguson and Hannah Decker combined to throw 1.1 innings out of the bullpen and allow one earned run on two hits.

Victoria Sossaman (2-3) got the complete-game win for the Celts (5-4) as she struck out five and allowed two earned runs.

UP NEXT

LeTourneau plays Central Baptist on Monday at 2 p.m. in Marshall, Texas (ETBU).

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