Vallejo, Sanders throw shutouts

Published 6:35 pm Saturday, March 25, 2023

Ashley Vallejo and Shaelyn Sanders each pitched a shutout as McNeese swept a doubleheader against Texas A&M-Commerce, winning the first game 8-0 in five innings and the nightcap 1-0.

Vallejo pitched a two-hitter, striking out ten. Sanders threw a three-hitter, also striking out 10. McNeese (22-10, 6-0) didn’t allow a run in the series sweep. TAMU-Commerce (5-24, 1-5) totaled seven hits in the series.

It was the first complete game of the season for Sanders, who is taking on a heavier workload afer missing time early in the season with an injury.

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“My curveball was working for me and the coaches called a lot of offspeed and riseball pitches since they were also working,” Sanders said. “When they did get hold of balls, the left side of the defense was working for me.”

McNeese struggled putting hits together in the second game, but Reese Reyna made something out of nothing to produce the game’s only run, tagging from second on a foul ball abd scoring when the throw to third got away.

“One of our philosophies is to always look for an opportunity to advance,” McNeese head coach James Landreneau said.

“When the ball Is in the air it is the runner’s job to determine if there’s a chance to advance. It was a head’s up play by Reyna. She plays hard. We always say if you put pressure on the opponent, every once in a while they’ll blow a play and we can take advantage. There wasn’t much going on then. Who knew that play would be the difference in the game?”

McNeese has allowed only one run in six conference games, winning four by mercy rule.

Mariana Torres and Crislyne Moreno each drove in two runs for McNeese in the first game.

“Vallejo was dominant, she had 10 strikeouts with 15 possible outs,” Landreneau said. “She threw offspeed pitches for strikes and kept them off balance.”