There was no shortage of excitement during what ended up being a roller coaster of emotions on Friday during the Sul Ross State softball team's doubleheader against the Hardin-Simmons University Cowgirls at the Lobo Softball Field.

In Game 1, the Cowgirls tallied 13 hits to edge past the Lobos, 8-4.

Hardin-Simmons held a 13-6 lead in the seventh inning of Game 2 before the Lobos rallied for eight runs in the bottom of the seventh to win in walk-off fashion after an RBI single by Ciera Avila to notch the 14-13 victory.

>> GAME 1:

The Cowgirls didn't waste any time getting on the board as they took a 2-0 lead in the first.

Sul Ross State pushed across a run in the bottom half of the first on an RBI single up the middle by Lily Wiser. The Lobos strung together two-straight singles from Samantha Chavez and Kyndell Garcia to start the inning.

Hardin-Simmons increased its lead to 4-1 in the second after getting an RBI double and an RBI single.

The Lobos managed to cut the deficit in half when Jasmine Garcia got a base hit to center to bring in Toni Mishnick in the bottom half of the second.

Chavez then kept the inning alive by hitting an RBI single through the left side to get the Lobos within one run.

Sul Ross State tied up the game at four-all on a sacrifice fly by Madison Hodges that drove in Wiser in the third.

Hardin-Simmons took the lead in the fourth and then got a solo home run from Madison Mayhew in the fifth to make the score 6-4.

Mayhew added to the Cowgirls' lead by tallying an RBI single in the seventh that was followed up by an RBI triple from Ashley Easley.

>> RECORDS: Hardin-Simmons (13-1); Sul Ross State (5-7)

>> GAME NOTES:

• The Lobos had nine hits.
• Chavez went 2 for 4 with two singles and an RBI.
• Kyndell Garcia had a single and a double to go 2 for 4.
• Wiser finished 3 for 4 with three singles and an RBI.
• Mishnick went 1 for 3 with a single.
• Jasmine Garcia ended up going 1 for 2 with a single, a walk and an RBI.

>> GAME 2:

The Cowgirls had won nine in a row up to this point.

Sul Ross State started off the game with a bang by scoring three runs in the first. Jaelyn Zuniga plated home Chavez on a sacrifice fly to right.

Jasmine Garcia then hit a clutch two RBI single to center.

Vivian Jimenez showed off her speed in the bottom of the second when she hit a leadoff inside-the-park home run.

Wiser later hit an RBI double down the left field line to make the score 5-0.

Hardin-Simmons erased the shutout in the top of the third.

The Cowgirls then scored two runs on three hits in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit to three runs.

Sul Ross State extended its lead to three runs when Avila was able to score from third after the runner at first was picked off just before the end of the bottom half of the fifth.

Hardin-Simmons sent 14 batters to the plate in the top of the sixth as it rallied for nine runs on nine hits to take a 12-6 lead.

After the Lobos were retired in order in the bottom of the sixth, the Cowgirls tacked on another run in the seventh on an RBI groundout.

The Lobos gave the Cowgirls a taste of their own medicine by sending 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the seventh.

Wiser hit a leadoff single to left that was followed up by an infield single by Zuniga. Avila then hit a three-run home run to left center to cut the deficit to four.

Samantha Bustos was hit by a pitch and then Kyndell Garcia doubled to left to put runners at the corners with no outs.

The Lobos got back-to-back infield RBI singles from Chavez and Mishnick to trail by two runs.

Wiser then grounded out to short which allowed Hannah Clark to score with two outs to make the score 13-12.

Zuniga tied up the game with an RBI infield single to the shortstop.

With runners at the corners, Zuniga swiped second to set up the RBI single to right by Avila to win the game.



>> RECORDS: Hardin-Simmons (13-2); Sul Ross State (6-7)

>> GAME NOTES:

• The Lobos had 17 hits.
• Avila went 3 for 4 with a single, double, home run and four RBI.
• Chavez ended up going 3 for 5 with two singles, a double and an RBI.
• Mishnick finished 2 for 5 with two singles and an RBI.
• Wiser had two singles, a double and two RBI to go 3 for 5.
• Zuniga went 2 for 4 with two singles and two RBI.
• Kyndell Garcia finished 3 for 4 with two singles, a double and two RBI.
• Leanza Chambers picked up her second win of the year after striking out three batters in two innings of work.

>> POSTGAME INTERVIEWS:

"It felt really good. The first game we kind of struggled a little bit. We were good at the beginning, but coming into this game I just knew that my teammates were behind me. I knew they had my back and I had theirs. I was just trying to hit on the opposite side. We proved that we can fight no matter what." — Ciera Avila

"It was huge. I was really upset because we didn't make some plays like we needed to, just some basic plays and I think that put us behind the eight ball a little bit. They kept fighting. We just go to work and grind. I'm proud of them. As long as we still have an out, we have a chance. They just got to believe it because we have some good hitters and a good defense. We got to work on hitting spots a little better on the pitching side. They're a really good team. It was a big win for us. It was something that we needed. Hopefully this will help us moving forward. (Ciera's) been coming along really well. She hit that home run. She has a lot of confidence right now. She's a good ballplayer." — Head coach Troy Canaba

>> UP NEXT: The series concludes at 12 p.m. CST on Saturday, March 9.