Bobcats drop four-game set at Arlington Baptist despite late push in finale

Peru State carried a lead into the sixth inning of Friday’s opener and rallied late again in Saturday’s finale, but Arlington Baptist controlled the key swings across a four-game series and handed the Bobcats four losses in Arlington, Texas. The Patriots Red won 10-6 and 13-2 on Friday, then completed the sweep Saturday with a 6-0 shutout and a 7-6 decision.

The closest turn came in the first game, when Peru State surged ahead with four runs in the top of the sixth to grab a 6-3 lead. The Bobcats finished with nine hits and appeared to have seized momentum after also putting together a two-run fourth inning. Arlington Baptist answered immediately, though, with seven runs in the bottom of the sixth. Gracey Meinert’s two-run double highlighted the comeback for the home team, which totaled 12 hits in the 10-6 result. Makenna Scribner logged two innings in the circle for Peru State, while Arlington got production throughout the order, including three RBIs from Brianna Escalante and a 3-for-4 day with two runs scored from Kate Lemons.

The second game turned early. Arlington Baptist broke it open with a seven-run first inning, a burst that included a two-run inside-the-park home run by Roo Stone, and the Patriots added on from there in a 13-2 win that ended after five innings. Peru State answered with a two-run second inning, with Kylee Dieckmann delivering a run-producing single and finishing with two RBIs, but the Bobcats could not chip much further into the deficit. Arlington finished with 13 runs on 13 hits, while Jenika Fuentes worked all five innings in the circle for the win.

Saturday’s first game belonged to Arlington Baptist pitching. Ali Nuno threw a complete-game shutout, allowing three hits over seven innings as the Patriots won 6-0. Arlington scored in each of the first three innings, taking a 1-0 lead in the first before adding three runs in the second and two more in the third. Peru State left six runners on base and was charged with four errors. Melanie Hughes gave the Bobcats five innings and struck out three.

Peru State’s best offensive start of the weekend came in the finale. The Bobcats scored three times in the first inning, with Casidy Sipek driving in two runs on a single to put the visitors in front 3-0. Arlington Baptist answered steadily with single runs in the first and second, then moved ahead with two more in the fourth before a three-run fifth pushed the score to 7-4. Peru State did not go quietly. In the sixth, Meinert doubled in two runs to trim the gap to one, capping another strong late push by the Bobcats, who finished with 11 hits. Arlington held on from there for the 7-6 final.

Across the four games, Peru State showed flashes of timely offense, especially in the sixth inning of the opener and the opening and closing stretches of the finale, but Arlington Baptist consistently answered with bigger innings. The Patriots scored 36 runs in the series, including a seven-run sixth in Game 1, a seven-run first in Game 2 and a three-run fifth in Game 4, the innings that did the most damage as the Bobcats left Texas still searching for a series breakthrough.