The softball team saw a pair of leads diminish Monday as they dropped a couple of close games in San Antonio at the St. Mary’s College Softball Classic to cap off their opening weekend of the season.

The Wildcats fell to Lone Star Conference South Division rival Angelo State 15-11 before losing 6-5 to tournament host St. Mary’s.

The Rambelles of Angelo State put together a nine-run sixth inning, erasing the Wildcats’ eight-run lead leading up to that point.  Pitcher Shelby Hall had a solid outing, but came up on the on the losing end of a tough decision.

The Wildcats got on the board first when Valentina Nabayan singled in Tiana Tuinei to start things off in the right direction in the first inning.

In the top of the second, the floodgates opened up and a track meet began for ACU. The scoring party began when Briana Fowlkes tripled to lead off the inning and would later score on a single from Tuinei that also scored Erin Gilliland. Melissa Mendoza would then drive in Tuinei on a single. The ninth hit came off the bat of Lyndi Smith who smoked a two-RBI single right through the left field gap scoring Megan Brigance and Nabayan.

The ‘Cats put up a goose egg in the third before adding three more runs in the fourth.

Angelo State would inch closer with one run in the fifth, but a nine-run outburst in the sixth inning propelled the Rambelles to victory.

“For most of the game, we played very well. Angelo State is a great team, and we showed that we can hang with them. We were clicking on all cylinders, and then let things get out of our hands. We just need to play a complete game and work on our mental skills. Physically, we’re doing well, but we need to get our minds right and have the right attitude in order to win games,” Sarah Martinez said.

In the night cap, ACU found its stride early once again, jumping out to a 2-0 lead when an Ashley Calles single scored two. Calles would continue to swing a hot stick, adding another RBI in the sixth when ACU roped out four hits and scored three to tie the game at five.

However, St. Mary’s Sarah Lee drove in the winning run in extra innings, reigning victorious 6-5.

ACU played a doubleheader on Sunday in the same tournament to open their season.

In their opener, starting pitcher Brittany Rexroat had a solid outing, going five innings and giving up five hits, which helped propel the ‘Cats over St. Edwards 7-4.

Nabayan and Brigance both hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning, giving ACU a 4-2 lead. Sarah Martinez would get her second hit with a double and would later score on a Mendoza single. Mendoza would then score on a Hilltopper error.

ACU would put up two more runs in the seventh when Mendoza doubled and later scored on a Candice Miller single.

In their second game of the day, ACU could not find an offensive rhythm, as Texas A&M International’s Clarissa Salinas halted the ‘Cats offense. She allowed five hits and three runs over the game.

The Wildcats (1-3) will return home to host the Whitten Inn Classic on Friday and Saturday. The Wildcats will play at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. each day.