The Snow College softball team earned a victory during the Western Shootout in Yuma, Arizona over the weekend. The Badgers will have one final non-conference tournament before beginning their conference schedule Feb. 28.
 
The Badgers entered the tournament off the heels of the College of Southern Nevada Coyote Classic to begin the 2025 regular season. Snow College went 2-3 during the two-day tournament, securing victories over Central Arizona College and Arizona Western College.
 
The Badgers' offense exploded for seven runs in the second inning against Phoenix College to kick off the tournament. Reata O'Neal got the scoring started as she smashed a triple to right-center field. Brooke Fisher, Molly Roberts, and Avery Thorkelson each singled to bring home runs as the Badgers took a 7-1 lead.
 
Snow College added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning; one came via a double steal, which forced a Phoenix throwing error to score Gracie Brooks. Ayden Fitch plated a run before O'Neal singled and scored Madison Salisbury to give the Badgers a 10-2 lead.
 
Phoenix scored five runs over the next two innings, but it wasn't enough as the Badgers claimed the 10-7 victory. Thorkelson picked up the victory as she pitched 4 innings and allowed just two earned runs while striking out four and allowing no walks.
 
The offense continued where it left off in the second game of the tournament against Scottsdale Community College. The Badgers scored on a double from O'Neal to score Hailey Mangum and Thorkelson. 
 
Snow College put up four more in the second inning as Mangum and Thorkelson each plated runs. O'Neal added another on a ringing double to left field that scored Thorkelson, giving the Badgers a 6-1 lead.
 
SCC came roaring back with five runs in the fifth inning.  The game went to extra innings, and after the Badgers failed to score in the top of the eighth, the Artichokes pushed across a run in their half of the inning to secure the 7-6 victory.
 
The final four games saw the Badgers' bats go relatively quiet. After scoring 16 runs between the first two games of the tournament, Snow College managed to score just seven over the final four games.
 
The Badgers pushed across just two runs between the two games on day two of the tournament and suffered a pair of 5-1 defeats. Allen drove in a run in the top of the first inning against AWC, but the Badgers would go on to suffer the 5-1 loss.
 
Allen drove home the Badgers' lone run in the bottom of the sixth inning against Central Arizona. Taimane Laolagi-Aloy went the distance inside the circle as she allowed five runs on eight hits while striking out three.
 
Snow College suffered another heartbreaker in a 6-5 extra-inning loss against Eastern Arizona College to begin day three of the tournament.  O'Neal got the scoring started as she drove in a run in the third inning. The Gila Monsters answered with a pair of runs in their half of the third to take the lead.
 
Salisbury plated a run on a bunt in the fourth inning before Mangum singled to center to score Moki Maughan to give Snow College a 3-2 lead. The game flipped again as EAC scored two more runs in the fourth to regain the advantage.
 
Salisbury tied the game in the fifth on a fielder's choice that scored Nev Carrasquel. Once again, the Gila Monsters responded with a run in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead. It was Allen this time to tie the game as she drove home O'Neal to knot the score at five.
 
The game remained scoreless through the end of the game and entered extra innings. The Badgers were unable to score in the 8^th, but the Gila Monsters did to claim the 6-5 victory.
 
Snow College was held scoreless in a game for the first time this season as they suffered a 7-0 loss to CSN.
 
Mangum led the Badgers offensively as she went 9-23 (.391/.417/.435) and drove in two runs. O'Neal went 5-13 (.385/.500/.692) at the plate while hitting three extra-base hits and recording 7 RBIs. Thorkelson pitched 20 total innings while allowing just seven earned runs and striking out 16 batters.
 
Snow College will head to Alabama to participate in their final tune-ups before beginning conference play and participate in the Choccolocco Park Extravaganza. They will take on six opponents beginning with Blinn College and Florida Southwestern State College Thursday, Feb. 20. For game start times and additional information, visit snowbadgers.com.