PORTLAND, Texas – Henderson State came just short of claiming its first win of the season in the first game of the Portland Tournament against the Texas A&M-International Dust Devils, 5-3, before falling to the St. Mary Rattlers, 13-1.
 
Monica Monreal registered two hits and three RBIs on the day, including her third homerun of the season in the first game. Freshman Jordyn Holland saw her first hits of her career in the day's second game, claiming a double and a single, along with grabbing a stolen base in the effort.
 
Henderson St. (0-7) remains in Portland, Texas, one more day when it takes on St. Mary's again Sunday at 10 a.m. before closing out the weekend against the tournament host Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas at 12:30 p.m.  
 
Game 1: Texas A&M-International 5, Henderson State 3
Henderson St. went down early as Texas A&M-International played as the designated visiting team at the neutral site, getting the initial at-bat. The Dust Devils opened play with a two-run top of the first off a triple and a sacrifice fly. Freshman Erika Bittinger was able to limit the damage to only two runs, striking out six-hole hitter to get the Reddies into the bottom of the first.
 
Monica Monreal, batting fourth in the lineup, treated her first plate appearance at the Portland Tournament with a two-out two-run homer, scoring Justine Burch, who walked in her at-bat. With Monreal clearing the bases, a single from Brooke Johnson followed by a TAMIU error to get Ashlyn Taylor on base had the Reddies threatening to take the lead before the Dust Devils moved play to the second frame with a game tied, 2-2.
 
Bittinger responded to the tied ball game by striking out three consecutive TAMIU batters at the top of the second and then, with HSU unable to put any runs on the board in its second at-bat, worked three outs through four Dust Devil batters in the top of the third to keep the game tied. The Dust Devil pitching, however, continued to keep the HSU batters at bay in the bottom of the frame.
 
After TAMIU put a player on second and third with back-to-back doubles in the top of the fourth, Krystal Lindsey came in to relieve Bittinger. With two on, Lindsey was able to get HSU out a jam, claiming two put-outs and a strikeout to keep play at a deadlock, 2-2. With the huge defensive stand, the Reddies threatened once again in the bottom of the fourth, yet to no avail.
 
With Henderson issuing a three up, three down half inning for the second time in the contest in the top of the fifth, the tied game finally came to an end when Monreal once again brought home a fellow Reddie, this time Savannah Hughes, to claim her third RBI of the morning on the back-end of a Hughes singles and Moore double to seize its first lead, 3-2.
 
The Dust Devils saw HSU's one run and raised them two runs, however, in their next at-bat as two hits and two runs later, TAMIU retook the lead in the top of the sixth, 4-3. With the score staying as such until the seventh inning, one more insurance run for the designated visiting team gave the game its final score, 5-3.
 
Game 2: St. Mary's 13, Henderson State 1
Off the near victory, the Reddies fell early to the Rattlers of St. Mary's and could never recover. After STMU went ahead 9-0 before play reached the third inning, Johnson registered the team's only RBI of the second contest, scoring Hughes after her single made it through the right side. Nothing more was to be had, however, as the scoreboard read 9-1 moving into the fourth inning.
 
St. Mary's poured on another four runs in the bottom of the third as that would be what the final score would reflect with the game ending after four and a half innings, 13-1. Henderson only saw three more hits in the remaining two at-bats.