A two-run 10th inning in game two enabled 19th-ranked
Lenoir-Rhyne University to escape with a 4-3 victory and sweep a
South Atlantic Conference doubleheader at Tusculum College
Wednesday.
The Bears (40-11, 12-4 SAC) won the opener over the Pioneers
(29-20, 9-7 SAC) by a score of 5-0 as Dawon Millwood fired a
no-hitter and Jessica Fellmeth hit a two-run home run.
Tusculum wraps up its conference schedule on Saturday with a
doubleheader at Anderson, beginning at 3 p.m.
Game 1: Lenoir-Rhyne 5, Tusculum
0
(Box Score)
Millwood needed just 74 pitches to finish off her gem, surrendering
just two baserunners. Katie Brennan drew a four-pitch walk with one
out in the fifth but was erased on a double play, and Kaytlin
Stroinski was hit by a pitch with two outs in the seventh.
"We hit some hard shots, but we hit them right at people. Millwood
had a tough week last week, but she just mastered us today," said
Pioneer head coach Fred Gillum.
The Bears broke a 0-0 tie with two runs in the top of the fifth, as
Tameron Sealey scored on a fielder's choice grounder and Jody
Mizelle also came home on an errant throw. Lenoir-Rhyne had loaded
the bases with one out in the fourth on two singles and a walk, but
Tusculum starter Elizabeth Johnson posted back-to-back strikeouts
to end the rally.
Lenoir-Rhyne tacked on three insurance runs in the seventh on a
two-run home run by Fellmeth, her 11th of the season, and an RBI
single by Brittany Courson.
Johnson (24-10) gave up five runs (two earned) on 10 hits for the
Pioneers, while striking out four and walking one. Coursen, Haily
Jarman and Sarah Atkins all went 2-for-4 at the plate off Johnson
for the Bears.
Game 2: Lenoir-Rhyne 4, Tusculum 3
(10 innings)
(Box Score)
Millwood was one out away from her second shutout of the day, but
Tusculum's Brooke Lauritzen came through with the game-tying pinch
single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game
at 1-1.
After a controversial eighth inning, Lenoir-Rhyne went ahead 2-1 in
the ninth on an infield single by Mizelle, only to see Tusculum
knot the score in the bottom of the frame on a fielder's choice
grounder.
The Bears took the lead for good with two runs in the top of the
10th on a wild pitch by Stroinski and an RBI double by Megan
Laxton. The Pioneers answered with a run in the bottom of the frame
on an RBI single by Katie Gross, but Millwood retired the final two
batters to end the 2 hour, 46 minute marathon.
Tusculum came through with its first hit of the day off Millwood as
Ashley Burke led off the second with an infield single. Meanwhile,
Stroinski handcuffed the Bears until the seventh when Sealey led
off with an infield single and later scored on a sacrifice fly by
Carlee Carpenter for a 1-0 Lenoir-Rhyne lead.
Down to their final strike three times in the bottom of the inning,
the Pioneers scratched out the tying run off Millwood. Lindsey
Umberger started the two-out rally with a single down the
left-field line, and Lindsay Bridges and Gross followed with walks,
the latter capping an 11-pitch at-bat to load the bases.
Lauritzen then lined a single into center field to score Umberger
with the tying run, but pinch-runner Alix Kruel was cut down at the
plate by Sealey to send the game into extra innings and the
international tiebreaker.
After Lenoir-Rhyne was held scoreless in the top of the eighth, the
Pioneers advanced their runner to third base with a sacrifice bunt.
However, a protest was lodged that Tusculum had put the improper
runner on second base to start the inning. Following a discussion
of nearly 15 minutes, the runner was ruled out as an illegal
substitute and ejected from the game.
The Pioneers nearly escaped unscathed in the top of the ninth, but
Mizelle reached when her grounder toward the left side took a bad
hop and caught the Tusculum infielders off-balance, allowing
Coursen to score the go-ahead run. Tusculum came back with a run to
tie the game 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth as Ashley Bagley moved
to third on a bunt and scored on Burke's grounder to short.
Lenoir-Rhyne broke through for two runs in the top of the 10th as
Carpenter scored on a wild pitch and Fellmeth came home on an RBI
double by Laxton for a 4-2 Bears lead. Umberger scored on an RBI
single by Gross to cut the margin to 4-3 in the bottom of the
inning, but Millwood got the final two outs on routine fly balls to
lock up her 27th win of the season.
"Millwood really kept us off-balance, and Kaytlin had a great
outing for us too. For us to go extra innings, it speaks well of
how we can compete with the number-one team in the league," said
Gillum. "I think the one thing our kids will take away from this is
that we can play with anybody."
Stroinski (2-7) worked a career-high 10 innings for the Pioneers,
giving up two earned runs on nine hits while striking out five and
walking three. Millwood, who threw 149 pitches, whiffed four and
issued three walks while surrendering five hits over 10 innings for
the Bears.
Fellmeth paced the Bears at the plate by going 2-for-4 with a walk,
while Laxton was 2-for-5 with a run batted in. Gross led Tusculum
by going 1-for-3 with a walk in four trips to the plate.