Tusculum College tied a program single-game record with four
home runs in a 6-4 victory over Erskine College in game two of the
teams' non-conference softball doubleheader Tuesday afternoon. The
Pioneers won the opener 7-3 behind a three-hitter from Elizabeth
Johnson, who tossed a pair of complete-game wins.
The Pioneers (25-14) host Wingate in a South Atlantic Conference
doubleheader Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Red Edmonds Field. The
Flying Fleet (8-13-1) are on the road Wednesday for a Conference
Carolinas twinbill at North Greenville.
Game 1: Tusculum 7, Erskine 3
(Box Score)
Lindsey Umberger hit a two-run home run and Kaytlin Stroinski
finished 2-for-4 with a double and two runs batted in for the
Pioneers, who took advantage of six errors from the Flying Fleet to
score four unearned runs.
Larissa Shannon accounted for Erskine's runs with a three-run home
run in the bottom of the sixth after Tusculum had taken a 7-0 lead
behind three-run innings in the fourth and sixth.
The Pioneers managed just one hit over the first three innings
against Flying Fleet starter Kelsey Spurrier, before tallying three
runs in the fourth on three hits. With one out, Stroinski doubled
and later scored on a groundout by Katie Brennan for a 1-0 Tusculum
lead. After a walk to Paige Sneed, Umberger socked her second home
run of the season to push the Pioneers on top 3-0.
Tusculum tacked on a run in the fifth as Carolyn Williamson reached
on an error and later scored on a misplay following a single by
Brennan. The Pioneers scored three more runs in the sixth as Nicole
Ball and Samantha Silver singled with one out, and Ball would later
score on back-to-back errors. Stroinski followed with a two-run
single to drive home Silver and Williamson and give the Pioneers a
7-0 lead.
Erskine was limited to one hit by Johnson into the sixth, when a
single by Kaitlyn White and an error set up a three-run home run by
Shannon with two outs that cut the margin to 7-3. However, Johnson
retired the final four batters of the game to lock up the victory
for the Pioneers.
Silver finished 2-for-4 with a run scored for the Pioneers, while
Williamson scored a pair of runs out of the leadoff spot. Sneed had
a double in addition to her walk in four trips to the plate.
Johnson (11-8) struck out four and did not walk a batter for the
Pioneers in her complete-game effort. Spurrier (6-7) allowed eight
hits and seven runs (three earned) in 5 2/3 innings with five
strikeouts and a walk before giving way to White for the final 1
1/3 innings.
Game 2: Tusculum 6, Erskine 4
(Box Score)
The Pioneers tied the program record for home runs in a game which
was set exactly 18 years earlier, on April 2, 1995 against
Gardner-Webb. Stroinski, Umberger, Sneed and Alix Kruel all went
deep for the Pioneers, who piled up 11 hits as a team in the
game.
Ericka McCarson accounted for all four runs for the Flying Fleet
with a pair of two-run home runs, but Johnson otherwise kept the
Erskine lineup in check to earn her second victory of the
afternoon.
Kruel finished 3-for-3 for the Pioneers while Sneed was 2-for-4 for
an attack that saw eight of its nine starters reach via base
hit.
The Pioneers opened the scoring in the second off Flying Fleet
starter Heather Richey as Sneed connected for her first home run of
the season to lead off the frame. Kruel duplicated the feat to lead
off the third inning to give Tusculum a 2-0 lead, and after a
one-out single by Miranda Beeler, Stroinski hit her fifth homer of
the year to double the Pioneer advantage to 4-0.
Erskine got two runs back against Johnson in the bottom of the
third as Whitney Brown led off with a single and McCarson slammed
her third home run of the season to leave the Pioneers ahead by a
4-2 margin.
In the fifth, Brennan walked with one out and scored when Umberger
hit her second home run of the day, a two-run shot that gave
Tusculum a 6-2 lead. Brown and McCarson duplicated their earlier
performance in the bottom of the fifth, as a single by Brown was
followed by a two-run shot from McCarson that trimmed the Tusculum
lead to 6-4.
McCarson came to bat as the tying run with two outs in the bottom
of the seventh but was retired on a fielder's choice grounder to
Kruel at second to end the game.
Johnson (12-8) allowed seven hits and four earned run while
striking out five and not walking a batter. Richey (0-1) was tagged
for all four home runs and eight total hits in five innings of work
for Erskine, with four strikeouts and two walks.