- The Tusculum College softball team took over sole possession
of first place in the South Atlantic Conference with a 7-4 win over
Wingate University in game two of their doubleheader Saturday
afternoon at Red Edmonds Field. The Bulldogs won the opener 8-4 by
scoring four runs in both the sixth and seventh innings.
The Pioneers (26-15, 10-4 SAC) are a half-game ahead of Anderson
(9-4 SAC) with four regular-season conference games remaining.
Tusculum plays at Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday at 3 p.m. in a SAC
doubleheader while the Bulldogs (23-18-1, 5-9 SAC) host Catawba on
Wednesday at 2 p.m.
Game 1: Wingate 8, Tusculum 4
(Newspaper Box)
Wingate broke open a scoreless game with four runs in the sixth,
then added four more in the seventh for insurance to capture the
opener.
The Bulldogs finished with 16 hits in the game, including three
apiece from Hayley Whitley and Kasey Pendley, while five other
players had two hits apiece. Over the last two innings, Wingate
plated eight runs on 11 hits after being held scoreless on five
hits through five innings.
Tusculum received three hits from Miranda Beeler and Carolyn
Williamson singled, walked and scored twice, but the Pioneers left
the go-ahead run in scoring position in both the fifth and sixth
innings against Bulldog starter Stacey Houser.
Wingate had the first good scoring opportunity in the second
inning, putting runners at second and third with one out. However,
Tusculum starter Elizabeth Johnson got out of trouble on a
fielder's choice grounder to second and a liner to left that saw
Williamson make a sliding catch.
The Bulldogs had runners at first and second with one out in the
fourth and at third with one out in the fifth, but were turned away
both times by Johnson. Tusculum had a golden opportunity to take
the lead in the fifth as Lindsey Umberger led off with a triple to
the center field fence, but Houser escaped trouble via a popup,
comebacker and popup.
In the sixth, Wingate took a 1-0 lead as Taylor Laskey belted a
one-out solo home run to deep left-center. The Bulldogs followed
with four straight singles to take a 2-0 lead on an RBI hit by
Kelsey Maffucci. With two outs, Brittany Loudermilt delivered a
two-run single off Pioneer reliever Kelly King to double the
Bulldogs' lead to 4-0.
Tusculum got right back in the game in the bottom of the sixth, as
Williamson and Beeler reached on back-to-back bunt singles. Kaytlin
Stroinski was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Katie Brennan,
who was safe when the throw home on a grounder to third was dropped
for an error. Williamson scored on the play to put the Pioneers on
the board at 4-1.
After a popup and a strikeout, Nicole Ball came through with a
two-run single into left field to bring home Beeler and Stroinski
and cut the Wingate lead to 4-3. Houser was able to preserve the
Bulldog lead as she got the final out of the inning on a popup to
second.
Wingate tacked on four runs in the top of the seventh, including an
RBI double by Kayla Saliga, an RBI single by Maffucci and a two-run
single by Whitley. The Pioneers came back with a run in the bottom
of the seventh as Williamson walked with one out, took second on an
infield single by Beeler and scored on a two-out double by
Brennan.
Houser (16-9) allowed one earned run and eight hits while striking
out four and walking two in a complete-game performance for
Wingate. Johnson (12-9) surrendered 11 hits and five runs in 6 1/3
innings with three strikeouts and one walk.
Game 2: Tusculum 7, Wingate 4
(Newspaper Box)
Brennan and Umberger hit home runs to stake the Pioneers to a 7-0
lead, which held despite a late rally from the Bulldogs that saw
them score four runs in the sixth inning.
Brennan's home run in the second gave the Pioneers a 2-0 lead, and
Umberger's three-run blast in the fifth chased Houser from the
circle and extended the Tusculum advantage to 6-0. Umberger
finished 3-for-3 with a double, home run and four runs batted in
for the Pioneers in the win.
Tusculum enjoyed an 11-7 edge in hits in the game over Wingate,
with eight of the nine starters recording at least one hit in the
game. Ball went 2-for-3 with a run scored and Stroinski was 1-for-3
with two runs scored in the victory.
King (11-6) started and went the distance for the Pioneers,
allowing four runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and a walk.
Houser (16-10) gave up seven hits and six runs in 4 2/3 innings to
take the loss for the Bulldogs.
Tusculum took a 2-0 lead in the second as Umberger led off with a
double to left and scored when Brennan hit a two-out home run over
the fence in left-center for her fourth round-tripper of the
year.
The Pioneers added a run in the fourth as Stroinski reached second
on a double that fell in behind second base, then scored on a
single by Umberger for a 3-0 Tusculum lead.
In the fifth, the Pioneers scored four runs after there were two
outs and nobody on base. Williamson singled and Stroinski was hit
by a pitch. Umberger then hit a 2-2 pitch over the fence in center
field for her fourth homer of the year and a 6-0 Pioneer lead.
Miranda Paul relieved Houser and gave up a single to Ball and a
single to Paige Sneed, with Ball scoring when the ball was
misplayed in the outfield for an error.
The Bulldogs fought back with four runs in the top of the sixth to
pull within 7-4, scoring on a groundout, a two-run triple by Alexis
Burrell and an RBI single by Laskey. Wingate threatened again in
the seventh as Maffucci doubled with two outs, but King retired the
side on a comebacker to close out the win.