The Tusculum College softball team extended its winning streak
to six games with a doubleheader sweep at Francis Marion University
on Thursday. The Pioneers (26-20) won the opener 4-1 and outlasted
the Patriots (22-24) 7-6 in nine innings in a marathon nightcap to
win their third straight twinbill.
The Pioneers continue their South Carolina swing on Saturday when
they play a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader at Coker,
beginning at 1 p.m.
Game 1: Tusculum 4, Francis Marion 1
(Box
Score)
Patriots starter Taylor Luff allowed three hits and tied a school
record with 17 strikeouts, but two of the three hits were home runs
off the bats of Courtney Hutcherson and Alix Kruel. Kruel's blast,
a three-run shot in the fifth, gave the Pioneers a 4-0 lead in
support of Eliza Davis (5-7), who allowed four hits and struck out
two in the win.
Luff struck out the first six batters before Hutcherson led off the
third by driving her third home run of the season over the
left-field fence for a 1-0 Tusculum lead. In the fifth, a one-out
error followed by a two-out walk to Paige Sneed set up Kruel for
her first home run of the year and third clutch hit in as many
games, which pushed the Pioneers on top 4-0.
Davis did not allow a hit until Jessie Sims delivered a two-out RBI
single in the fifth to trim the Pioneer lead to 4-1. The Patriots
had two hits in the sixth and put two runners on base in the
seventh, but Davis got out of trouble both times to finish off the
victory.
All nine Pioneer batters struck out at least once against Luff
(12-13), with Hutcherson the only player to reach base more than
once as she drew a walk to go along with her home run. Lindsey
Brown was the lone Patriot to reach twice as she picked up a hit
and a walk despite not entering the game until the fifth
inning.
Game 2: Tusculum 7, Francis Marion 6 (9 innings)
(Box Score)
In a back-and-forth game, the Pioneers escaped with the
extra-inning win despite the Patriots having the tying or winning
runs in scoring position in each of the last three innings. Sneed's
fourth RBI of the game in the top of the ninth inning drove home
Nicole Ball with the winning run in a contest that saw the Pioneers
outhit by a 13-6 margin and allow five unearned runs. However, the
Patriots stranded 15 runners on base including the bases loaded
three times.
Sneed finished 2-for-3 with a double to go along with her four
RBIs, while Ball, Hutcherson and Miranda Beeler scored two runs
apiece in the win for the Pioneers. Mikala Barnhart paced the
Patriots by going 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored, while
Taylor Barrineau, Shelby Mathews and pitcher Katie Carnes had two
hits apiece.
Rachel Medley (5-4) worked eight innings to pick up the victory for
the Pioneers, allowing six runs (one earned) on 13 hits with four
strikeouts and two walks. Kelly King pitched a scoreless ninth for
her first save, getting the final out on a grounder to Ball at
third with runners at first and third. Carnes (10-11) gave up seven
runs (three earned) on six hits with seven strikeouts and a
walk.
The Pioneers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first as Beeler reached on a
bunt single with one out and later scored on a bunt by Kaytlin
Stroinski. The Patriots responded with a run on four singles in the
bottom of the first, scoring on an RBI single by Barrineau, but
Medley retired Carnes on a grounder with the bases loaded to retire
the side.
Tusculum grabbed a 3-1 lead in the top of the second without
benefit of a hit, as Ball walked and Hutcherson reached on an
error. Ball then scored on a wild pitch and Hutcherson came home on
a sacrifice fly by Sneed for a 3-1 advantage. Francis Marion
responded with three runs in the bottom of the second on an error
and a single by Ashley Burney to go on top 4-3.
The Patriots scored again in the third on an error to go ahead 5-3,
but Medley avoided further damage by getting Burney on a fly ball
with the bases loaded for the final out. In the fourth, the
Pioneers came back and tied the game 5-5 as Tavi Parris was hit by
a pitch, Hutcherson singled and both scored on a double by Sneed
that knotted the score.
The Pioneers nearly took the lead in the sixth as Ball doubled with
two outs, then tried to score following an error on a ground ball
by Hutcherson. However, left fielder Briana Barzola threw out Ball
at the plate to keep the game tied at 5-5.
Francis Marion nearly won the game in the seventh as Barrineau and
Carnes led off with back-to-back singles. After a forceout,
Barnhart reached on an line single off Sneed's glove at first to
load the bases with one out. Barzola then hit a grounder to Kruel
at second that she threw to the plate for the force on Carnes, on a
call that was initially ruled safe but then changed to out. Medley
then retired Megan Smith on a grounder to Ball at third to send the
game to extra innings.
In the international tiebreak, the Pioneers scored quickly as
Beeler came around on an error on a bunt by Stroinski to give
Tusculum a 7-6 lead. The Patriots used a Tusculum error to put
runners at second and third with nobody out in their half of the
inning, and Brown delivered a single to left that scored Smith with
the tying run. However, Williamson threw out Kristie Hanewinckel at
the plate to preserved the deadlock and extend the contest to a
ninth inning.
Tusculum grabbed the lead for good in the ninth as Ball started on
second, went to third on a bunt by Hutcherson and scored on a
single by Sneed for a 7-6 lead. In the Francis Marion ninth, King
came on and retired Carnes on a sacrifice with Myers moving to
third. After a strikeout and a walk, Barzola grounded out to Ball
at third for the final out.