Tusculum College was eliminated from the Food Lion South
Atlantic Conference Softball Tournament with a pair of losses on
Friday. The Pioneers were defeated 2-0 by Catawba in an afternoon
game and lost 6-3 in eight innings to Carson-Newman in the final
game of the day Friday night.
Catawba 2, Tusculum 0
(Box
Score)
Caroline Turner and Carley Tysinger combined on a five-hitter and
Taylor Adams knocked in the game's only runs with a two-run double
in the second inning to lift the Indians to the winners bracket
final against Anderson.
Turner (5-5) allowed three hits and struck out one over 4 1/3
innings before giving way to Tysinger, who threw over 270 pitches
and set a Division II record with 27 strikeouts in a 6-3 win in 16
innings over Lenoir-Rhyne on Thursday night. Tysinger struck out
four and worked around a pair of leadoff hits in the sixth and
seventh innings for the save.
Kelly King (19-12) was the hard-luck loser for the Pioneers, after
allowing five hits and two earned runs while striking out one in
her 30th complete game in as many starts this season.
The Pioneers had several scoring chances in the game, but were
unable to come up with the timely hit. Tusculum left seven runners
on base, including two on in the second and fifth innings.
After a scoreless first inning, Catawba broke through with two runs
in the top of the second. A leadoff walk to Katherine Shumaker was
followed by a single from Sydney Hyder. After a grounder moved the
runners, Adams hit a liner that landed on the chalk down the
left-field line and drove home both runners for a 2-0 Indians
lead.
Tusculum came back in the bottom of the inning as Courtney
Hutcherson drew a leadoff walk and Katie Brennan followed with a
one-out base on balls. However, Turner induced a pair of popups to
end the Pioneer rally.
After Catawba left two runners on base in the third, the next rally
came in the Tusculum fourth as Kaytlin Stroinski led off by
reaching on an error and Hutcherson followed with a blooper behind
third base for a single. The Indians were able to escape as a
caught stealing was followed by a pair of outfield fly balls to
keep the Catawba lead at 2-0.
Catawba threatened again in the fifth on infield singles by Kelsey
Burgess and Holli Chandler, but grounders to Stroinski at short and
Alix Kruel at second helped King get out of the inning
unscathed.
Tusculum came back with a one-out rally in the fifth, triggered by
an infield single by Paige Sneed with one out. Kruel then followed
with a single to left to put runners at first and second, but
Tysinger came on in relief and chalked up a pair of strikeouts to
preserve the two-run margin.
A leadoff single by Stroinski in the sixth was followed by a bunt
into scoring position, but a popup and a strikeout stranded her at
second. In their final chance in the seventh, the Pioneers got a
leadoff double off the fence by Nicole Ball, but she was unable to
advance as the Indians closed out the win.
No player in the game had more than one hit, but Shumaker reached
twice on a pair of walks from King. Hutcherson also reached twice
on a walk and a single to go along with a sacrifice bunt.
Carson-Newman 6, Tusculum 3 (8 innings)
(Box
Score)
Haley Taylor hit a go-ahead two-run triple and later scored on a
sacrifice fly as the Eagles scored three times in the top of the
eighth to break a 3-3 tie and eliminate the Pioneers from the SAC
Tournament.
The Eagles (34-17) will play Wingate in an elimination game on
Saturday, while the Pioneers saw their season come to an end with a
record of 31-24.
Each of the game's first eight runs scored via extra-base hit, as a
two-run triple in the second inning by Carolyn Williamson was
countered by a three-run homer in the top of the third by the
Eagles' Brittany Hefner. Tusculum tied the game in the fifth on an
RBI triple by Stroinski, but left runners in scoring position in
both the fifth and sixth innings.
Cassie Lyons (10-2) earned the victory for Carson-Newman after
allowing three earned runs on seven hits while striking out three.
King (19-13) took the loss in her final collegiate appearance,
surrendering 11 hits and six runs (five earned) while striking out
three and walking a pair.
Carson-Newman threatened in each of the first two innings, getting
a two-out triple from Sara Kelley in the first and a one-out triple
from Caitlyn Lance in the second but failing to score each
time.
Tusculum grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second as Tavi
Parris was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a sacrifice.
Following a two-out walk to Kruel, Williamson delivered both
runners with a triple to left-center and a 2-0 Tusculum lead.
The Eagles came back in the top of the third as Kelli Hensley
singled, moved to second on a sacrifice and took third on a single
by Kelley. Hefner then hit a three-run home run to center field to
swing the lead in Carson-Newman's favor at 3-2.
After threatening in the fourth following a two-out double by
Brennan, the Pioneers knotted the game in the fifth. Williamson led
off the inning with a strikeout but reached first on a wild pitch.
After being bunted to second, she scored on a triple by Stroinski
that evened the game at 3-3.
The Pioneers got a runner to second in the sixth as Parris led off
with a single and moved up on a sacrifice, but were unable to bring
her home. Both teams had runners in the seventh but neither
advanced past first, and the game went into extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, Jessica Morgan was hit by a pitch to lead
off the inning and moved up when Hayley Burnette reached safely on
a misplayed bunt. Taylor then tripled to right field to give the
Eagles a 5-3 lead, and Hensley followed with a sacrifice fly for a
6-3 advantage. Tusculum was retired in order in the bottom half of
the eighth.
Hensley finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored out of the
leadoff spot for the Eagles, while Kelley was 3-for-5 with a run
and Lance finished 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk.
For the Pioneers, Stroinski and Hutcherson each went 2-for-4 while
Kruel walked twice and scored a run.