Softball earns Doubleheader split with Lander

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum College softball team earned a doubleheader split with Lander University after dropping the first contest 8-4 but winning the second contest 9-1. Cayla Cecil and Kaytlin Stroinski paced the Pioneer offense with two hits in each game.

Tusculum's record now stands at 8-8 on the season as winners of five of its last six games, while Lander falls to 8-10. The Pioneers are scheduled to return to the field on Saturday when they play host to Wingate University in both team's South Atlantic Conference opener. The twinbill is set to begin at 1 p.m.

Reychel Webster had a key three-RBI double in the fifth inning, and the Bearcats capitalized on two Pioneer errors in an 8-4 victory in the first game of the doubleheader. Jenna Restivo hit her fourth homerun in as many games for TC.

Lander's Amanda Chastain (4-4) earned the victory in the circle despite giving up three runs and three walks. Rachel Medley (3-4) took the loss after surrendering five earned runs and four walks in just two and two thirds innings of work. Cecil pitched four and a third innings and scattered four hits with a strikeout.

Cecil was 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and an RBI. Stroinski drove in a pair of runs with her two base knocks, while Carolyn Williamson also recorded a 2-for-4 effort from the dish. Halie Sorrow led the Bearcats with two hits.

Lander was first on the scoreboard with two runs in the top of the second off a throwing error by Medley. The Bearcats struck for five runs in their half of the third, the big blow being Webster's bases-clearing double. LU added another run in the top of the sixth to take an 8-0 advantage.

TC's bats finally came alive in the bottom of the sixth inning. Cecil doubled home Bailed Culler, who walked earlier in the frame, for the first Pioneer run. The Pioneers loaded the bases on back-to-back walks by Alix Kruel and Nicole Ball before Stroinski brought two runs home on a single down the left field line. Pinch hitter Robin Stoner ended the inning with a flyout to right field, but Tusculum cut the deficit to 8-3.

After Cecil sat the Bearcats down in order in the top half of the seventh, Restivo opened the bottom half of the frame with a leadoff homer. Brooke Rhodes followed it up with a single, but TC's rally fell short as they suffered the four-run loss and ended a four-game winning streak.

Game 2: Tusculum 9, Lander 1 (5) (Box Score)

Stroinski had a homer in a triple while scoring three runs in Tusculum's 9-1 five-inning victory over Lander in game two that salvaged a doubleheader split.

Eliza Davis (4-3) pitched all five frames for TC and earned the win after allowing just one earned run with three strikeouts. Hannah Newton (5-5) was dealt the loss after giving up seven earned runs and a pair of walks.

Eight of the nine Pioneers that stepped into the batter's box recorded a hit. Cecil and Treslyn Reese each had a pair of hits and an RBI, while Ball drove in two runs on a double. Williamson had an RBI triple, while Culler and Restivo both brought in a run with a double.

Tusculum struck first with two runs in the bottom of the first. Stroinski and Williamson got things started with back-to-back triples that gave TC an early 1-0 advantage. Reese later brought home Williamson with an RBI bunt single.

The Pioneers continued to swing the bats well and put up five more runs in the bottom of the third. Stroinski had a leadoff homer to center field, while Cecil had a single and later stole home. After reaching on a fielder's choice, Restivo came all the way around from first to score on a double by Culler. Ball brought home Rhodes and Culler with her two-RBI double later in the frame.

After keeping the Bearcats off the scoreboard for the fourth-straight inning, TC scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Cecil had a beautiful RBI bunt single that scored Stroinski, who drew a leadoff walk and stole second. Restivo later doubled-home Cecil to give the Pioneers a 9-0 lead through four complete.

Destiny Clyde opened the top of the fifth inning with a single, and came around to score on an RBI double by Emily Marousek to put Lander on the board. Later in the inning, Davis loaded the bases on a walk and a hit batter, but she induced two pop ups to close out the inning, which ended the game with the Pioneers holding an eight-run lead through five frames.