Mars Hill deals Softball a pair of Losses

MARS HILL, N.C. --- The Tusculum College softball team was dealt a pair of losses by Mars Hill University on Wednesday afternoon. The Pioneers dropped the South Atlantic Conference doubleheader by scores of 7-3 and 4-1. Treslyn Reese smashed her eighth homerun of the season for TC in the first contest.

Tusculum falls to 15-19 overall for the season and 5-11 in the SAC while MHU improves to 11-16 and 7-7 in the league. TC will be back in action tomorrow afternoon when they play host to non-conference foe Lees-McRae College for 3 p.m. doubleheader

Erin Vickery broke a 3-3 tie with a walkoff grand slam as Mars Hill rallied for a 7-3 victory in the first game of the doubleheader.

Trailing 2-1 as the sixth inning began, Brooke Rhodes opened the frame with a leadoff single for TC. After a pitching change, Reese smashed a pitch off new Lion pitcher Chelsea Broughman over the left field wall to give Tusculum a 3-2 lead.

However, Broughman helped her own cause with a double to begin the bottom of the sixth inning and later came around to score on Ellen Tillman's RBI single that knotted the game at 3-3. After working around a one-out walk in the top of the seventh, MHU headed into the bottom half of the frame with a chance to win.

Aleshia Peek drew a leadoff walk which prompted the Pioneers to replace starter Cayla Cecil (1-2) with Eliza Davis. Davis walked the first batter she faced before Robyn Stanek loaded the bases with a single. Vickery then stepped up to the plate and quickly ended the game with the grand slam.

Robin Stoner drove in the first Pioneer run with an RBI single in the top of the fourth inning. Reese was 2-for-2 at the plate with the pair of RBIs while Kaytlin Stroinski was 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Vickery finished with six RBIs on two hits.

Broughman (3-5) earned the win in the circle with just one earned run and one hit in two innings in relief. Cecil gave up two earned runs on three hits while handing out three walks.

Game 2: Mars Hill 4, Tusculum 1 (Box Score)

The Lions completed the doubleheader sweep with a 4-1 victory in the second contest. Taylor Hussey earned the win in the circle for MHU.

Nicole Ball drove in the Pioneers' lone run after drawing a bases-loaded walk off Broughman in the top of the seventh. TC trailed 4-1 after Ball's walk but still had the bases full with just one out after Rhodes and Stoner tallied singles and Reese reached on an error. However, Broughman earned a save after retiring Cecil and Carolyn Williamson to end the contest.

Davis (8-8) pitched the complete game for TC and was saddled with the loss after giving up four earned runs on six hits while recording a strikeout. Hussey (3-4) didn't give up an earned run after scattering five hits with three strikeouts.

The Lions pushed their first run across in the bottom of the fourth and put up three more in the bottom of the sixth with one run coming off a solo shot by Stanek. TC had five singles in the game including two off the bats of Alix Kruel and Bailey Culler.