GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Anna Alloway became the first player in Tusculum softball's NCAA era to record her 200th hit during Thursday's (Mar. 3) doubleheader with Lees-McRae. The Pioneers came-from-behind for a 5-4 game one win, followed by a five-inning run-rule (8-0) in the nightcap.
Tusculum (13-6) opens its South Atlantic Conference schedule on Saturday (Mar. 5) at Wingate. The twin-bill has a 1 p.m. first pitch scheduled.
Game 1: Tusculum 5, Lees-McRae 4
Chloe Freischmidt's lone hit against the Bobcats drove in the eventual winning run to close out the halted contest, which began on February 26. Alyssa Suits tallied a pair of RBI, while Mya Maddox collected two hits and two steals.
Lees-McRae struck first in the opening frame with back-to-back extra-base hits. All three outs, and five of the first six, recorded were via Emily Sappington strikeouts.
Katelynn Hodges walked and stole second in the bottom half of the inning, but every Pioneer out was swinging for strike three.
Freischmidt got TU on the board to tie game one. She drew a walk and advanced 60 feet on a wild pitch. The catcher moved up one more on a Kallyn Newport groundout. Freischmidt then safely slid home in the mud after another wild pitch.
The LMC lead-off batter in the third stood at third after a walk, steal, and wild pitch. The game was paused at this point in the middle of an at-bat due to sleet and unsafe playing conditions. Fast forward to Thursday (Mar. 3), the batter reached on an error and stole second. A bases-clearing triple and a RBI groundout earned the Bobcats a 4-1 advantage on the scoreboard.
Tusculum responded quickly to close the gap. Kiley Longmire was hit by a pitch and moved up on a wild pitch. Maddox sprinted for an infield single to put runners at the corners. Maddox stole her team-high 11th base to get into scoring position. Suits sent a shot back up the middle with both runners crossing the plate.
The Pioneers had the tying run 60 feet away in the fourth. Hayley Lazo singled through the right side and Makayla Bush entered to pinch run. She stole second and reached third on a Newport sacrifice bunt for the first out. The next two batters could not get the ball out of the infield.
The Bobcats had a chance to extend their 4-3 advantage with a runner on third in the next inning but did not convert.
TU was able to capitalize in the fifth to take the lead for the first time. Maddox singled on a lead-off bunt and made it all the way to third after a steal and throwing error. However, she was thrown out at the plate on an Alloway fielder's choice. Suits drew her second free-pass of the season, while Madison McGinnis entered to run for Alloway. Freischmidt cracked her double to right center to put the Pioneers ahead for good.
A well-executed double play by the Tusculum infield closed out the sixth and a fly ball to Alloway clinched the TU comeback.
Sappington (6-3) was on the winning side of the decision. The left-hander tossed her eighth complete game on 110 pitches, racking up eight strikeouts with five hits, four runs (two earned), and two walks.
Game 2: Tusculum 8, Lees-McRae 0 (5 inns.)
TU scored in three of the five innings played to run-rule an opponent for the second-straight series. Both Maddox and Newport were a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate. Ireland Cavanaugh (5-1) threw her first collegiate shutout on just 66 pitches.
Two of Lees-McRae's five errors came in the first inning, which aided Tusculum to gain an early advantage. Maddox singled to the shortstop, who proceeded to airmail her throw to first, allowing the Pioneer centerfielder to stand at second base. Alloway outran a fielding error to put runners at the corners. Longmire tripled for the second time this week to score her teammates.
Another pair of LMC errors led to two more Tusculum runs. Newport singled through the left side, stole second, and reached third after a Hannah Hughes sacrifice bunt. Hodges hit a fly ball to left field for a sacrifice fly, buying Newport enough time to scamper home. Maddox wound up at first after she was hit by a pitch. The Bobcat catcher attempted to throw her out at second on a steal attempt but the ball ended up in centerfield. Maddox got up and ran to third when the centerfielder's throw ricocheted off her foot into the Pioneer dugout. She then jogged home.
Lees-McRae had its first runner in scoring position in the third, but a foul ball was caught by Newport down the left field line.
A lead-off triple in the fourth was the next opportunity for the visitors, but Cavanaugh gave them no chance to score with a pair of groundouts to the left side and a swinging strikeout.
Runners were on the corners in the next inning and Hughes caught a popup at second for the third out.
Up 4-0 in the fifth, Tusculum scored four more to run-rule the Bobcats. Hodges led off with a double to left and scored after the pitcher's attempt to throw Maddox out at first failed. Maddox slid into second for a steal and moved up a bag on an Angela Masiello sacrifice bunt. Alloway's 200th career hit was well-struck for a double. McGinnis came in for speed on the basepath and Ashley Harbison knocked a pinch hit single to put runners on the corners. Bush was selected to run at first and Emma Schaad came off the bench for the at bat. Bush and McGinnis perfectly executed a double steal for the seventh run as Schaad squared to bunt. Her first collegiate hit was a RBI single through the left side to finish out the sweep of the Bobcats as the team stormed the field to celebrate.
Cavanaugh relied on her defense to pick up another win. She struck out only two Bobcats, surrendering four hits and one walk for her fifth win of 2022.
