HARDEEVILLE, S.C. --- The Tusculum University softball team halved its opening day at the Lowcountry Classic, hosted by USC Beaufort. The Pioneers downed Erskine before falling to the Sand Sharks in extra innings.
Tusculum (1-1) continues its stay in Hardeeville on February 3. The Pioneers will face Erskine and USC Beaufort in back-to-back games, starting at 1 p.m.
Game 1: Tusculum 5, Erskine 3
Freshmen Abby Hunter and Natalie Spaitis stood out in their collegiate debuts to earn Tusculum the opening day win. Hunter drove in the winning runs, while Spaitis held the Flying Fleet scoreless to allow the Pioneer to rally.
Tusculum started the scoring in the second. With two outs, Riley Hope doubled down the left field line, followed by Brooke Smith bunting for a single to put runners on the corners. Smith proceeded to swipe second, while Hope scored on the errant throw back to the plate.
Erskine tied the contest after a Tusculum miscue. With runners on the corners, the Fleet scored after a pick-off attempt after a strikeout went awry.
In the fourth, Erskine pulled ahead via three-straight hits, taking a 3-1 edge over TU.
Hunter led off the fifth with a bunt single, quickly stealing second. Sammy Jimenez and Claire Smeltzer, two of the Pioneers' preseason all-conference picks, came through. The pair went back-to-back with two-baggers to tie the contest.
For the second-straight inning, Hunter made an impact. Maddie McBride singled, with Danielle Jason entering to pinch run and stealing second. Jason advanced to third on a groundout, followed by Smith drawing a walk. Smith stole her second base of the game to put two Pioneers in scoring position. Hunter drilled a double to left field as Tusculum regained its early lead.
Erskine attempted a rally in the bottom of the seventh, but the TU defense threw out a greedy runner to close the book on the Fleet.
Spaitis (1-0) picked up her first collegiate victory in a relief role. The right-hander tossed a full four innings with five hits and seven strikeouts, including a span of four-straight. Emily Sappington took the start, going three innings while allowing five hits, three runs (two earned), and struck out five to extend the TU career record.
Game 2: USC Beaufort 7, Tusculum 6 (8 innings)
The Sand Sharks outlast the Pioneers in a sloppy game, with a combined nine errors. Smeltzer went for two doubles, a home run, and two runs batted in throughout the nightcap.
Smeltzer's homer was the first of the season for Tusculum, giving TU the lead just three batters into the contest.
USCB took the lead quickly behind a trio of Tusculum errors, resulting in a pair of runs for the Sand Sharks.
The Pioneers' run in the third came about in an unusual way. Jason drew a walk and stole second. Hunter laid down a sacrifice bunt, scooching Jason up 60 feet. Jimenez fouled out to the first baseman, but Jason was able to tie the game.
Beaufort tacked on two more runs in the fourth behind a home run and a RBI double.
Down 4-2, Tusculum rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh. With two outs, Jason was plunked. Hunter followed up with a single to left, advancing to second on the throw. Both scored on consecutive wild pitches. Jimenez drew the walk, aided by the two errant throws, and was driven in by Smeltzer's double down the left field line.
A bases-loaded hit by pitch from the Tusculum staff evened the score at 5-all. The TU defense forced a double play to avoid a seventh inning loss and sent the game to extras.
In the eighth inning, Makayla Bush was subbed in for the international tie break runner. Ellie Alvarez laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Bush to third. Caylen Conrad reached first on an error, with Bush scoring on the same play.
USC Beaufort used a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch by Tusculum to close out the contest, scoring the needed two to finalize day one of the event.
Nyah Vogel was tabbed for the start, going three innings of four-hit, three-run (one earned) ball. She also struck out three batters. Ireland Cavanaugh pitched the next three frames, allowing four hits and two runs (one earned). Keylon Reynolds (0-1) suffered the loss, despite allowing no earned runs. She relented one hit, one walk, and hit a batter with two runs scoring.
