GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University softball team earned a sweep of Anderson for the first time in a decade with Wednesday's (Mar. 29) wins over the Trojans. This also marked a matchup between two of the South Atlantic Conference's longest tenured softball coaches: Anderson's Tommy Hewitt and Tusculum's Julie Huebner.
Diving into the archives, the Pioneers won the conference championship in 2013, using the two victories over the Trojans to clinch the regular season title. Pitching in both games, including a complete game shutout in the opener, was the current Anderson assistant and Pioneer record holder Kelly (née King) Roberts.
Tusculum (19-18, 6-10 SAC) travels to Limestone (18-14, 7-5 SAC) on Saturday (Apr. 1) for a 1 p.m. twin bill.
Game 1: Tusculum 4, Anderson 3
With neither team scoring until the fifth, the familiar foes made up for it in the latter innings. A combined 17 runners were left on base. At the plate, Chloe Freischmidt went 3-for-3 with a double and 12 putouts behind the dish.
In the first, the Pioneers had two hits with two runners in scoring position, but a pair of fielder's choice ground outs negated scoring opportunities.
Anderson struck first with a two-run homer over the Major Display scoreboard in left center.
Tusculum got a run back in the bottom half of the fifth. Katelynn Hodges led off with a double down the third base line, followed by Kallyn Newport being hit by a pitch. Sammy Jimenez laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners into scoring position. Claire Smeltzer hit a bouncer to second. The Trojans attempted to throw Hodges out at the plate on the play, but the Pioneers were given the safe call.
TU added three more runs in the sixth to pull ahead. Hannah Hughes and Freischmidt notched back-to-back hits to lead off the frame. Italia Kyle entered as the lead runner, with both advancing on a wild pitch. Maddie McBride fouled out to the second baseman, but the ball was deep enough to plate Kyle. Alyssa Suits also came off the bench to run, scoring on Hodges' triple. She scored two batters later on Jimenez's single up the middle.
Looking to extend the contest, Anderson needed to score at least two. The Trojans led off the final frame with a single and a walk. After an intentional walk, the bases were loaded with one out. An infield single kept the bases full, with a run crossing the plate. However, Emily Sappington was the pitcher. All three outs in the inning were strikeouts, highlighted by two with the bases loaded.
Emily Sappington (8-9) threw her 11th complete game of the season on 120 pitches. She relented three runs on five hits with three walks. Sappington tallied 13 strikeouts (12 swinging), including the first nine on whiffs.
Game 2: Tusculum 11, Anderson 7
Every batter for the Pioneers reached base at least once, with 8-of-9 recording a hit. Additionally, four notched a pair of RBI and every starter scored a run. TU was efficient, leaving only four runners on base at game's end.
Once again, the visitors broke the ice, scoring twice in the opening inning on four hits.
The Pioneers were able to plate a run in the second despite not recording a hit, taking advantage of three Trojan errors. Madison Watts was the first beneficiary, reaching on a throwing error. Kyle came in as a pinch runner for the game two catcher. She advanced after Ireland Cavanaugh made it to first on a dropped catch by the defense. A second-straight error allowed Kyle to score after McBride's at bat.
Anderson added a run to its lead on a dropped two-out popup.
Tusculum only scored in two innings, but a 10-run outburst in the third provided the needed cushion to pull out the sweep. The Pioneers used nine hits and two errors to reach double-digits in the scoring column as five players batted twice in the frame. Jimenez, Smeltzer, Hayley Lazo, Watts, Hughes, and Cavanaugh all reached with one out on a combined four hits and two walks. Watts and Hughes drove in the first three runs. After an Anderson pitching change, the onslaught continued. With the bases loaded, McBride singled in a pair of runs as she and Cavanaugh moved into scoring position after a wild pitch. Hodges and Newport knocked back-to-back doubles, scoring three more runs, before the second out was made. Smeltzer launched her fifth home run of the season, just inside the right foul pole as the final two scores.
The Trojans tacked on two more runs in the fourth and sixth to put the game within reach, but the big inning by Tusculum was insurmountable.
Keylon Reynolds got the start, pitching only the first inning. She surrendered two runs on four hits with a strikeout across 30 tosses. Ireland Cavanaugh (8-6) was the pitcher of record after five innings of work. She allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits, a walk, and a strikeout on 93 pitches. Sappington tossed the final frame to clinch the sweep. On 17 pitches, she recorded two strikeouts and the Trojans notched one hit.
