Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Game recaps by Travis Chell, King Sports Information
BURLINGTON, N.C. – Barton College collected 11 hits while Erskine College managed just three, but the fifth-seeded Flying Fleet made theirs count in taking a 4-2 victory Friday night that eliminated the seventh-seeded Lady Bulldogs from the 2014 Conference Carolinas Softball Tournament.
Earlier the evening, No. 2 seed King University held Barton to just four hits and took full advantage of four errors by the Lady Bulldogs in claiming a 2-0 win that gave BC a loss in its first tournament appearance since 2009.
Barton finished the season with a record of 17-22-1.
King 2, Barton 0
In a game that took nearly five hours to complete, King outlasted Barton in the first round, scoring a pair of unearned runs in the final two innings to take the contest 2-0.
Both pitchers, Hannah Light of King and Barton's Ashlyn Reagan were on their respective games throughout the contest, only allowing seven total hits. Just prior to the first rain delay, Hannah Smith got the game's first hit, a single to center in the top of the second inning. Following the delay, Reagan got a pair of outs to get out of the inning.
The Bulldogs got their first hit with two outs and a runner on first in the third inning, but Light escaped the inning with a groundout before the rain came again. This delay lasted two hours and 46 minutes before the teams took the field again.
After the delay, Reagan worked a 1-2-3 third, before Barton registered another hit in the fourth. However, Light got a pair of strikeouts in the frame to keep the game scoreless. The contest remained that way until the fifth inning when the Tornado loaded the bases with no outs. Reagan looked to get out of the frame with a groundball, but the throw was high to first base allowing a run to score. Reagan then got a popout to escape further damage in the inning and leave the bases loaded.
King (27-24) struck again in the sixth, loading the bases with one out. Tori McComas came through for the Tornado, rolling a groundball to second base that scored King's second run. Reagan left runners on second and third, sending the game to the seventh with Barton trailing 2-0.
The Bulldogs got a leadoff single from Crystal Britton, and a one-out bunt single from Alex Baylis. However, Light induced a popout to the back of the circle that she caught and threw to first for the double play to end the contest.
Light tossed all seven innings, allowing only four hits to lead the Tornado. Reagan allowed just the two unearned runs and three hits for the Bulldogs.
Erskine 4, Barton 2
In the first elimination game of the tournament, Barton threatened in nearly every inning, but the Flying Fleet pitching staff didn't let many runs cross the plate as they stayed alive with the 4-2 win.
The Bulldogs got on the board early as Megan Kelly started the game with a single up the middle before she stole second. On the play, the throw went into center field, allowing Kelly to score and give Barton a 1-0 advantage. Barton proceeded to put two runners on with no outs, but Erskine's pitcher, Kaylin White, induced a flyout and a pair of groundouts to get out of the inning.
Erskine (18-22) got on the board with an unearned run in the second but left the bases loaded. Nevertheless, the Flying Fleet offense erupted for three runs in the third inning. Lydia Trexler started the frame with a walk before stealing second. She then scored on an Ashlyn Hicks single up the middle before Christine Long dealt the big blow. She ripped her fourth home run, a two-run shot over the left field fence, to give Erskine a 4-1 lead after three innings.
Barton threatened in each of the following innings, but couldn't start a rally before there were two outs in each frame. The Bulldogs left two runners on base in the fourth and sixth innings along with stranding one in the fifth. On defensive side, relief pitcher Liz White (4-12) kept the Flying Fleet off-balance, only allowing one base runner on a walk over the final three frames to keep the Bulldogs within striking range.
Barton's leadoff hitter, Kelly, tried to ignite the Bulldog offense with an infield single to start the seventh inning. Kendra Kassonie followed with another infield single to put two runners on before Erskine got the first out of the frame. After a single by Betsy Braswell that scored Kelly to cut the Bulldog deficit to 4-2, Erskine went to the bullpen. Katherine Mulzer came in for the Flying Fleet and immediately got a groundout before ending the game with a strikeout to keep Erskine alive with her fourth save of the season.
For Erskine, Kaylin White (5-2) earned the win, tossing six and one-third innings, allowing two runs while scattering 11 hits and striking out three. Long paced the offense, going 1-for-2 with two runs scored and two runs batted in.
Kelly, Kassonie, Amber Weaver, Alex Baylis and Rachel Jordan all had two hits each for Barton.
