Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Barton College junior Samantha Bass collected her first collegiate home run with a two-run shot in the third inning of game two against Erskine College Thursday afternoon, finishing off a three-run inning that gave the Lady Bulldogs a 5-2 victory over the Flying Fleet and a split of their Conference Carolinas softball doubleheader.
The victory was an important one for the Lady Bulldogs (9-19, 2-10), who moved two wins ahead of Lees-McRae College in the battle for the final league tournament spot.
Erskine (13-17, 5-5) took the opening contest 3-1 in eight innings behind the two-hit pitching of sophomore Danica Newton. Freshman Sydney Smith drove in the game-tying run on a sixth-inning sacrifice fly to send the game into extra innings, and drove in an insurance run in the eighth inning with a slow roller to second.
Game 2: Barton 5, Erskine 2
The Flying Fleet produced four consecutive hits to open the game off Barton starter Ashlyn Reagan, with singles by Ericka McCarson and Smith driving in runs. However, after a lineout to left field by Lydia Trexler, Smith was thrown out at third on a double steal attempt for the second out of the inning, and Reagan produced her only strikeout of the day to escape without further damage.
Barton quickly tied the game in the bottom of the first. Kelly walked, stole second, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Lindsey Sharpe and scored on a wild pitch. Rachel Jordan also walked, moved to second on a Betsy Braswell single and came round to score on two more wild pitches by Erskine starter Karen Hawkins (3-4).
After Hawkins doubled with one out in the second, Reagan was lifted in favor of reliever Hayley Baxley (2-0). Mia Blochviak reached base on a fielder's choice that forced out Hawkins and later stole second, but was gunned out at the plate to end the inning on a perfect throw from left by Kelly following a single by Brittney Reynolds.
Baxley gave up a pair of singles in the Erskine third and issued a wild pitch that moved both runners into scoring position, but worked her way out of the jam unscathed by getting a fly ball to left and a grounder to short.
The Lady Bulldogs rewarded her by giving her the lead in the bottom of the third. A one-out single by Jordan and a double by Braswell put two runners in scoring position. Jordan came home on a passed ball to put Barton up 3-2, but would have scored even without the miscue, as Bass followed with her blast over the fence in center, scoring Braswell to put BC up 5-2.
From there, Barton turned to reliever Liz White, who had pitched well in another hard-luck loss in game 1. White worked the final four innings, scattering four hits, in posting her first save of the year.
Two of the four hits came in the Erskine fifth, when singles by Smith and Chandler Crawford put runners at second and third, but White got a one-hopper back to the mound to end the inning. A single and a walk in the seventh brought the potential tying run to the plate, but White recorded a strikeout to end the game.
Hawkins suffered the loss, giving up all five runs on six hits in 2 2/3 innings pitched.
Braswell and Donna Nimmo each had two hits in the game for the Lady Bulldogs. Smith and Crawford each produced three of Erskine's 12 hits in the contest.
Game 1: Erskine 3, Barton 1 (8 inn.)
The first contest featured a pitching matchup between two of the top three strikeout artists in the league, and both added significantly to their totals in the contest.
White, who entered the game ranked second with 84, collected seven in the contest (and one more in game 2). Newton, who was ranked third before play began with 73, produced eight more strikeouts against BC.
Kelly staked White to a 1-0 advantage in the first inning when she took the second pitch of the game from Newton over the fence in center for her second home run of the season.
However, Newton (4-8) would surrender just more hit over the next seven innings, that one a one-out double off the fence in center by Bass in the bottom of the fifth. She pitched around Kelly and issued a walk on four straight pitches to put a second runner on base, but got a pop-up to short to end the inning.
White, meanwhile, allowed just one runner to reach base on a walk in taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning. Trexler ended the no-hit bid with a one-out single to left-center, and Jill Sprague immediately followed with another single just over second base. However, White used a fly ball to right and a grounder to third to get out of the inning with the shutout intact.
But one inning later, a leadoff walk came back to haunt as Erskine manufactured the tying run. Reynolds drew the free pass and quickly stole second, then moved to third on a grounder to second by McCarson. Smith followed with a fly ball to shallow center, but Reynolds was able to score on the sacrifice fly when the throw home was slightly bobbled.
Erskine had a chance to win the game in regulation in the seventh when Gabby Keisler drew a leadoff walk and pinch-runner Brittany Rhinehardt stole both second second and third base. However, that aggressiveness came back to bite when Rhinehardt started to steal home on a ball in the dirt but ended up being tagged out in a rundown.
After the Lady Bulldogs managed just a walk in the home half of the seventh, the two sides went to the international tiebreaker. For Barton, it was the fourth extra-inning game of the year, all coming during a 10-game homestand that ended with Thursday's doubleheader.
Blochviak singled to lead off the Erskine eighth, moving the tiebreaker runner, Candace Fitch, from second to third. Two batters later, McCarson guided a single through the left side, driving in Fitch with the go-ahead run. Blochviak, who had stolen second base, moved to third on McCarson's single and scored on a slow grounder to second off the bat of Smith.
Newton then retired Barton's hitters in order in the bottom of the eighth to close out her two-hitter.
White, who has been the tough-luck loser in three of Barton's extra-inning games, gave up a total of five hits over the eight innings, all to different players.
Barton will play at rival University of Mount Olive in its next outing on April 7 at 4 p.m.
