Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 |
Box Score 3 by Benny Benton
MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The Barton College softball team lost the first game of its tripleheader on Saturday to a team it has not been able to beat this season, then fell twice to a team that no one has been able to beat this season.
The Lady Bulldogs (3-6) suffered a 10-5 defeat in the opener to host Chowan University, which also downed Barton twice in Wilson just a week ago. Barton then played a neutral-site doubleheader against West Chester University, falling 4-0 and 9-0 to a Golden Rams team that is unbeaten this year at 8-0.
Junior Megan Kelly had a three-run homer in the loss to Chowan, and senior Crystal Britton provided the defensive gem of the day with an outstanding catch while running into the centerfield fence against West Chester.
However, the Lady Bulldogs managed just one hit in the final game of the day against the Golden Rams, that one when speedy slap hitter Sydney Speight beat out a slow roller back to the pitcher with two outs in the third inning. BC produced six hits in the two games against West Chester, drew one walk and struck out 18 times.
Game 1: Chowan 10, Barton 5
The Hawks (4-5) scored all 10 of their runs and collected 10 of their 11 hits in the game in the same inning – a marathon inning that sent 15 Chowan batters to the plate and three Barton pitchers to the mound.
Eight of the 10 runs were unearned, courtesy of two errors that could have ended the inning with minimal damage.
Barton starter Liz White (1-3) had limited the Hawks to just one hit through the first three innings, but never got an out of the fourth, giving up five hits sandwiched around an outfield error. White was charged with five runs, but just two earned. The senior walked two and struck out three.
BC's second miscue in the frame came three batters into the relief appearance of freshman Hannah Jones, helping load the bases for a grand slam home run by Haley Cooper. The third pitcher of the frame for the Lady Bulldogs, junior Carolina Merrill, finally got the third out of the inning, but not before surrendering Rachel Clark's second RBI single of the inning.
Chowan needed just three outs at that point to end the game via the eight-run rule, but Barton refused to go quietly. Jones and Samantha Bass both reached base on infield singles, putting runners in scoring position for Kelly's home run to left, her second of the season.
Barton threatened for more, as Rachel Jordan doubled into the left field corner, Britton singled to right and pinch-hitter Sydney Burton walked to end the day for Hawks' starter Kayla Robins (3-2). Brittany Jacobs drove in the fourth run of the inning with a groundout to second off Chowan reliever Delanie Winslow, who then hit Taylor Bowden with a pitch to load the bases once more before inducing an inning-ending grounder to second off the bat of Speight.
Chowan did not get a hit the rest of the way, but the Lady Bulldogs were unable to rally any closer.
Jones, Kelly and Britton each had two of Barton's 10 hits. Cooper had three of Chowan's 11 hits and the four RBI on the grand slam. Clark had the two RBI singles in the fourth, and Kris Neal also had two hits.
Game 2: West Chester 4, Barton 0
White (1-4) managed to work out of trouble in each of the first three innings. She used two fly balls to strand a pair of runners in the first, left the bases loaded in the second after getting an infield pop-up, and stranded two more runners in the third on another infield pop-up.
West Chester finally broke through in the fourth with the help of some aggressive base running by Monica Twardowski. The Golden Rams' shortstop reached base on a walk and stole second. Two batters later, Alyssa Herion laced a grounder toward right field which BC's second baseman, Jacobs, dove to knock down. However, the play's momentum carried the ball toward the right field line, allowing Twardowski to race all the way home from second with the game's first run.
Barton, which had managed just one hit off West Chester pitcher Brooke Harner (3-0) at that point, got a one-out double from Kelly, followed by a single up the middle by Bass. Kelly tried to score from second on the hit, but WCU second baseman Sara Ercolani dove to knock the ball down in shallow center field, got up and threw out Kelly at the plate.
The Golden Rams scored quickly in both the fifth and sixth innings. Cat Hammer led off the West Chester fifth with a single, and Laura Altenburger followed with an RBI double into the gap in right-center, scoring pinch-runner Shannon Gray all the way from first.
One inning later, Herion drilled a one-out offering from White over the fence in left for her fourth homer of the year, putting WCU up 3-0. The Golden Rams tacked on an unearned run later in the inning following a throwing error by the Lady Bulldogs.
White went 5 1/3 innings for Barton, scattering eight hits and giving up three earned runs while walking four and striking out four.
Harner allowed just five hits in the complete-game shutout, did not walk a batter and struck out nine Lady Bulldogs.
Game 3: West Chester 9, Barton 0 (5 inn.)
The Golden Rams, which were 40-16 ago and winners of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division crown for a second straight season, continued their perfect start to 2016 in game two with some unnecessary help from Barton.
The Lady Bulldogs committed six errors in the final game, accounting for six of the nine runs scored by West Chester.
WCU scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the first following an error on the infield, one scoring on an RBI single by Micaela McSpadden. Barton made a mess of the third inning with three more miscues, setting the table for four more West Chester runs.
Madison Kelly put the final touches on the scoring with a two-run double off Barton reliever Jones in the fourth that capped a three-run fourth inning.
All the runs were charged to Barton's starter, Merrill (0-1), but just three were earned. The junior newcomer gave up seven hits in 3 1/3 innings while suffering a loss in her first decision as a Bulldog.
Barton, meanwhile, could do nothing with West Chester pitcher Amanda Houck (4-0). The sophomore left-hander retired the first seven BC batters in a row before Ashley Burkett reached on a dropped throw at first base with one out in the third. Two batters later, Kelly walked and Speight followed with her single back to the mound that loaded the bases. However, Houck produced her third strikeout of the inning and sixth of the game at that point to end the threat.
The Lady Bulldogs would only get two more baserunners in the game, one in both the fourth and fifth innings courtesy of WCU errors. Houck delivered all three outs in the fifth via strikeout, giving her nine for the game. She walked just one batter in the one-hit gem.
Barton will return to the road next Saturday, visiting Erskine College for its Conference Carolinas opener.
