Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College softball team suffered a pair of losses via the eight-rule run at the hands of Limestone College on Saturday at Jeffries Field, falling 10-1 in six innings and 11-3 in five innings to the defending Conference Carolinas champions.
The Saints (23-10, 10-1), which entered the day in second place in this year's standings, pounded out 15 hits in the opener and added 11 in the nightcap while holding Barton to just 10 total in the doubleheader.
The Lady Bulldogs (15-20, 5-9) also assisted Limestone greatly in game two by committing four errors that accounted for eight unearned runs.
The first loss ended a four-game winning streak for Barton, which dropped back to ninth in the league standings.
Game 1 – Limestone 10, Barton 1 (6 inn.)
Bailie Maybry led off game one with a single to center field for Limestone, stole second and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Caroline Hill, giving the Saints an early 1-0 lead.
Barton tied the game in the bottom of the second when Sydney Speight beat out an infield single, advanced to third on a fielder's choice and a Limestone throwing error, and scored on a two-out fielding error at short.
However, the Saints responded immediately, getting three hits in the third off Barton starter Liz White (9-10), including an RBI single through the left side by Paige Bolding and a two-run single to center by Abby Williamson to take a 4-1 advantage.
Limestone tacked on two more runs in the fourth, loading the bases with a pair of singles and a walk, then getting a sacrifice fly by Erika Hanson and an infield single to short by Williamson.
White was pulled after four innings of work, having surrendered nine hits and the six runs. She also walked five and struck out three.
After its run scored in the second inning, Barton did not threaten again until the fifth, when Briana Jackson reached base on a third-strike wild pitch and Taylor Bowden moved her to second with a single. However, Hannah Jones hit a line drive to left field, and Jackson was caught too far off second base and thrown out for an inning-ending double play.
Limestone put the game away with a five-run sixth inning off reliever Carolina Merrill. The Saints delivered five hits in the frame, including run-producing singles by Williamson, Maybry and Sam Thornton.
Courtney Smith (7-2) gave up just five hits to the Lady Bulldogs while walking one and striking out five. Bowden and Speight combined for four of the five hits, gaining two each.
Maybry and Williamson each had three hits for the Saints, while four other players contributed two hits each. Williamson also produced four RBI.
Game 2 – Limestone 11, Barton 3 (5 inn.)
Just like game one, the Saints scored in the first inning. This time it was two runs, one on an RBI triple by Hill and the other on a Barton error.
And also like game one, Barton rallied in the bottom of the second inning. This time, the Lady Bulldogs went one step further, actually taking the lead with a three-run frame.
Barton collected four of its five hits in game two in the inning, including a single by Brittany Jacobs that went just inside the first-base bag and down the right-field line, allowing two runners to come home and tie the game at 2-all. Limestone pitcher Josie Weber (10-4) then uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Jackson to scamper home and give BC a 3-2 advantage.
But BC's defense let down freshman pitcher Hannah Jones (6-9) in the Limestone third. Two throwing errors on the same sacrifice bunt attempt by Thornton allowed the runner to score and the hitter to reach third base. Hill followed with a double down the right field line, driving in Thornton with the go-ahead run.
A sacrifice fly on a foul ball down the third base line – which would have been the third out of the inning without the errors – gave Limestone another run, and Williamson singled down the left field line to drive in one more run, providing the Saints with a 6-3 cushion.
A Barton throwing error to open the fifth gave Limestone an extra out in that inning as well. The Saints took advantage with three two-out RBI hits – the big one a three-run double to left field by Thornton – to score five times and reach the eight-run advantage.
Bowden threatened to make the Saints play another inning when she ripped a double to the fence in right-center in the bottom of the fifth, but Weber stranded her there by getting a pair of outs to left field.
Weber surrendered just one walk and struck out two in the win. Five different players had one hit each for Barton.
Jones gave up 11 hits and 11 runs, but just three of the runs were earned due to the four Barton errors. She also walked three and struck out two.
Hill went 3-for-4 with three RBI for the Saints, while Thornton went 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Barton will travel to Elizabeth City State University on Sunday for a 1 p.m. non-conference doubleheader. The Lady Bulldogs will be playing for the third day in a row and fourth in the past five days.
