COLUMBUS, Miss. - Owls softball wrapped up their first day of tournament play, splitting with Stillman College and Rhodes College. They will be back in action tomorrow morning at Don Usher Field, against Westminster College, at 10 a.m.
Game 1 (L, 6-2)
The first game of the day for the Owls started out smoothly but fell apart in the later innings, with Stillman securing the win, 6-2. Mackenzie Denton started in the circle, putting in 4.2 innings of work. She allowed 6 hits, 3 runs, with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts. Kaitlyn Parish came in to close the game in the top of the 6th inning, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, with one walk and one strikeout.
On offense, the Owls had an answer for Stillman's top of the inning run, and it was in the form of
Jessica Deming coming in after a pitch with bases-loaded hit
Austyn Holden. Marley Poole was walked with bases still loaded, bringing in JadelynPalmer to score the only other Owls run of the game.
Game 2 (W, 7-6)
Game 2 for the Owls turned into quite the nailbiter, going into extra innings before the Owls secured the win with a throwing error by the Rhodes pitcher to first base. Kaitlyn Parish continued her work in the circle, putting in 5.2 innings of work, allowing 5 runs off 7 hits, no walks, and 2 strikeouts. Mackenzie Denton came in to close in the top of the 6th inning. In her 2.2 innings of work, she held the Lynx to 1 run off 4 hits and delivered 3 strikeouts.
Although the Owls scored in the first inning, they seemed to come alive in the bottom of the fourth, after two singles by
Megan Cummins and
Hannah Hurdle. The Owls were down to their last out when freshman,
Maddy Suggs, stepped in and delivered an RBI single that fired up the Owls dugout.
Iyana Canada continued the 2 out rally with a single over the first basemen's head, scoring
Hannah Hurdle.
After the Lynx got ahead of the Owls in the top of the 6th, 6-3, the Owls were down to their last out with bases loaded. The senior,
Hannah Hurdle, stepped up and delivered a beautiful triple, clearing the bases, sending the game into extra innings.
The Owls were able to hold the Lynx in the top of the 8th inning, even with the international tiebreaker at second. In the bottom half of the inning, J. Palmer stood at second as the tiebreaker as Lilly Ergle stepped into the box. With a hit back to the pitcher, followed by a bad throw to first, Palmer scored and secured the win for the Owls.
Owls softball will return to action tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 28, when they take on Westminster College in a doubleheader on day two of the tournament. The first pitch is at 10 a.m.
