MOBILE, Ala. -- Spring Hill's softball team clinched the West Division of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a, 3-1 and 8-4, doubleheader sweep of Kentucky State at Murray Field Friday afternoon.
The sweep propels SHC to a 16-2 mark in SIAC play and an overall mark of 24-18. The Badgers will head into the SIAC Softball Championships May 2-4 in Albany, Ga. with the top seed out of the West Division.
Game One: Spring Hill 3, Kentucky State 1
Elise Caruso's two-run single back up the middle scored the game-winning runs in the fourth inning to push Spring Hill to a 3-1 victory.
Kentucky State (18-20, 8-7 SIAC) took advantage of an SHC error and a two-out triple to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. The Badgers bounced right back in the bottom of the inning thanks to a two-out extra-base hit as well. After an infield hit by
Carmen Byrd, a wild pitch and a ground out put Byrd in scoring position with two out for
Hannah Fillmore. Fillmore would double down the line in left, plating Byrd and knotting the score, 1-1.
More clutch hitting would come in the fourth for SHC.
Caroline Hart, who went 3-for-3 on the game, singled to start the inning, and was followed by
Carlisle Jamison, who singled as well. However, a pop out and a ground out meant that the two runners for the Badgers were in scoring position with two out in the inning. That's when Caruso came through to stake her side to the lead. The freshman's single scored Hart and Jamison and gave the Badgers a 3-1 advantage they would not relinquish.
Hannah Brenton (11-5) had another solid performance in the circle for the Badgers. In her sixth consecutive outing allowing one earned run or less, Brenton gave up just three hits while allowing one unearned run and striking out six.Â
Game Two: Spring Hill 8, Kentucky State 4
The Badgers struck for four in the second inning and never looked back in finishing off the doubleheader sweep of Kentucky State.
Three straight hits to start the second loaded the bases for SHC, and the Badgers would take advantage of a miscue on
Tiffany Fairchild's grounder to short to score the first run and keep the bases loaded. Pinch hitter
Daniella Amador then singled back up the middle, plating a pair of runs to make it 3-0. Later in the inning, with two out, Byrd would single to center to plate the fourth run of the frame.
In the third, Fillmore would connect on a solo home run, extending her streak of games with an RBI to seven in a row, making the score 5-0 in favor of the home side. The Badgers would manufacture a run in the fourth as Caruso singled, stole second, moved to third on a ground out, then scored on a sacrifice fly by
Delaney Thomas.
Kentucky State would not go gently into that good night, however, as the Thorobreds came back with four runs in the top of the sixth to cut into the Badgers advantage. In the bottom of the inning, the Badgers would get two insurance runs thanks to more two-out hitting. With Byrd on third and Thomas on second,
Cassidy Mehr singled into right center, scoring both runners and giving the Badgers a four-run cushion.
The Thorobreds would go in order in the seventh as
Morgan Kramer notched the first save of her career in relief of Baylie Dorion (4-8), who worked 5.1 innings and allowed three earned runs.Â
The two teams will wrap up the series Saturday afternoon at noon.
