The Spring Hill College Softball team split a home double-header against non-conference foe Mississippi College Tuesday afternoon, winning game one 9-7 before losing a 3-2 pitcher's duel in game two. The Badgers remain one game above 0.500 at 17-16 on the season.
Game 1: Spring Hill 9, Mississippi College 7
The Badgers scored 4 runs in the first two innings, added another 5 in the fourth and fifth innings, then held off a Mississippi College rally attempt to seal the victory in the opening game of the double-header.
Bethany Ahrens earned the win in the game, moving her record to 8-7 on the year. Ahrens, who coming into the game had allowed two or fewer runs and struck out at least five in eight straight outings, gave up seven runs and struck out just four. But her offense picked her up as the Badgers had five players with two hits apiece to win the high scoring affair.
The top four of the lineup,
Janci Aube,
Jesslyn Gordon,
Meredith Fontenot, and
Meadow Villar combined to go 8-for-10 with 4 walks, 5 runs scored, and 9 RBI while end-of-the-lineup place setter
Oscha Carter scored all three times she reached base, going 2-for-2 with a walk.
After a throwing error on a steal attempt helped get Mississippi College on the board in the top of the first inning, Spring Hill wasted no time in tying up the score as Aube's aggressiveness on the basepaths set up a first and third situation with just one out. The Badgers deployed the suicide squeeze with Villar up to the plate and it paid off beautifully as her sac bunt attempt forced a throwing error by the pitcher and allowed Aube to easily score to even the score.
The second inning opened with a pair of quick outs, but Carter's single extended the inning and gave the top of the lineup a chance to go back to work. That seemed to unsettle the Mississippi College pitcher as she would walk the next three Badger hitters, the last of which came with the bases loaded, to bring Carter in and give Spring Hill a 2-1 lead. Then, Villar hit a two-run single to make it 4-1 before being thrown out at second trying to advance into scoring position on the throw home.
The lead did not last long, however, as Mississippi College worked deep into counts against Ahrens and strung together four straight hits to make it 4-4 after three.
After a couple of scoreless half innings, Spring Hill got the bats going again and re-took the lead. Carter's one-out single again brought up the top of the lineup and Aube followed with a single of her own that resulted in Carter standing at third after beating the throw to the base. Aube advanced to second on the throw, putting both runners into scoring position. Gordon singled in Carter and then Fontenot singled to score Aube, but that would be all Spring Hill would get in the frame as they stranded runners at second and third, leading 6-4 through four innings of play.
Mississippi College got one back in the top of the fifth, but in the bottom half of the frame, with two outs, Aube hit an RBI double and then Gordon hit a two-RBI single to push Spring Hill's lead to four at 9-5.
The visitors staged a bit of a comeback in both the sixth and seventh innings, but Ahrens limited the damage to just one run in each inning and the Badgers held on for the 9-7 victory.
Game 2: Spring Hill 2, Mississippi College 3
It was a pitcher's duel for the vast majority of the game, but a pair of errors in the fifth inning helped Mississippi College score twice to break the 0-0 tie and eventually send the Badgers to the 3-2 defeat.
Leighanna Turk pitched a complete game, allowing 3 runs, only 1 of which was earned, and giving up just 3 hits while striking out 3 against 0 walks. The Badger bats cooled off just a bit in game two, totaling just 6 hits and 2 walks in the game.
Molly Pitts did give Spring Hill life in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-run home run, making it 3-2, but with two hits apiece from Villar and
Abigail Christ, in the fourth and eighth spots in the lineup, the Badgers just couldn't string together enough hits to score without the long ball.
Spring Hill continues their 10-game homestand with the start of a three-game SIAC series against Lane College on Saturday, March 28th. The two teams will play a double-header at Murray Field on Saturday with the first game starting at 1:00 p.m.
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