The Spring Hill College softball team won their first game of the 2026 SIAC Softball Championship, defeating Savannah State in run-rule fashion, 8-1 in five innings.
Emma Curry pitched a five-inning one-hitter, walking just one and striking out three for the opening round victory. The Badgers scored eight runs on eight hits and nine walks, with 8 of the 9 starters recording a hit in the game.
Meadow Villar and
Destiny Pierce had 3 RBI each, with
Jesslyn Gordon and
Molly Pitts driving in one run apiece.
While Spring Hill had numerous chances to score in the game's first three innings, they could not push any of their seven baserunners across home plate, stranding two in the first and second innings and another in the third.
But the levee broke in the fourth inning as Spring Hill plated seven runs and seized control of the game. Â
Bethany Ahrens led off the inning with a single to left field and was then replaced with pinch runner,
Alli Mangan. Mangan stole second, which prompted Savannah State to pitch around Pitts and walk her to put runners on first and second.
Amanda Glowacki laid down the sacrifice bunt to move Mangan and Pitts up a base and bring Pierce to the plate. The sophomore delivered with a three-run blast to get the Badgers on the board and take the 3-0 lead.
Janci Aube drew a walk and then moved to second on
Oscha Carter's single. Gordon made it two singles in a row, loading the bases for Villar. Villar, the Badgers' best hitter with a 0.440 average entering the tournament, delivered for Spring Hill with a base-clearing double that doubled their lead to 6-0 with one swing of the bat.
McKenzie King continued the hit streak with a single, putting runners on the corner, then Ahrens, back at the plate for the second time in the inning, drew a walk to load the bases. Pitts grounded out to the second baseman, but
Abigail Christ, running for Villar, scored to make it 7-0 after four innings.
Curry worked around a lead-off walk to keep Savannah State off the scoreboard, bringing the Badger offense back to the plate looking to walk it off. It did not take long for that to happen as Pierce walked and Aube singled to put the winning run in scoring position. Carter put down the bunt for a sacrifice attempt, but all of the runners were safe and the bases were loaded with no one out. Gordon put bat on ball, and despite grounding out, she brought in Pierce to make it 8-0 and win the game for Spring Hill.
Spring Hill advances to the second round of the SIAC Softball Championship Winners' Bracket where they'll face the winner of Albany State, the top seed in the east division, and LeMoyne-Owen.
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