(RV) Softball Extra-Inning Win Earns Split Against No. 23 Truett McConnell

Athens, Tenn.- The softball team, receiving votes in the NAIA poll, was back in action at Athens Regional Park on Monday. The team hosted the No. 23 Truett McConnell University Lady Bears in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) doubleheader. 

Game One:

The first run of the game was scored in the first inning. Unfortunately for the Lady Bulldogs, the run came across for Truett McConnell. The opponents added to their lead in the second, putting TWU in a 2-0 hole. The team got a run back in the fifth inning. 

Loryn Sherwood opened the inning with a single to center field. A sacrifice bunt by Mackenzie Baldwin moved pinch runner Madison Stott, the starting pitcher, to second base. The team put runners on the corner when Caroline Moore smacked a single, moving to second on an error. The bases became loaded when Courtney Sneed earned a walk, and a walk by Malyssa Jeter scored Stott as she was forced to go home due to the loaded bases. The third out of the inning occurred on the next at-bat, ending the inning with the team trailing 2-1. The team was not able to find the runs needed to extend the game, going on to drop the first game of the doubleheader 3-1. 

Stott got the start in the circle. 

Game Two:

Even though the Lady Bulldogs took a 4-0 lead in the first, the second game was exciting and nerve-racking as the first game.  

Moore reached first base on an error, advancing to second on the error and third on a Sneed ground out. Moore became the first run of the inning on a Destiny Painter fielder's choice. The bases became loaded after back-to-back singles by Emily Mikkola and Taylor Penning, moving Painter to third. Jeter unloaded two of the bases with a double, scoring Painter and Mikkola. Hallie DeArman helped the team take the 4-0 lead with her sacrifice fly bringing Penning home. Truett McConnell scored two runs in the second to cut the lead in half. 

Defense and pitching took over the next three innings as neither team scored. In the sixth and seventh inning, the opponents scored to tie the game 4-4. TWU was not able to score in the bottom of the seventh, forcing the game to move to extra innings. Two extra innings were played as the game ended in the ninth.  

DeArman started the bottom of the ninth with a single. Pinch runner Emma Clevinger scored on a Mackenzie Baldwin double from first base to give the Lady Bulldogs a 5-4 win over the ranked opponent. 

Jeter led the team with two RBIs in the game. Baylie Davis got the pitching win, finishing with five strikeouts in the game. 

Tennessee Wesleyan (11-8, 7-3 AAC) hit the road for their next AAC doubleheader. The team travels to Dayton, Tenn., to take on rival Bryan College. The first game is set to begin at 5:00 p.m.