Softball Run Rules St. Andrews Twice

LAURINBURG, N.C.- The softball team won two Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) games in five innings on Saturday. The team invoked the run rule against the St. Andrews University Lady Knights in each of the games.

Game One:

Emily Higgins gave the team a 3-0 lead in the first inning. With Caroline Moore and Taylor Penning standing on bases, Higgins hit a ball over the right field fence to push the team ahead by three runs. Higgins struck again in the third inning.

This time, the hitter belted a solo shot to make the score 4-0 in the third. Bailee Phillips followed with a double and scored on Kaley Bradley's single to extend the lead to five runs.

TWU put the run rule in effect in the fourth inning. Macy Chastain, Moore, and Penning loaded the bases with one out on the board. Higgins came to the plate and earned a walk, keeping the bases loaded while Chastain was able to trot to home plate for a run. Phillips came to the plate and slashed a pitch over the center field fence, and the resulting grand slam made the score 10-0, the score the team won with in five innings. 

Higgins had a five RBIs while Phillps had four RBIs. Isabella Jenkins got the pitching win.

Game Two:

The second game saw the Lady Bulldogs score eight runs in the game. In the first inning, Chastain scored on Penning's single to right field to make the score 1-0. 

Chastain scored again in the third inning, this time on a Higgins ground out. The ground out left Moore on third, who was there only momentarily as Phillips hit a home run to move the lead to 4-0. Tatum Massengale got in on the RBI action, bringing Mackenzie Baldwin home, who hit a double to get on second, with a double, making the score 5-0 at the end of the third inning.

In the fourth inning, Tennessee Wesleyan got to eight runs. Carlynn Atamaniuk oepned the inning with a single and moved to second on a passed ball. Chastain hit Atamaniuk to third and a sacrifice fly by Moore made Atamaniuk the sixth run of the game. Penning got on base and stole second before a Higgins walk. With the bases loaded with Phillips on first, Baldwin hit a single to center field, scoring both Penning and Higgins to make the score 8-0. The game ended after the fifth inning with the run rule in effect.

Phillips had 11 strikeouts in the pitching win.

The sweep moved the Lady Bulldogs record to 19-8 overall and 16-4 in the AAC. TWU stays on the road for their next AAC doubleheader when they travel to face Johnson University on Monday. The first game is set for 2:00 p.m.