Tamara Smith at Fayetteville State #1    small
Frank Maness/Fayetteville State

THRILLING AND CHILLING

LADY LIONS GO HOT AND COLD IN SPLIT WITH OHIO VALLEY



The Concord Softball team took another incremental step toward securing a spot in the WVIAC Tournament with a twi-night doubleheader split against Ohio Valley Saturday, on an autumn-like Saturday in Athens.

The Lady Lions rallied to win the first game, 6-5, in 9 innings, then went cold in dropping the nightcap 6-2.

The split put CU's record at 20-19, 8-12 in the WVIAC and left the Lady Lions in 10th place. The league's top 12 teams qualify for the tournament. 


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GAME ONE (9 Innings) LOB
Ohio Valley 5 12 1  6
Concord 6 10 5 11


Concord struck quickly, scoring twice in the first two innings.

Samantha Clement Head Shot  cropped    (61 x 97)
In the 1st, leadoff hitter Sam Clement (left) drew a full-count walk and went to second on a wild pitch. Becca Gleason singled and stole second. Before the inning ended, Ohio Valley P Sarah Davidson threw two wild pitches that scored the two CU runners. 


Rebecca Gleason Head Shot cropped    (57 x 93)

Clement and Gleason (right) were again instrumental in the 2nd. With two outs, each drew a walk, and Brooke Bowling brought them in with a double off the fence in left field. 


Two Concord errors helped OVU score three times in the top of the 3rd, and the Fighting Scots rallied again in the 6th to take the lead. In the 6th, consecutive singles by Sarah Simmons, Tabi Hill and Kelsey Graham tied the game, and a groundout by Kate Whiteman gave OVU a 5-4 lead.

The Lady Lions responded in the bottom of the 6th. Amber Burch led off by drawing a full-count walk and went to second on a groundout by Mariel Wilson. OVU misplayed a bunt by Clement for an error, moving Burch to third, and Gleason lofted a sacrifice fly to center to bring Burch in with the tying run.

The score remained 5-5 until Concord put together a two-out, game-winning rally in the bottom of the 9th. Kaylyn Klatt drew a 3-0 walk off Davidson, and Tamara Smith followed with a double to right. Ohio Valley RF Preet Dhillon's throw in to the infield went wide and bounced off the façade of the first base dugout, and Klatt motored home with the decisive run.

Ohio Valley was led by 3-4 performances by Graham and leadoff hitter Brittany Shipley. In the circle, Davidson struck out 10 and walked five in taking the loss.

Clement led CU by reaching base in all five of her plate appearances – twice on singles, twice on walks and once on the OVU error in the 6th.

Tamara Smith Head Shot   cropped, xsmall    (61 x 93)

Smith (left) raised her record to 14-6 with a complete game victory, walking none and striking out five. It was her third win of the week. 




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GAME TWO R H E LOB
Ohio Valley 6 8 0 7
Concord 2 9 1 9


Perhaps feeling a letdown after the dramatics of the first game, the Lady Lions repeatedly misfired in the nightcap and had to settle for the split.

Ohio Valley did unto Concord what CU did to them in game one, scoring twice in each of the first two innings.

In the 1st, Hill clouted a two-run double; in the 2nd, Britni Goodman and Shipley delivered RBI singles.

The Fighting Scots scored twice again in the 4th, on an RBI groundout and a wild pitch.

The Mountain Lions would score a run in the 4th, on Stephanie Harper's RBI groundout, and another in the 6th, on Kristen McClure's two-out double. But it was the runs CU didn't score that determined their fate.

In the 3rd, the Lady Lions put runners on second and third with nobody out. But Mariel Wilson was picked off third and was tagged out in a rundown, and Ohio Valley P Raegan Turner induced Clement to ground out and struck out Gleason.

In the 5th, Concord had two on and two out and couldn't score.
Then, in the 6th, the Lady Lions loaded the bases with two outs. But, again, Turner got out of it.

Concord was 2-16 with runners in scoring position.

McClure (right) led CU's offense by going 2-4 with a double, an RBI and a stolen base. Gleason was 2-4 with a run scored. 


Concord Lion Logo    xsmall




The Lady Lions visit 2nd-place Charleston for a WVIAC doubleheader on Sunday, April 18th. First pitch is set for 2:00 pm EDT.



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