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Box Score 2 ATHENS, W.Va. – After dropping game one, 5-4, to Wheeling Jesuit the Concord University softball team battled back from a two-run deficit in the sixth inning of game two to defeat the Cardinals, 4-3, on a walk-off single by sophomore catcher
Alyssa Morris in the eighth inning that secured a doubleheader split Thursday afternoon in Mountain East Conference play at the CU Softball Field.
With the split the Mountain Lions are now 25-17 overall and 9-11 in MEC competition this season. Wheeling Jesuit moves to 15-23 overall and 7-11 in league games.
Reigning MEC Hitter of the Week, freshman outfielder
Lauren Lewis continued her hot streak for the Mountain Lions by going 4-for-8 with two runs scored, a home run, a double and three RBI in the two games. In her last eight games, Lewis is batting .462 (12-for-26) with seven runs, four home runs, four doubles and 13 RBI.
Morris was also solid all day with a 4-for-7 performance that included two runs, four RBI and her seventh home run of the year.
A three-run home run by Wheeling Jesuit's Marla Small in the fifth inning was too much for CU to overcome in the 5-4 defeat in Thursday's opener.
The Cardinals started the game with one run in the first inning before Concord answered back to take the lead in the third on a two-out rally. Sophomore pitcher
Allie Reid reached second base on an error by Wheeling Jesuit before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Lewis then belted her sixth home run of the season to right-center field to give CU a 2-1 advantage.
Wheeling Jesuit evened the score in the top of the fourth before the Mountain Lions retook the lead in the bottom of the frame on an RBI double from sophomore
Kristi Benvenuto that plated freshman third baseman
Courtney Purtell, who had reached on a two-out single earlier in the inning, to put Concord back on top 3-2.
However, the Cardinals surged back in front of Concord for good in the fifth inning when Small hit her three-run home run after back-to-back WJU singles to give Wheeling Jesuit a 5-3 lead.
Sophomore second baseman
Kristen Rose reached base with a one-out double in the fifth inning and proceeded to score on an RBI-single from Lewis, but that would be as close as Concord would get as the Mountain Lions managed just one hit over the final two innings en route to the one-run loss.
Lewis was 3-for-3 in game one, finishing just a triple shy of the cycle while driving in three runs and scoring one. Benvenuto had the other CU RBI on a 1-for-3 performance. The quartet of freshman shortstop
Alayna Furr, Morris, Purtell and Rose each had one hit in game one as well.
Reid (13-7) pitched seven innings while giving up five earned runs and striking out three batters in the defeat.
Morris' solo home run in the second inning and game-winning RBI single in the eighth powered the Mountain Lions to a series-equaling 4-3 win over Wheeling in the nightcap.
Wheeling Jesuit once again scored first on an RBI double to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but Concord quickly responded via Morris' solo shot in the bottom of the inning.
The Cardinals used a long ball of their own in fifth inning to regain the lead when Ali Smith shot a two-run blast to push WJU ahead of Concord 3-1.
CU began to mount its comeback in the sixth inning. Junior outfielder
Jessica Seymour started the run by reaching second on a Cardinal fielding error. Lewis promptly followed by hitting a run-scoring single to plate Seymour. After another base hit from Rose, Morris singled home Lewis to tie the game at 3-3.
The contest headed to extra innings when neither team was able to record the go-ahead run in regulation. Freshman pitcher
Sarah Herndon stranded a Cardinal runner on second base to get out of the top of the eighth inning allowing CU to come to bat in the bottom of the frame with a chance to win the game.
Rose started the rally in the eighth on a lead-off single that led to her stealing second base and advancing to third base on a throwing error. Two batters later, Morris knocked a base hit up the middle that allowed Rose to easily score from third and give CU a 4-3 victory in extra innings.
In the nightcap Morris was 3-for-4 with a run, home run and three RBI. Rose registered her team-leading 15
th multi-hit game of the season with a 2-for-4 outing and her 16
th stolen base of the year, also a team-best.
A sixth-inning single from Lewis kept her season-long hitting streak of 10 games alive. Reid and Purtell rounded out Concord's offensive attack with one hit each in game two.
Herndon improved to 4-7 on the season by tossing a complete game. She scattered six hits and allowed just one earned run over eight innings while striking out seven batters. Additionally, Herndon retired nine consecutive WJU hitters from the second to the fifth inning. Over her last two starts the Berryville Va. native has struck out 15 batters in 15 innings.
The Mountain Lions continue their six-game homestand 1:00 p.m. Friday vs. West Liberty.
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