SALEM, Va. – The Concord University softball team survived a late rally from Notre Dame as it won 2-1 in the first round of the Mountain East Conference Tournament at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex.
CU scored two runs in the second inning on a sacrifice fly from sophomore shortstop
Alayna Furr and an RBI single by junior second baseman
Kristen Rose to take a 2-0 lead over NDC.
Most of the contest was dominated by starting pitchers, Concord's
Katie Snodgress and Notre Dame's Ashley Hall.
Snodgress retired the first nine batters of the game and only surrendered two hits and two walks while striking out four in 5.1 innings of shutout ball. Snodgress improved to 7-3 with the stellar effort.
Meanwhile, Hall sat down 10 straight batters from the second to the fifth inning.
After two NDC batters reached in the sixth inning, Snodgress was lifted in favor of senior pitcher / first baseman
Lacey McDougall. McDougall retired two of the next three batters to keep the Concord shutout bid alive.
However, NDC would score a run on a fielder's choice by Kelsey Coleman in the seventh to get to within 2-1 of the Mountain Lions. Perhaps the game-saving play came from freshman infielder
Alycea Watson as she ranged to her left from her third base position to cutoff a bounding ball by the Falcons' Makenzie Wallace.
Watson tossed onto third where Furr was covering to get the force out and the potential game-tying run at third base for the second out of the seventh.
McDougall induced a flyout to junior pitcher
Allie Reid in right field to end the game as CU hung on for a 2-1 win.
In addition to Snodgress's pitching excellent, McDougall tossed the final 1.2 innings as she gave up one run (unearned) on two hits while striking out one to pick up her second save of the season.
Along with Rose, junior catcher
Alyssa Morris, Reid and senior outfielder
Jessica Seymour each picked up a hit with Morris driving a double to deep center field in the sixth.
Reid and sophomore outfielder
Lauren Lewis scored the CU runs.
Hall pitched six innings allowing two runs on four hits and punching out four hitters in a losing effort for the Falcons.
The Mountain Lions will advance to the winner's bracket and will play either Charleston 12:00 p.m. Friday.
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