NEWBERRY, S.C. – The Concord University softball team split two games Sunday afternoon at Newberry's Smith Road Complex to round out the Newberry Round Robin Tournament.
The Mountain Lions won the first game against Chowan 8-4. CU was defeated in game two by Newberry by a final score of 13-9. Concord is 2-2 this season.
Game 1: Concord 8 – Chowan 4
The Mountain Lions used a three-run third inning and a five-run fourth inning to help sweep Chowan in two games this weekend.
Concord started it scoring in the bottom of the third with back-to-back triples from senior pitcher/outfielder
Laura Thompson and freshman outfielder
Kylee Stacy. Senior third baseman/outfielder
Sarah Thompson capped the rally with a two-run home run to also plate Stacy.
The scoring picked up for CU in the bottom of the fourth inning. Freshman shortstop/second baseman
Kayla McCraw walked and stole second before advancing to third during L. Thompson's at-bat. With runners on second and third, Stacy brought in both runners with a single. The next batter, S. Thompson, doubled to score Stacy.
A few batters later senior catcher/utility
Mikayah Pulliam reached on an error that allowed S. Thompson to advance to third. Concord loaded the bases when freshman utility
Delaney Fulk walked. Freshman first baseman/outfielder
Kassidy Garvey singled down the left field line to plate S. Thompson and Pulliam.
The Hawks attempted a comeback in the top of the seventh, scoring three runs on three hits. However, freshman pitcher
Caitlyn Bauer recorded her ninth strikeout of the day to end the game. Bauer went the distance to earn her first collegiate win, allowing just one earned run.
Offensively, Stacy, L. Thompson, and S. Thompson combined for six of the team's nine hits. The trio also accounted for six of the team's runs. S. Thompson batted 3-for-3 with a home run and a double as well as three RBI.
Game 2: Newberry 13 – Concord 9
The Mountain Lions battled hard against Newberry, but their comeback fell short as they dropped both games to the Wolves.
CU gained the lead in the top of the first inning. Stacy walked and later scored on a single from freshman shortstop/utility player
Courtney Raines. Raines later scored on a Pulliam two-out single.
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Newberry answered in the bottom half of the first frame, plating four runs on four hits, including two doubles.
Concord's offense took back the lead in the top of the second inning. Three walks in a row loaded the bases for Stacy, who singled to plate a run. The next batter, S. Thompson, used a sacrifice fly to center field to score two on the play.
The second inning would be the last time CU held the lead in the game. Newberry used the bottom half of the second to plate six.
Down 10-5 in the fourth, Concord got runs on back-to-back at-bats from Raines and S. Thompson to trim the margin to three.
The last opportunity for Concord came in the sixth inning where it scored two runs on an S. Thompson single to make the score 11-9.
The Wolves matched the two runs in the bottom half of the frame and shutdown Concord in the seventh.
Freshman pitcher
Racheal Koller was tagged with the loss, allowing eight runs (one earned run).
S. Thompson batted 2-for-3 and plated four RBIs in the effort. L. Thompson was on base total of five times and scored three runs. Pulliam chipped in two hits and an RBI.
CU travels to Tusculum Friday to face the Pioneers in a doubleheader. First pitch of game one is at 2:00 p.m.
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