WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Concord University softball team picked up a pair of shutout wins over Clarion and American International, 8-0 and 1-0, as it concluded The Spring Games Friday afternoon.
The Mountain Lions went 3-3 at The Spring Games and return to Athens with an overall mark of 6-12.
Game 1: Concord 8 – Clarion 0
Freshman pitcher/first baseman
Caitlyn Bauer tossed a one-hit shutout and the CU bats provided plenty of run support as Concord cruised in the first game of the day.
Freshman pitcher/infielder
Rachael Koller's second-inning RBI single opened the scoring in the second inning. The first three hitters reached to begin the third inning, including freshman shortstop/utility
Courtney Raines driving in senior outfielder/pitcher
Laura Thompson as part of a two-run third.
The early scoring was more than enough for Bauer who allowed two base runners in the first three innings—the lone hit coming on a leadoff single in the second. From there, the Lexington, North Carolina native sat down 13 straight Clarion hitters from the third until a two-out walk in the seventh. But, Bauer preserved the shutout with her seventh strikeout to end the game.
Concord added to the lead in the sixth with four runs. Raines drove in two more runs while freshman third baseman
Kylee Stacy's second hit of the day produced an RBI. Stacy added a third hit and second RBI in the top of the seventh.
Koller, Stacy and Thompson all had three hits. Raines had two hits and three RBI. Stacy and Thompson both stole two bases at the top of the order. CU pounded out a season-high 14 hits.
Bauer's complete game line yielded just the one hit and a pair of walks to Clarion. The shutout from Bauer was the first of the season for the Mountain Lions.
Game 2: Concord 1 – American International 0
Koller twirled a two-hit shutout and a second-inning run was enough for the Mountain Lions to earn the win over AIC.
Concord manufactured a two-out rally in the second inning to scratch across the game's only run. Freshman second baseman/shortstop
Kayla McCraw's single was between a pair of walks to junior catcher/outfielder
Jolie Privett and fifth-year senior outfielder
Hanna Hylton. With the bases loaded, freshman utility
Aubrey Matice singled home Privett.
Over the next two innings, Koller kept the shutout intact with a double play in each inning. The Columbus, Ohio native ended the fifth inning with her fifth and final strikeout of the afternoon.
The Yellow Jackets had the tying run in scoring position in the sixth and the go-ahead run on base too, but Koller induced a pop up to end the frame. And she tossed a 1-2-3 seventh to preserve the 1-0 victory.
Koller improved to 3-5 on the season as she allowed two hits and struck out five.
After three hits in game one, Thompson added three more hits in game two that included a double. Matice was 2-for-3 at the bottom of the order.
CU collected 10 total hits in the contest.
The Mountain Lions open Mountain East Conference play March 19 against Charleston at home.
Â
