Stanek Ties Total Bases Mark in Doubleheader Split
The Mars Hill softball team split a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader with Wingate on Saturday at Ponder Field. Wingate won 12-2 in six innings in the first game, with Mars Hill third baseman Robyn Stanek tying the school record with 10 total bases as part of a 10-9 victory in the nightcap.
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill softball team split a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader with Wingate on Saturday at Ponder Field. Wingate won 12-2 in six innings in the first game, with Mars Hill third baseman Robyn Stanek tying the school record with 10 total bases as part of a 10-9 victory in the nightcap. Mars Hill is 14-10 overall and 2-4 in league play, Wingate is 23-11 and 5-1 in the conference.
Game 1: Wingate 12, Mars Hill 2 (6 innings)
An 11 run sixth inning for Wingate broke a 1-1 tie as the Bulldogs won their fifth conference game of the season.
Mars Hill pushed the first run of the game across in the second inning. Aleshia Peek led off with a single and advanced to third on a Brittany Gibson single with one out. With Erin Vickery at the plate, Gibson broke for second, with Peek bolting for home after Wingate catcher Taylor Laskey threw to second. Peek just beat the throw and Laskey's tag to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.
Wingate tied the game in the fourth inning on a Mellena Helms single that scored Katie McLaurin. Kyara Porche and Jamie Booze gunned down Amy Wingfield trying to score from second on the play to end the inning.
Wingfield began Wingate's 11-run sixth inning with a single, scoring on an Adams single before Adams scored what would be the game-winning run on an Olivia Smith double. Of the Bulldogs' 11 runs, nine scored with two outs.
Brittany Gibson hit her first home run of the season with one out in the seventh inning.
Gibson went three-for-three with two singles, a stolen base, and a home run. Peek went one-for-three with a single and run scored. Robyn Stanek went one-for-one with two walks. Booze and Shaundee Woosley each had a hit.
Stacey Houser earned her 14th win of the season, allowing two runs on seven hits with four walks and a strikeout. Shelby Culler took her second loss of the season, allowing six runs on eight hits in 1.2 innings. Starter Taylor Hussey allowed one run on seven hits with a walk and two strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
Game 2: Mars Hill 10, Wingate 9
Jamie Hockaday's one-out single in the sixth inning broke a 9-9 tie as Mars Hill battled for a 10-9 win and a doubleheader split. The Lions tied a school record with four home runs in the game, as Robyn Stanek tied the school record with 10 total bases and became the 19th player in school history to hit two home runs in a game.
Wingate scored a pair of runs in the first inning on RBI singles from Kayla Saliga and Katie McLaurin for a 2-0 lead. Mars Hill answered in the home half of the innings, scoring three runs with two outs. Robyn Stanek reached on a double and scored on a Hockaday single. Aleshia Peek cleared the bases with her third home run of the season to right-center field for a 3-2 Lion lead.
The Bulldogs answered in the second inning as Jordan Wilson led off with a single and scored on a Mellena Helms single. Shannen Adams scored on a Taylor Laskey sacrifice fly to give Wingate a 4-3 lead.
Stanek tied the game for Mars Hill with her first home run of the game in the third inning. Stanek's second home run with one out in the fifth inning was the spark for a five-run inning. Hockaday followed with a home run, marking the first time the season the Lions have had back-to-back homers. Brittany Gibson drove in Peek with a single, followed by a two-run base hit by Erin Vickery that plated Jamie Booze and Gibson.
Wingate answered in the sixth with five runs on an Olivia Smith single, a Laskey ground-rule double, Saliga groundout and singles from McLaurin and Jordan Wilson.
The Lions broke the tie with a run in the sixth. Shaundee Woosley led off with a walk but was retired on a fielder's choice that allowed Cori Dew to reach. Following a Stanek walk, Dew scored on Hockaday's single that bounced off the left field fence.
In the Wingate seventh, Taylor Hussey got a pair of quick outs before issuing a walk to Laskey. A ground out by Alexis Burrell ended the game.
Stanek went three-for-three with a double, two home runs, two RBIs and three runs scored. Hockaday went three-for-four with a home run, two singles, two runs scored and three RBIs. Vickery went two-for-two with two singles and two RBIs. Peek went two-for-four with a single, home run, two runs scored and two RBIs.
Taylor Hussey earned her team-leading fifth win of the season, allowing one run on three hits with one walk and a strikeout in 1.2 innings. Stacey Houser took the loss, she allowed four runs, one earned, on four hits with two walks in 1.2 innings.
Mars Hill returns to action on Wednesday, traveling to Carson-Newman for a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.