Lions conclude 2018 season with split versus King

CANDLER, N.C. - The Mars Hill softball team wrapped up their 2018 season with a split against King on Sunday afternoon at Enka High School. The Lions took game one, 9-8, but fell 10-9 in game two.

GAME ONE: MHU 9, KU 8

With the game tied at eight entering the bottom of the sixth, Ashley Evans' solo home run to left field broke the tie and provided the win for the Lions.

King plated three runs in the first inning, including an inside-the-park home run from leadoff hitter, Katie McCann. Jenna Burnett's two-run home run to center field extended the King lead to 3-0 entering the bottom half of the inning.

A two-run home run off the bat of Taylor Lail cut the deficit to one and in the bottom of the second, a RBI single from Christiana Marasa knotted the game at three as Shae Condon scored.

The Tornado stormed back with three runs in the third, kicked off by Katelyn Davidson's solo home run to right field. With the bases loaded, a walk to Leslie Odom scored the second run of the inning. Kaycee Casteel was later hit by a pitch that plated Kay Brokering to reestablish a three-run lead for King.

Mars Hill answered in the bottom half of the inning, scoring five runs. Kayleigh Jonas began the scoring with a two-run home run to right-center field. A King error allowed Ashley Evans to score later in the inning to tie the game at six. Addison Harris and Marasa each had RBI singles to propel the Lions to an 8-6 lead.

After a scoreless fourth inning, King would come back to tie the game with two RBI singles off the bats of Danielle Parks and McCann.

McCann led the Tornado offensively, going 4-for-5 from the plate with two RBI. Hanna Adams went a perfect 3-for-3. Jonas led the Lions with two RBI on three hits in four at-bats. Marasa and Lail each had two RBI in the game one win.

Jonas earned the victory, pitching 1.2 innings and giving up only one hit. Rachel Farmer was credited with the loss, allowing one run on one hit in one inning pitched.

GAME TWO: KU 10, MHU 9

The Tornado would score seven runs in the final three innings to earn the split over Mars Hill to conclude the 2018 regular season.

Trailing 5-3 after four innings, King's Hannah Riddle began their comeback bid with a solo homerun in the top of the fifth inning to pull within one run. Later in the inning, Danielle Parks' two-run double gave the Tornado their first lead in the second game, plating Kay Brokering and Jenna Burnett.

Brokering put King into double-digits in the top of the sixth with a grand slam to deep center field.

The Lions would pull within two after the sixth inning, where they scored three runs. Jordan Harris plated Ragan Broome with a RBI double to right field and was followed by a Taylor Lail RBI single that scored Christiana Marasa. Kayleigh Jonas' sacrifice fly would score Harris as Mars Hill trailed 10-8 after six.

Threatening to complete the come-from-behind win in the bottom of the seventh, Marasa cut the deficit to one with a RBI single to right field. The Lions had runners on first and third with two outs, but a pop fly to right field ended the Lions' season with a 10-9 defeat to King.

Mars Hill jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first off of two home runs. Ragan Broome's 13th of the year was followed by a three-run blast from Jonas later in the inning.

In the top of the third, King pulled within one run by scoring three. Katelyn Davidson's RBI double put the Tornado on the board. Smart base running by King allowed them to score two runs on a fielder's choice off of the bat of Brokering.

Riddle went 3-for-3 for the Tornado with one RBI. Brokering led all players with a game-high six RBI. Jonas had four RBI in the game to lead the Lions. Broome and Marasa each went 3-for-5 in game two.

In a reverse of game one's results, Jonas suffered the loss, giving up six runs on three hits in 1.2 innings pitched. Rachel Farmer allowed four runs on seven hits in two innings for the win.

The Lions conclude the season with a 17-19 record overall.