Mars Hill sweeps Coker in SAC opener
The Mars Hill softball team (16-5, 2-0 SAC) swept Coker (19-6, 0-2 SAC) in their South Atlantic Conference home opener, taking game one by a score of 7-4 and game two, 8-5.
MARS HILL, N.C - The Mars Hill softball team (16-5, 2-0 SAC) swept Coker (19-6, 0-2 SAC) in their South Atlantic Conference home opener, taking game one by a score of 7-4 and game two, 8-5.
GAME ONE: MHU 7, COK 4
After tying the game in the bottom of the third, Mars Hill took the 5-4 lead in the fourth and maintained the advantage to win their eighth straight game.
Mars Hill's Casey Stanek drove in the game-winning run with a single into right field that plated Cassidy Allen. Ashley Evans, who tied the game at four in the third with a two-run home run, extended the Lions' lead with a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Jordan Harris.
In the bottom of the sixth and with runners on second and third, Stanek's bunt eluded the Coker pitcher and third baseman, allowing Allen to score and Krista Romine to advance to third.
Stanek picked up the win in her ninth complete game of the season, forcing two groundouts and a popout as the Lions earned their first SAC win of the season.
Coker scored the opening run in the top of the first. With the bases loaded, Ashley Meckley was hit by a pitch, allowing Anna Gluhosky to score. The Lions tied the game at one in the bottom of the second off of an Allen RBI single up the middle, allowing Harris to score.
The Cobras regained the lead, capitalizing off of Mars Hill errors by score three runs in the third. Taylor Nilsson's RBI groundout cut the deficit in half before Evans' home run knotted the game at four.
Meckley led the Cobras with two RBI in the game while Evans led all players with three RBI. Allen went 3-for-3 one the day, scoring two runs and adding one RBI.
Stanek struck out six for her 10th win of the season. Christine Carver allowed five runs on six hits in four innings pitched in the loss.
GAME TWO: MHU 8, COK 5
The Lions completed the sweep of the Cobras by scoring three unanswered runs to take game two by a score of 8-5.
After Coker had tied the game at five by scoring three runs in the top of the fourth, Mars Hill's Cassidy Allen broke the time with a RBI double to right center field that scored Christiana Marasa from first base. Casey Stanek tacked on another run with a single up the middle, allowing Allen to score.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Addison Harris' solo home run put the Lions up by three.
Harris gave Mars Hill the 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a RBI double to left center field that scored Krista Romine. In the top of the third, following a Mars Hill error, Coker took the 2-1 lead as Anna Gluhosky and Makayla Shore scored.
The Lions scored three runs in the bottom of the third, beginning with Stanek's RBI groundout that allowed Allen to score. Maggie Langheim ripped a two-run home run over the center field fence to put Mars Hill up 4-2 and was shortly followed by Jordan Harris' solo home run to give the Lions a three-run lead.
Coker's Ashley Meckley began the Cobras' comeback bid with a RBI single up the middle that plated Alex Alverson. Madison King's RBI double pulled the Cobras within one before scoring the tying run off of Shore's RBI single to center field.
Meckley, King and Shore each had two hits for Coker while Addison Harris led the Lions with two hits and two RBI. Allen and Romine also added two hits apiece for Mars Hill.
In 2.2 scoreless innings pitched, Christiana Marasa earned the win, giving up four hits and striking out two. Stanek picked up her second save of the season, striking out two of the three batters she faced. Jordyn Goodman was credited with the loss, allowing two runs on two hits in one inning pitched.
The Lions host King on Tuesday, March 19th in non-conference play. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.