Softball Drops Two At Lander

GREENWOOD, S.C. – The Mars Hill softball team dropped both games of a doubleheader against Peach Belt opponent Lander on Thursday, March 10. The Lions maintained a lead throughout game one before falling late, 5-4. Game two was pitcher-oriented as the Bearcats were able to grind out a 6-0 win.

GAME ONE

The Lions picked up right where they left off in yesterday's huge display of offense, picking up three runs in the top of the first. Patience and good fortune accompanied the Blue and Gold at the plate as they were able to coax three walks out of Lexi Griffith, Lander's starting pitcher.

The big knock of the inning came off the bat of Ragan Broome as she roped a bases-loaded double to left center to plate two of the three runs. Griffith exited the game after only a third of an inning pitched.

Lander was able to scratch across a single run in their portion of the first, executing a perfect double steal to cut the Lions lead to 3-1. Starting pitcher Sydney Elkin did a nice job of damage control following a miscue from the Mars Hill defense. With the bases loaded and two out she got the next batter to softly groundout to first to end the threat.

Emily Crouse put the Lions back in business to start the second with a base hit up the middle before stealing a base to have a runner in scoring position with no out. However, that would be as far she moved on the bases as the next three batters were retired with no harm. Lander took advantage of the missed opportunity and once again chipped away at the deficit, putting up another run to trail 3-2. Elkin wiggled her way out of trouble once more, stranding the tying run 60 feet away.

Neither team could muster any offense in inning three, but Lander would tack on a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to take its first lead of the game, 4-3. The Lions roared back in the top of six to knot the game 4-4 after a leadoff solo shot from Erin Vickery. Unfortunately, the Bearcats tallied a run in the bottom half of the inning to retake the lead 5-4.

Mars Hill had a chance in its final at-bat of game one, putting the tying run on second with no outs, but the next trio of batters were successfully retired, preserving the one-run win for Lander.

Elkin hurled five and a third innings, giving up three earned runs, but was hit with a no decision. Casey Stanek was tagged with the loss as she pitched two-thirds of an inning and allowed one hit and one earned run.

Vickery led the offense in game one as she was the only Lion to collect multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with an RBI while Broome added two RBIs on a 1-of-3 outing at the dish.

GAME TWO

Offense was hard to come by in the early innings of game two. Lander squandered an opportunity in the second when it placed runners on second and third with two out, but Shelby Culler forced a lazy popup on the infield to keep the game scoreless.

The Lions were presented with a chance to break the eggs on the scoreboard, putting a runner on first and second with two out following a base hit just over the third base bag by Shelby Culler, but Jamie Booze was forced into a groundout for the final out.

The Bearcats finally pushed a run across the board in the bottom of the fourth. Following a one-out triple, a slow grounder brought that runner home and staked the home team to a 1-0 lead.

Mars Hill looked poised to tie the game and possibly take the lead in the top of sixth inning. After Kaleigh Jonas drew a leadoff walk, Krista Romine double to right center. Jonas was gunned down at the plate for the first out, but Romine still stood on second with one out. Vickery hit a scud at the shortstop that she couldn't handle and the Lions had runners on the corners with less than two out. However, Bearcats' pitching clamped down and struck out the next two batters without allowing a run to come home to roost.

Lander added five insurance runs with two outs in the bottom of six to blow the game open and eventually swept the twin-billing with a game two score of 6-0.

Hits were hard to come by for the Lions in game two, but Romine tallied a 2-for-3 effort at the plate. Shelby Culler was issued the loss, going 5 2/3 innings and giving up four earned runs on six hits.

The Lions will return to action on Saturday, March 19 as they play host to South Atlantic Conference foe Newberry. Game one is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. at Ponder Field.