Mars Hill earns split with Winston-Salem State in home opener
The Mars Hill softball team (3-1) split with Winston-Salem State (3-1) Sunday afternoon in their 2019 home opener. The Lions fell by a score of 6-2 in the first game, but rebounded by no-hitting the Rams in game two's 8-0 win.
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill softball team (3-1) split with Winston-Salem State (3-1) Sunday afternoon in their 2019 home opener. The Lions fell by a score of 6-2 in the first game, but rebounded by no-hitting the Rams in game two's 8-0 win.
GAME ONE: WSSU 6, MHU 2
The Lions suffered their first loss of the 2019 season, falling to the Rams of Winston-Salem State by a score of 6-2 in game one of Sunday's doubleheader.
A four-run Rams' third inning sealed the Lions' fate. Jasmine McCain plated the first of the four runs with a RBI single through the left side of the infield. Kortney Thomas followed up with a two RBI double into left to put Winston-Salem State up 4-0 in the contest. A RBI groundout from Aniyah Jones scored Shauntaja Dedecker for the fourth run of the inning.
The Lions scored the next two runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth inning to narrow the deficit to three. Emiley Burriss' RBI single broke the shutout bid in the fourth and Ragan Broome's solo shot in the fifth gave the Lions their second run of the contest.
In the top of the seventh, however, Destiny Snipes added an insurance run with a solo home run of her own to give Winston-Salem State the 6-2 lead.
Casey Stanek went 3-for-3 for the Lions while Thomas matched her hitting performance for the Rams. Thomas led all players with two RBI.
Erica Davis struck out four in the complete game win, allowing two runs on 10 hits. Christiana Marasa suffered the loss, allowing three runs on four hits in two innings pitched.
GAME TWO: MHU 8, WSSU 0
Mars Hill pounced on the Rams in game two, handing them their first loss of the year by scoring eight runs in the first three innings and coming away with the 8-0 win to earn the split.
Krista Romine opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning with a RBI double, plating Ragan Broome to put Mars Hill up 1-0. Later in the inning, Jordan Harris smashed her first home run of the season, a two-run blast to put the Lions up 3-0.
In the second inning, Ashley Evans put the Lions up 4-0 with a RBI groundout that plated Cassidy Allen. A Rams error, with Lions' runners on second and third, allowed Mars Hill to extend their lead to a half dozen.
Allen's two-run single up the middle scored Taylor Nilsson and Ashley Collins to the Lions up 8-0 for the remainder of the game.
Harris led all players with two hits and tied with Allen with two RBI.
Both Collins, in four innings of play, and Jennifer Poston combined for the five-inning no-hitter. Collins was credited with her first win of the season. Tia Robinson allowed eight runs on seven hits in four innings pitched in the loss.
The Lions return to Ponder Field on Wednesday, February 6th when they host Montreat. The doubleheader is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitcher.
