Todd Ryals

Settle Matches Career Best and Bats Out Dual Jackets

3/25/2017 7:30:00 PM

By: LC Sports Information - Brad Welborn

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Having their series pushed back a day due to severe thunderstorms in East Texas at LeTourneau University on Friday, the Louisiana College Lady Wildcats softball team were not phased and picked up their eighth series win of the season. In the first game of the day LC ace Savannah Settle pitched another gem in the Wildcats 2-1 win. In the second game, it was the offense that carried the day, ourscoring LeTourneau 8-6 for their 18th win in a row and 15th consecutive American Southwest Conference win. LC will attempt to sweep their sixth straight opponent on Sunday, with a 2 p.m. start time in Longview.

Game 1

It was another exceptional day for Wildcats ace Savannah Settle, retiring the first eight batters of the game in a row and recording seven strikeouts in a row from the first inning through the third before allowing her first hit, a 2-out single to left in the bottom of the third. After giving up the single in the third, she got the next batter on ground ball to third.

Through the next three innings, the junior retired nine of the next 10 batters she faced, with six more strikeouts. The lone batter to reach base hit a 2-out triple to right center field in the fifth inning.

With Settle dominating the Yellow Jackets in the circle the Wildcats offense didn't ned to provide much support to get LC another win. The Wildcats got their first run of the game when Morgan Dennis got a base hit down the right field line to score Taylor Hammock from second and give LC the 1-0 lead. The Wildcats added an insurance run in the top of the fifth on a 2-out RBI single by Mattie Stine, a run that would prove to be the winning run two innings later.

With the 2-0 lead going into the final inning, Settle reentered the circle with a chance to break her career best strikeout performance of 13. She would get the first two batters of the inning on routine pop-ups to first and second base. The third batter of the inning, however, was able to connect on a two strike pitch for a solo home run, cutting the Wildcats lead in half with one swing of the bat. Two pitches later, Settle ended the game on a fly ball to left and would "settle" for her second 13 strikeout game of the season, and a Wildcats win.

Settle tied a career high in strikeouts with 13, a feat she has done twice this season and three times in her career. She tossed her 11th complete game of the season and picked up her 11th win in the process. She allowed one run on three hits with the 13 strikeouts and no walks. Shea Smith (2-3) was the only Wildcat to have multiple hits in the game, and both Mattie Stine and Morgan Dennis each had RBI hits in the game.

Game 2

If the first game was a pitcher's duel, the second game of the day was a slugfest between LC and LETU. In every inning, save for the first and the last, at least one run was scored by either LC or LETU, and in three straight innings both teams scored in their halves at the plate. The Wildcats were able to outscore the Yellow Jackets thanks to some clutch hitting throughout the day.

After the scoreless first, Morgan Dennis and Morgan Wampler reached base on base hits and put runners at first and third with no-out. On a full count pitch, catcher Kourtney Herrera hit her first home run of the season to give the Wildcats an early 3-0 lead after an inning and a half. LETU answered back with three straight 1-out hits to load the bases. They then picked up two runs on a single up the middle and an RBI ground out to second, making the score 3-2 Wildcats after two innings of play.

LC matched their three spot in the second with another in the third. A 1-out walk to Morgan Wampler loaded the bases for Herrera, who hit a fly ball deep enough to center to allow Taylor Hammock to score from third. The next batter, Cameron Crochet ripped a double down the left field line to score Wampler and Shea Smith and put the Wildcats back up 6-2.

With the score 7-3 in the Wildcats favor entering the bottom of the fourth inning, the Yellow Jackets scored the next three runs to pull within one of the Wildcats. A bases loaded walk in the fourth and a single to left plated two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, before LC starter Darian Thacker got out of the jam with a fly ball to left. In the fifth, LETU cut the lead to one on a 1-out solo home run, but that would be all they would get as Thacker got the next two batters to pop up to Dennis at third.

The Wildcats picked up their final run two batters into the sixth inning, after a double by Mattie Stine to start the inning, and a single down the right field line from Taylor Hammock, making the score 8-6, going into the bottom of the sixth. The Wildcats went to the bullpen for the final two innings, bringing Chelsea Lewis into the game who proceeded to strikeout six of the final seven batters of the game to get her third save of the season for the Wildcats.

Darian Thacker improved to 6-0 on the season with the win, allowing six runs, three of them earned, on nine hits with five strikeouts. Chelsea Lewis was dominant in relief once again, going two innings, allowing one hit and striking out six. Every player in the lineup had at least one hit in the game and LC had five extra base hits, Taylor Hammock (3-4) was the only Wildcat with more than one hit. Kourtney Herrera drove in four runners with her home run and a sacrifice fly in the game.

LC will attempt to sweep their sixth straight ASC opponent on Sunday afternoon, with a 2 p.m. first pitch against LeTourneau. They Wildcats will then return to Wildcat Park for a doubleheader Monday evening against Birmingham-Southern University. Stay connected to Louisiana College softball all season at www.lcwildcats.net, by following @LC_sftball on Twitter, and liking LC Athletics on Facebook.

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