Todd Ryals

Softball Suffers Two Tough Setbacks

3/20/2018 11:46:00 PM

By: LC Sports Information - Brad Welborn

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

The home winning streak would end at eight for the Louisiana College softball team as their American Southwest Conference rival East Texas Baptist University would take both games of a doubleheader on Tuesday night. The Wildcats had leads in both games but were unable to hold the Tigers off as ETBU won by scores of 7-4 and 6-5 at Wildcat Park. The teams will wrap up the series with a single game Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m.

Game 1

After two scoreless innings by both starting pitchers, ETBU would break the scoring silence in the top of the third. With 2-out and runners at second and third a base hit to left brought both runners around to score to put the visitors up 2-0. The lead would stand for an inning, until the Wildcats rallied with 2-out in the bottom of the fourth.

With runners at the corners and 2-out, a ground ball to third appeared as if it would be the final out and LC would be held scoreless once again. An errant throw by the third baseman allowed Taylor Hammock to reach base safely and Briley Johnston to score, cutting the lead in half. The error however would prove to be even more costly for the Tigers as Abby Sterling launched a 1-1 pitch high into left field, just clearing the wall for her third home run of the season, giving LC the 4-2 lead after the fourth inning.

The Tigers got a run back in the top of the fifth, but the Wildcats still held on to the slim lead heading into the final few innings. LC had chances in both the fifth and sixth innings to add some insurance to their lead with runners at second and third with 1-out in both trips to the plate, but could not get the hit they needed, leaving five runners stranded in those two innings alone. That would come back to bite the Wildcats as a solo home run in the top of the seventh by the Tigers tied the game, and put all the momentum in the visitor dugout. ETBU would score four runs in the inning on five hits, taking the wind out of the sails of the Wildcats in game one.

Savannah Settle (6-4) took the loss for the Wildcats, going 6.0 innings allowing five runs on seven this with just one strikeout. The Wildcats offense was held in check for much of the game, limited to only four hits, one each from Briley Johnston, Taylor Hammock, Abby Sterling, and Sami Walters. Sterling provided the big blow with the 3-run home run but it was not enough for the Cats in the series opener.

Game 2

East Texas Baptist came out swinging early, still riding the momentum of the late comeback win from game one. A pair of singles and a hit batter loaded the bases in the top of the first, leading to an RBI single up the middle and another hit batter, both with 2-out, and a 2-0 Tiger lead. A solo home run in the third made the score 3-0 but the Wildcats were about to catch fire in the bottom of the inning.

Shelby Bergeron started things with a walk, then quickly swiped second base. On an infield single from Kaitlyn Moore to short, Bergeron never stopped rounding third and scored, catching the ETBU defense off-guard for the first run of the game. That same scenario would happen two more times in the inning with speedy Wildcat runners scoring from second on balls not even hit out of the infield. Moore came around with the help of a throwing error that went into the dugout, and Briley Johnston slid in under the tag at home on a Sami Walters single. Mattie Stine punched one back up the middle that brought Walters in to put LC up 4-3. Smart base running from Stine put her at second base on the throw to the plater, which directly led to another Wildcat score. Haliee Wilkins came in to run for Stine, and sped around third on a base hit to right from Abby Sterling to give LC the 2-run lead after three innings.

The lead only lasted until the top of the next inning as, once again, a 2-out hit did the damage for ETBU. A double to left center scored runners from first and third to tie the game at five after three and a half innings of play. The Tigers would take the lead in the fifth on a ground ball to first with a runner at third.

The Wildcats had one real opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth getting the needed run to second base, but the key hit would not come in the key situation for LC as they left runners on the bases at the end of the inning.

Cameron Crochet (1-3) suffered the loss in the game for LC, pitching 4.2 innings of relief work, allowing three runs on five hits with one strikeout. The Wildcats had five hits in the game from five different players. Sami Walters, Mattie Stine, Abby Sterling, and Kaitlyn Moore each had a hit and an RBI in the game.

LC and ETBU will finish their three game series on Wednesday afternoon with a 1 p.m. first pitch at Wildcat Park. Stay connected to Louisiana College softball by following @LC_sftball on Twitter or liking Louisiana College Softball on Facebook. For general athletics news follow @LC_Wildcats on Twitter or like Louisiana College Wildcats on Facebook.

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