GREENWOOD, S.C. – The Flagler College softball team opened Peach Belt Conference play Sunday (March 8) afternoon and came out on the short-end of both games of a doubleheader at Lander University. The Bearcats took game one, 2-0, and completed the sweep with a 5-3 victory.
Lander improved to 7-9 overall and evened its PBC record at 4-4. Flagler fell to 5-16 overall.
In the first game, Hannah Newton (4-5) tossed a complete game, two-hit shutout, and faced just three batters over the minimum. She forced the Saints into 16 fly outs. Newton retired the last 11 batters she faced in a row.
The Bearcats took advantage of two defensive miscues by the Saints to score the only runs of the game. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Casey Wooten led off by reaching on a bunt-single. She took second on a sacrifice bunt and then took third when Dariean Ward reached on a fielder's choice. Halie Sorrow followed with a grounder to
Mallory Allen who threw to first base to get the out, but nobody was there to catch the ball. Wooten trotted home from third and Ward was able to score when Flagler catcher
Hollianne Dohrn tried to throw her out at third base. The ball got away and Ward scored.
Haleigh Corbally (1-2) took a tough loss in the circle for Flagler. She went the distance and allowed four hits and two unearned runs. She fanned three. Corbally retired 13 of the first 15 batters she faced.
Destiny Clyde and Emily Marousek each hit a double for the Bearcats.
Tori Volz and
Mackenzie Conley each collected a base hit for the Saints.
In game two, the Bearcats scored two runs in the first and added another in the second, but had to hold on in the end for a 5-3 win.
Clyde hit an RBI-single and Ward knocked her in with a double in the first inning to give Lander a 2-0 lead.
In the second inning, Ward was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Lander increased its lead to 3-0.
The Saints rallied back in the sixth with the help of
Malloree Escue's two-run double.
But Lander got those runs right back in the bottom half of the frame on Ward's two-run single to take a 5-2 lead.
Maddy Murphy hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh, but the Saints couldn't get any closer.
Amanda Chastain (3-4) tossed six innings, allowed six hits and two runs and she walked a batter. Hannah Newton recorded her third save of the season by pitching the last inning.
Ward went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and four runs batted in. Molly McNulty singled twice and scored a run.
Rachel Hudson (0-1), in her first start of the season, pitched 1.2 innings, surrendered four hits and two earned runs.
Katelynn Smith pitched the remaining 4.1 innings.
Lauren Roudabush collected two singles for the Saints.
Flagler returns home for its first home games since Feb. 14. The Saints host Shorter College in a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday (March 11) at 4 p.m. at Flagler Field.
