MARYVILLE, Tenn. - A late-inning push by Randolph College Softball wasn't enough to overcome an early deficit as the WildCats fell 7-4 to Maryville (TN) in game one. For the second game, Randolph exploded early and delivered an impressive 15-4 victory.
After Maryville (5-11) jumped to an early lead with runs in the first and third innings, the Scots broke the game open with a five-run fourth inning. Randolph (1-11)responded in the fifth, capitalizing on defensive miscues. After a sac fly from
Bethany Martz put the WildCats on the board,
Rylee Humble ripped a two-run double to right center, cutting the lead 7-3. Randolph added another run in the sixth when
Chesney Shook's sac fly brought home
Kieran Wrighter, making it a 7-4 game.
Randolph's pitching combined for six strikeouts on the day. Humble worked 5.1 innings while allowing five runs on nine hits.
Delaney Sipes and
Austyn Moran combined for 0.2 innings of relief.
Humble went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Martz recorded an RBI with a walk, while Shook went 1-for-1 with a RBI and a walk.
Lexi Hawkins and Wrighter each provided a hit and
Lacey Lucado stole a base.
In game two, the 'Cats opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI walk from Martz, followed by a sac fly from Moran, giving them a quick 2-0 lead. The offense kept rolling in the second, as they capitalized on a series of errors by Maryville. Lucado and
Riley Shupe both drove in runs, and an additional four unearned runs crossed the plate, pushing the commanding lead to 9-0.
Maryville fought back in the third, putting together four runs, however, Randolph responded in the fourth with more runs,
Laura Herzig scored on a wild pitch, followed by an RBI single from
Haili Gonzalez, extending the lead to 15-4.
Hailey Metzger earned the win, pitching 2.2 innings giving up just one hit to shutdown the Scots' offense. Moran started in the circle for the 'Cats giving up four runs on four hits in 2.1 innings.
The WildCats' offense had significant contributions. Shupe went 2-for-3 with one RBI and two stolen bases, Herzig had three runs and two stolen bases, and Lucado recorded three RBIs. Hawkins was 1-for-2 with two runs and one RBI and Martz had two RBIs.
The 'Cats are back on the road to Mary Baldwin for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday.
