The Lees-McRae Lady Bobcats softball team split a pair of
Carolinas-Virginia Atheltic Conference games with Belmont Abbey
Tuesday afternoon, winning game one 8-2, before falling in the
nightcap 12-6. Both teams improve their overall records to 4-12,
and earn their first CVAC win of the year with the Lady Bobcats
moving to 1-3 and the Lady Crusaders moving to 1-5.
In the opener, Lees-McRae pitcher Amanda Dodson, (pictured top
left), went the distance on the mound, allowing two runs on ten
hits while striking out seven. Dodson also got things started
offensively with a three run home run in the top of the first
inning to give the visitors an early lead they would never
relinquish. The Lady Crusaders put themselves on the board in the
bottom of the first when Abby Threatt walked, moved to third on a
double by Katie Hobbs, and scored on a ground out by Erica
Rutledge.
The game remained 3-1 in favor of the Lady Bobcats until the
fourth inning when Lees-McRae added three more to make the score
6-1. In the fifth, the Lady Bobcats put things out of reach with
two more runs for insurance to coast to the 8-2 victory. Dodson
earned the win on the mound for the Lady Bobcats while Rutledge
took the loss.
In game two, the Abbey jumped ahead 4-0 in the bottom of the
third. With one out, the Crusaders loaded the bases for Rutledge,
who ripped a single to right scoring Brittany Memoli and Jessica
Inman to give the Abbey a 2-0 lead. The home side would then take
advantage of one of five Bobcats errors to score another run, as
Hobbs scored on a throwing error to extend the lead to 3-0. Sowell
followed with a double to right that brought home Rutledge to
increase the lead to 4-0.
The Bobcats got on the board in the fourth on a sacrifice fly,
but the Abbey countered with four more runs in its half of the
inning, taking advantage of four Bobcats errors to extend its lead
to 8-1.
Lees-McRae cut the lead to 8-6 with three runs in the fifth and
two more in the sixth, but the Crusaders scored four more in the
sixth, three coming on a homer to left center by Rutledge, and the
other coming on an RBI double by Gina Stewart that plated
Sowell.
Carrie Markham picked up the win for the Lady Crusaders while
Jessica Kinsey took the loss for the Lady
Bobcats.
The Lady Bobcats will hit the road this weekend for a pair of
CVAC matchup, battling Erskine College in a doubleheader Friday
before locking up with Anderson University for another doubleheader
Saturday afternoon.
