Box score
RALEIGH, N.C. --- The Lees-McRae College
softball team continued its strong start to the season on Monday,
splitting a doubleheader with Shaw University as the Bears rallied
for a 9-8 extra-inning victory in game one before the Bobcat
offense exploded for a 15-3 rout in the night cap.
Lees-McRae (3-1) scored 23 runs on 26 hits in the twin-bill,
including 15 tallies on 17 base knocks in the night cap, while
holding Shaw (1-3) to 12 runs on 13 hits. Lindsey Huntsinger
(Asheville, N.C.) continued to swing a hot bat in the early season,
going 5-for-8 in the twin-bill with four RBI to lead a group of six
Bobcats with multi-hit days.
Paige Coleman (Thomasville, N.C.) and Kim Coley (Marion, N.C.)
paced the Bobcats with five RBI each on the day, as Coleman joined
Huntsinger, Anna Carter (Hurdle Mills, N.C.) and Laurel Gregg (Mars
Hill, N.C.) with one home run apiece. Carter and Coley each tallied
four base knocks on the afternoon for the Bobcats, while Karli Robb
(Hayes, Va.) recorded a team-high two triples.
Gregg (1-1) got the nod in game one, allowing six runs (two
earned) on five hits in six and two-thirds innings of work. Magen
West (Whitney, Texas) (2-0) earned the win in the night cap,
allowing three runs on six hits and striking out four Bears. Hollie
Crickenberger (Boydton, Va.) threw an inning of relief in game two,
allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits.
Emily Montgomery (Gainesville, Fla.) paced the Bears with four
hits in seven at-bats to lead a group of four Shaw players with
multi-hit days. Monica Grimmage (Georgetown, S.C.), Kashia Hemphill
(Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Erica Lafrades (Pittsburg, Calif.) each
tallied two hits as Lafrades recorded a team-high two home runs and
four RBI.
Shakia Pledger (Atlanta, Ga.) made the start in game one for the
Bears, striking out five and allowing nine hits in eight innings of
work. Daniela Archibald (Bogota, Columbia) got the nod in game two,
pitching the first three frames before Pledger entered in relief to
finish out the contest.
Game One: Shaw 9, Lees-McRae 8 (8 innings) (Box Score)
Lees-McRae opened the scoring in the top of the third inning,
pushing across three runs on a Coley RBI single, a Bear error, and
a one-run double by Huntsinger to take an early 3-0 lead. Shaw
answered in the bottom of the frame, plating three runs of its own
to knot the score at 3-3 on a two-run home run by Lafrades and an
RBI double by Grimmage.
The Bobcats countered with two runs in both the fourth and fifth
innings to reclaim a 7-4 lead, as Coley roped a two-run single in
the fourth and Carter delivered a two-run shot in the fifth. Shaw
rallied with a run in the fourth and two in the sixth, cutting the
lead to 7-6 heading into the seventh inning.
Lees-McRae added to its total in the seventh, taking an 8-6
advantage on an RBI single by Meagan Knowles (West Palm Beach,
Fla.). The Bears would rally once again, scoring twice in the
seventh on a two-run home run by Montgomery to send the game into
extra innings. Shaw then produced the deciding tally in the eighth
when Pledger reached on a Bobcat error, allowing Jolene Arroyo
(Newburgh, N.Y.) to score the winning run.
Game Two: Lees-McRae 15, Shaw 3 (6 innings) (Box Score)
Lees-McRae got on the board early in game two, taking an early
1-0 lead in the first inning when Huntsinger launched a solo home
run with two outs. The Bobcats extended the lead to 2-0 in the
third on a solo shot by Coleman before erupting for six runs in the
fourth to push the lead to 8-0. Lees-McRae's fourth-inning eruption
featured a bases-clearing double by Coleman sandwiched between RBI
singles from Huntsinger and Carter.
Shaw tallied its first run of the game in the bottom of the
inning, trimming the margin to 8-1 on an RBI single by Erneisha
Cooper that scored Phtyina Hyde from third. After Lees-McRae
notched another run in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by
Coley, Shaw struck back with a pair of tallies in the bottom of the
frame, cutting the lead to 9-3 on a two-run home run by
Lafrades.
The Bobcats responded with another big inning in the sixth,
scoring an additional six runs on a Gregg home run, RBI triples by
Robb and Huntsinger, a Shaw error, and a Coleman RBI single to
stretch the lead to 15-3. West then shut the door in the bottom of
the frame, retiring the Bears in order to close out the win.
Lees-McRae returns to the diamond on Tuesday when the Bobcats
travel to Jefferson City, Tenn. to take on NCAA Division II
Southeast Region foe Carson-Newman College in a non-conference
doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.
- LMC -
