Western dropped to 1-3 on the year.
The first game of the day was a nail biter that lasted nine innings before the Hokies (8-2) won on a bases-loaded walk. Ashton Strode went the distance, giving up only the three runs on five hits in what head coach Rachel Lawson called “an impressive outing” for the freshman’s collegiate debut.
The Hilltopper offense was led by Renita Pennington, who collected two hits and scored Western’s two runs. She scored in the second inning from second base on a base hit from Jen Ballance, crossing the plate again in the top of the eighth after a sacrifice fly by Dana Rey.
The game ended in the bottom of the ninth inning when Kathleen Jones scored on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Kelsey Hoffman on a full count.
In the Hilltoppers’ second game of the doubleheader, they took on Miami and lost 2-0. Courtney Salmon, the Red Hawks pitcher, threw a complete-game shutout, allowing only five hits.
Pennington accounted for three of WKU’s five hits in the game. Western’s best chance to score came in the sixth inning when it had two runners in scoring position with just one out. The Hilltoppers could not capitalize, though, as Salmon got the next two batters to strike out and pop out to end the scoring threat.
Adrienne Lathrop was in the circle for Western and went all six innings, giving up two runs on eight hits; she also struck out two.
“We had a great outing against Virginia Tech, we made the most of our scoring opportunities,” commented Lawson after the doubleheader. “If we continue to play this way, we’ll be fine this season. We showed great patience at the plate and looked good defensively. And, I can’t say enough about our pitching.”
The final day of the Sonic Challenge is Sunday, with the Hilltoppers playing James Madison at 9 a.m. (CST) and Virginia Tech at 11:15 a.m.
