Bowling Green, Ky. - The WKU Lady Toppers softball team hosted the Topper Fall Classic II Saturday, going 2-0 on the day. WKU defeated Volunteer State 21-3, before defeating Eastern Kentucky, 4-3. The Lady Toppers finished their fall tournaments 6-2.
"I believe we had a very strong fall, we finished 6-2 with such a young group of players that are in key positions for us right now", said head coach Tyra Perry. "Even in our losses against Louisville and Tennessee we played really well and grew, which is what the fall is for. I am very pleased with our outcome. We will continue in our last week of team practice to work on some of the things we saw that were maybe weaknesses in our game and turn those into strengths. We are looking forward to finishing up with our Hilltopper World Series at the end."
In the opening game, the Lady Toppers dominated with a 21-3 victory. Lady Topper senior Elizabeth Ferrell drilled a solo home run to centerfield in the first inning to set the pace of the game. In the second, sophomore Shelby Taylor hit a single to left field and was brought in on a home run by sophomore Katrina Metoyer. Freshman Kelsey Mattox and Ferrell both followed up with singles and brought two more runs in, with a total of four runs in the second. WKU tallied two runs in both the four and fifth innings with a double from Mattox and sophomore Mallorie Sulaski, while sophomore's Casey Clark and Karavin Dew both tallied singles. With nine runs going into the sixth the Lady Toppers blew up the bases and brought 12 runs in to close-out the game after six innings. The sixth inning brought eight singles and two doubles from the Lady Toppers making it through the line-up twice.
Volunteer State did tally three runs against the Lady Toppers. In the fourth Volunteer State brought two runs in with one single in the inning, following up in the fifth inning with one more run.
The Lady Toppers tallied 27 hits in the game with 19 singles, six doubles and two home runs.
WKU battled Eastern Kentucky University in game two of the day, defeating EKU 4-3. The Lady Toppers brought in their first run in the bottom of the third inning with a single from Metoyer and a single from Ferrell, Metoyer was brought in for the opening run. In the bottom of the fourth inning junior Amanda Walden hit a solo home run for a 2-0 lead over EKU.
Eastern Kentucky brought in one run in the top of the fifth inning with one single to close in on the Lady Topper lead by one. WKU brought in two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to lead 4-1, with a double to left field from Mattox and a single to left field from Walden. EKU tried to come back in the top of the seventh bringing in two runs, with two singles and a double.
The Lady Toppers tallied seven hits in game two with four singles, one double and one home run.
The WKU Lady Toppers will hold their next softball camp November 13, for pitching/catching and offensive skills at the WKU Softball Complex. Girls ages eight to high school senior are invited to sign up. A camp brochure can be found HERE. For more information contact Bonnie Bynum at bonnie.bynum@wku.edu or office #: 270-745-6848
