HILLTOPPERS SWEEP, EARN COMEBACK WIN OVER TROY
TROY, Ala. – With Day Two of the Cardinal Clash well under way, WKU Softball improved to a 4-0 record on the weekend with a 2-0 win over Eastern Illinois and a thrilling, 6-5 comeback win over Troy.
The Hilltoppers (5-4 overall) battled through a pitcher's duel in the game against EIU (2-6 overall) while the game against the Trojans (5-3 overall) came down to the final outs in the seventh.
HOW IT HAPPENED
WKU 2, EIU 0
With 10 of EIU's first 12 outs being hit to either sophomore shortstop Morgan Sharpe or redshirt junior center fielder Jenna Blanton, freshman right hander Delainey Bargfrede took care of business through the first four innings only giving up three hits.
Fellow freshman right hander Erica Houge took over for Bargfrede in the bottom of the fifth and only gave up two more hits before junior right hander Maddy Wood closed the game to earn her first save of the season.
On the other side of the plate, EIU's McKenzie Oslanzi kept the Tops off the board until the top of the sixth when sophomore outfielder Kendle White singled up the middle for the first hit of the day.
Soon after, Blanton placed a bunt down the third base line to move White to second who then took advantage of a EIU defensive miscue to advance to third. Sharpe sent a shot to shortstop for a single while White came home for the Tops' first run of the game.
Back-to-back singles from senior catcher Randi Drinnon and sophomore first baseman Annie White put yet another Hilltopper in scoring position.
Freshman pinch hitter Kennedy Stinson took advantage of WKU's position and sent a ball down the left field line to score junior pinch runner Anniston Bray who had subbed in for Drinnon earlier in the half inning.
Wood quickly settled back in in the bottom of the seventh, producing two groundouts and one strikeout to end the game.
WKU 6, Troy 5
In the most thrilling game of the season so far, the Hilltoppers were the comeback queens on Saturday night, fighting through a two-run deficit after the second and a one-run deficit after the fourth for their first comeback win of the season.
The Tops started on top in the second frame as freshman second baseman Charlotte Herron and Stinson combined to put two Hilltoppers on the base paths. A sacrifice bunt from White pushed the two over while Blanton grounded out to third but not before Herron crossed the plate for WKU's first run of the game.
Right after Blanton's RBI, Sharpe wanted one of her own as she registered an RBI single to score Stinson to put the Hilltoppers up 2-0 after the top half of the inning.
The Trojans answered right back in the home half of the inning with two doubles, two fielder's choice plays, and a single to score four before sophomore right hander Rylan Smith took over from Wood and struck out two back-to-back to settle the inning but not before the Trojans took the lead, 4-2.
While the third inning was quiet offensively for both squads, the fourth found WKU adding another two to their total thanks to three straight singles from Blanton, White, and Sharpe. A fielding error by the Trojans' left fielder scored White while a wild pitch scored Blanton two at-bats later.
Tied at four, Troy put together a two-out rally to add another run to the scoreboard to take the lead 5-4 going into the fifth inning.
Neither the fifth or sixth proved fruitful for the Hilltoppers, but the top of the seventh certainly was as sophomore designated hitter Maci Masters sent a pitch back where it came from to get one aboard. Bray, pinch running for Masters, advanced to second after a passed ball while Drinnon reached on a throwing error and subsequently put Hilltoppers on first and third.
Junior outfielder Kaytlan Kemp pinch ran for Drinnon and wasted no time stealing second, putting Hilltoppers on second and third.
Down to what could have been their last batter of the game, White stepped up for the Hilltoppers and singled up the middle to score both Bray and Kemp and re-take the lead, 6-5.
The Trojans weren't going down without a fight, however, as their first batter produced a single, but Smith struck out the next batter. Continuing the theme of dramatic game play, she then produced a double play thanks to freshman third baseman Katie Murphy snagging a line drive and throwing out a runner too far away to tag up at first.
NOTABLES
- The game against Troy marked the second game this season with double-digit hits (10)
- Maddy Wood earned her first save of the season against Eastern Illinois
- 12 of the 21 total outs against EIU were either by Morgan Sharpe or Jenna Blanton
- Rylan Smith led the pitching staff with four strikeouts on the day
NEXT UP
WKU wraps up its trip to Alabama with one more game on Sunday against Alabama State. First pitch is scheduled for 9 a.m. CT.
