Lady Cougs SWEEP the Lancers in Merciful Action
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Grace | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 16 | 1 |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The University of Saint Francis Softball team continued their home stretch against the Crossroad League competitor Grace College at Westendorf Field, Wednesday afternoon in a doubleheader. The Lady Cougars won both games of the double header winning Game 1 in 5-innings, 9-1 and Game 2 in 6-innings, 11-3.
In Game 1, Kenzie Rust gained the start on the mound striking out 2 batters and only giving up 4 hits. The Lady Cougars gained the lead early in the game with Tori Miller homering in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Carly Turner also singled allowing Mady Minnich to advance home and score. The Lady Cougars continued to bring the heat into the 3rd inning with Anna Smith trippling to center field allowing Aubrey Dunnuck to advance home and score as well. Abi Erwin hit a sac-fly to right field allowing Anna Smith to score. The Lady Cougars continued momentum into the 4th inning with Brooklyn McCord hitting a sac-fly to left field with Carly Turner advancing home. Macie Dowd also hti a 2-run homer to advance herslef & Iliff home. In the 5th inning, Taylor Horsley hit the go ahead run to mercy the Lancers in 5 innings, advanving Dani Karr home for the 8-run deficit win.
Macie Dowd went 3:3 from the plate, Carly Turner went 2:2 from the plate, and Paiton Iliff and Aubrey Dunnuck both went 1:3 from the plate. Anna Smith and Tori Miller both went 1:2 from the plate with Dani Karr and Taylor Horsley both going 1:1 from the plate. The Lady Cougars tallied up 9 RBI's from Brooklyn McCord, Aubrey Dunnuck, Anna Smith, Tori Miller, Abby Erwin, Carly Turner, & Taylor Horsley. Macie Dowd also tallied 2 RBI's.
After asking Taylor Horsely how it felt to hit a walk-off mercy hit in the first game she said, "I just knew I had to get in and do the job so I got into that mindset and helped to advance Dani home."
In Game 2, Mia Werner earned her start on the mound, striking out 5 batters and only giving up 4 hits in her four innings pitched. The Lady Cougars brought the heat early into Game 2 with Macie Dowd singling, allowing both Brooklyn McCord and Paiton Iliff to advance home. The Lady Cougars continued to bring the heat into the 3rd inning with Tori Miller doubling into center field, allowing Anna Smith to advance & score. Brenna Homan then singled to shortstop, allowing Abi Erwin to advance & score another run. Paiton Illif also tripled into center feld, advancing Homan home for another run.
The Lady Cougs also had a huge 4th inning as well, with Anna Smith hitting a single into left field, advancng Dunnuck home. Tori Miller tripled into center field, allowing Anna Smith to score. Abi Erwin also singled to shortstop, advancing Miller home for another run. In the 5th inning, Anna Smith singled to shortstop, tallying an RBI. In the 6th inning, Macie Dowd singled to second base, advancing the runners and picking up an RBI.
Key at-bats included Macie Dowd going 3:5 from the plate, Anna Smith going 3:4, and Paiton Iliff, Tori Miller, and Abi Erwin all going 2:3 from the plate. The Lady Cougars tallied up 11 RBI's for the 6-inning mercy win. The Lady Cougars also had 3 stolen bases from Brooklyn McCord, Macie Dowd, and Aubrey Dunnuck.
Kenzie Rust came in to pitch relief half way through the 5th inning, striking out 1 batter and giving up only 1 hit.
When looking to get into scoring position, Aubrey Dunnuck stated, "I look for the sign, and I just dive. That's all, my favorite part of a game is stealing a base". Taylor Horsley also mentiuoned that the series stretch of home games has not been an easy ride & stated, "It's very mentally tough, but I would say I make sure I get enough sleep and get my homework done and try my best every game."
Dunnuck also chimed in that, "I'm getting a little older, so it's really important that I take care of my body. I also count on my team to build eachother up both mentally and physically."
The Lady Cougars will continue their season at 4-14 in the Crossroads League and at 10-18 overall. USF will be continuing their home stretch for their next doubleheader to compete against Goshen College. The Lady Cougars will play Goshen College Friday (April 14th) with 3pm & 5pm start times. The Goshen College Maple Leaves are currently 20-13 overall and 12-8 in the Crossroads League.
Cougar fans stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.
-Haylea Sorrell-
