The Falcon softball team nearly completed a sweep of the Elon Softball Classic tournament in Elon, N.C. as they won four out of five games.
The team defeated the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers 12-3 on Sunday morning and the Rhode Island Rams 9-1 and the Elon Phoenix 6-3 on Saturday after falling to Elon 4-3 on Friday afternoon, but winning on Friday morning 3-2 in extra innings against the North Texas Mean Green.
On Sunday, the team jumped out to an early lead as junior infielders Kaylee Parker and Kellie Natham each hit a pair of RBI singles in the first inning to give the team a 2-0 advantage. The team added to the lead in the third as Parker hit a 2 RBI double and senior catcher Laine Simmons got an RBI sacrifice fly to make it a 5-0 game. While Mount St. Mary’s made it a 5-3 game in the third and fourth innings, the Falcons restored their advantage with a three run fifth inning. After getting another run home on a fielding error in the sixth, freshman infielder Sarah Gonzalez put the game out of reach with a three run home run as the team won 12-3 in six innings due to the mercy rule.
“The offense stuck with their approach well and stayed aggressive at the plate,” Falcons head coach Sarah Willis said. “We are deep as a team and all of our players did a great job coming in the game and contributing.”
In the first game of the Saturday doubleheader against Elon, Kaylee Parker again led off the scoring in the first inning, this time on an RBI sacrifice fly, followed by Gonzalez hitting a 3 RBI double to make it a 4-0 lead early for the Falcons. In the fourth, junior outfielder Kali Holcomb plated another run for the Falcons on an RBI single. While Elon hit a solo home run in the fifth, the Falcons responded in the sixth with a Holcomb RBI sacrifice fly. While Elon looked to make a late comeback with two runs in the seventh, the Falcons were able to hold on for the 6-3 victory.
“The team had something to prove in the second game against Elon and they did a great job putting the pressure on their defense,” Willis said. “(Pitcher Meredith) Miller was on point throughout the game and continued to show her adaptability on the field and (Kiley) Sosby did a good job closing up the game and attacking their hitters to secure the win.”
After an hour-long rain delay in the second game against Rhode Island on Saturday, Rhode Island was first on the board in the first inning on an RBI double, however the Falcons were able to retake the lead in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double by senior shortstop Aspen Searle, followed by Searle stealing home later in the inning. It was all Falcons from that point on, as the team scored on a wild pitch and on a 2 RBI single from sophomore catcher Logan Everett. The team would add on four more runs in the fourth to go on to win 9-1 on the mercy rule in five innings as junior pitcher Kiley Sosby earned the win.
“Weather is part of our sport and we stayed patient and focused on playing and were excited to get the game in against Rhode Island,” Willis said. “Our offense capitalized early in the game to secure us the run rule. Pitching in the circle was on point and couldn’t be happier with Sosby’s performance.”
In the first game of Friday’s doubleheader against North Texas, both teams went scoreless until the top of the sixth inning, when Holcomb got an RBI double for the Falcons, however North Texas responded with an RBI single in the seventh to send the game into extra innings. The teams swapped the lead in the eighth to make it a 2-2 tie, but the Falcons got the go-ahead run in the ninth as Kaylee Parker got an RBI single. North Texas was unable to make a comeback in the bottom of the inning as the Falcons took the 3-2 win. Junior pitcher Meredith Miller earned the win, going eight and a third innings with only one earned run.
“North Texas proved to be good competition and their pitching held us at bay until we were able to manufacture runs in the tie breaker,” Willis said. “Miller did a solid job for us on the mound today with Parker coming in relief to give us the ground balls we needed to secure the win.”
The second game on Friday against Elon began with Elon getting the first run of the game on an RBI double in the first, however the Falcons responded with an RBI double from sophomore catcher Logan Everett and an RBI single from junior outfielder Alex Sorgi in the second to make it a 2-1 lead. The score remained there until the sixth inning, when Elon tied it back up with an RBI single, but the Falcons regained the lead in the top of the seventh with an RBI single from Sorgi. In the bottom of the inning, however, Elon hit a pair of RBI doubles to seal the 4-3 victory and hand the Falcons their first loss of the season.
“Our offense made some good adjustments at the plate early in the game to help secure the lead,” Willis said. “Our offensive discipline was inconsistent throughout. It is tough to lose a game when you are one out away from securing the win, but there are valuable lessons to be learned at this early point in the season.”
The team will next play on Mar. 2-4 in the Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic against the Texas- San Antonio Roadrunners, Texas Tech Red Raiders and the New Mexico Lobos.
