CLEARWATER, Fla. (Feb. 10, 2017) - Central Missouri Jennies Softball opened up the NFCA Lead-Off Classic with a 4-3 win over Eckerd, Friday afternoon. In the night cap of day one, they lost a back-and-forth 7-5 ballgame to No. 17 Saint Leo.
Game One: Central Missouri 4, Eckerd 3
Alexa Bradley picked up her team leading second win of the season, throwing a complete game allowing three runs (two earned), while giving up nine hits and three walks with two strikeouts.
All four of the Jennies runs were scored in the third, as UCM got RBI singles from
Hailey Crabtree,
Allie Dishinger and
Alex Leonhart.
Eckerd broke through in the third with a two-out RBI single from Carrie Shere. The Jens responded in the bottom half of the frame collecting five of their six hits and scoring all four runs.
A one-out single and stolen base from
Katie Giacone set the table for the inning, and began a stretch of six straight Jennies reaching base. She tied the game scoring on Crabtree's single, which found a hole through the left side of the infield. A walk to
Lauren Mabe loaded the bases for Dishinger who gave the Jennies the lead for good with an opposite-field single to right. Leonhart followed her with another opposite-field single, this time to left, to score Crabtree. With two outs and the bags still full,
Lauryn Deer's grounder back to the pitcher couldn't be handled cleanly, allowing Mabe to score the eventual winning run.
The Tritons got back in the game with a two-run fifth inning. Shere picked up her second RBI of the game, this time with a double to right-center. With two-outs, Dana Paul dropped down a bunt single to score Shere. Bradley was able to escape the inning with the lead though, getting Kiley King to fly out to left with runners on second and third.
That was the Tritons best threat as Eckerd never got another running into scoring position over the final two innings, and the Jennies came away with the 4-3 win.
Five of Central Missouri's six hits came in the third inning.
Courtni Smith, batting leadoff, went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Both teams were aggressive on the base-paths combining for 11 stolen bases.
Makayla Schoonover pinch ran and swiped two bases in one inning. Crabtree reached base three time with a hit and two walks. She also scored a run, picked up an RBI and stole a base.
Eckerd put runners on base, collecting nine hits. Crystal Garcia finished 3-for-4 with a run scored and four stolen bases. Shere went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI.
Nikole Van Gennep was credited with the loss in the circle. She allowed all four runs (three earned) on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Janna Gaburo came into to throw two hitless innings of relief.
Game Two: No. 17 Saint Leo 7, Central Missouri 5
Jordan Johnson got the start for Central Missouri and was immediately behind the eight-ball, allowing a pair of first inning runs. The damage could have been worse, but centerfielder
Courtni Smith gunned down a runner at the plate to end the inning.
Central Missouri got the two runs right back in the next half inning. The Jens loaded the bases with nobody out and tied the ballgame up with some good fortune as Johnson's groundball wasn't fielded cleanly by the Lions second baseman, allowing two runs to score.
Every time the Lions went ahead, UCM seemed to have an answer. Saint Leo took another two run lead in the third, scoring two unearned runs on a two-out single from Brittany Creamer.
The next half inning, back-to-back RBI singles from
Katie Giacone and Johnson, helping her own cause, retied the game at 4-all.
The Jens took their first lead of the game, 5-4, on
Emily King's two-out RBI single to center scoring
Allie Dishinger. King finished the game with three hits, a run and an RBI.
As quickly as the lead came, it disappeared with the Lions reclaiming the lead, 6-5, in the bottom of the inning. Creamer and Ciera Schumaker punched back-to-back doubles, giving the Lions the lead for good. Saint Leo added an insurance run in the sixth and after the Jens got the first two runners on base in the seventh, Alison Mitts closed to door to earn the save.
Johnson took the loss allowing six runs (four earned) on 10 hits in 4.1 innings pitched. She walked one and struck out one. She also finished 1-2 at the plate with an RBI and a stolen base.
The Jennies collected nine hits from seven different spots in the lineup. UCM again had their track shoes on, stealing three bases. Dishinger scored two of the Jennies five runs.
Four Lions finished with multiple hits, led by Creamer's 3-3 game. She drove home two runs, while Kacie Kelly went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
In the circle, Sara Neuman picked up the win throwing six innings allowing five runs (two earned) on nine hits with seven strikeouts and a walk. Mitts closed the door in the seventh, retiring all three batters she faced.
Central Missouri has another pair of games tomorrow in Clearwater. They take on Florida Tech and Rollins. Scheduled start times are 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. CT.
