PLAYOFF PREPARATION

LADY LIONS END REGULAR SEASON WITH SPLIT AGAINST CHARLESTON

• Share:

One way to prepare to face a team in the post-season is to play that team late in the regular season.

Concord's Softball team will face the University of Charleston in the first round of the WVIAC Tournament on Thursday. As the schedule would have it, the Lady Lions ended their regular season Monday afternoon with a doubleheader against the Golden Eagles at the CU softball complex in Athens.

Monday's results leave no clear favorite in the CU-UC tournament matchup. Concord split the twinbill, dropping the first game 4-3 in eight innings, then taking an 8-4 win in the nightcap.

GAME ONE
BOXSCORE/PLAY-BY-PLAY

Both teams jumped on the other's number-one pitcher with a pair of runs in the 1st inning.
Charleston loaded the bases with one out against CU's Tamara Smith, and got their runs on Ashlea Wallace's RBI single and a throwing error on Concord LF Casey Ord.
The Lady Lions responded against UC's Stefanie Rossman with Brooke Bowling's RBI double and Sheila Davies' sacrifice fly.

Concord took the lead in the bottom of the 4th. With one out Stephanie Harper drew a walk, Smith singled, and Ericka Davies (left) lined an RBI single to left. The Lady Lions loaded the bases later in the inning but couldn't bring another run across.

Charleston squared the game in the top of the 5th. Amber Jarvis led off with a double, went to third on Sydney Finley's sacrifice bunt and scored on a groundout by Janeen Vazquez.

The Golden Eagles got a leadoff double from Wallace in the 6th, but Smith shut the door.

The international tie-breaker – with a runner placed at second base to start the inning -- took effect when the game went into the 8th. Charleston struck quickly – Sierra Curley led off the top of the 8th with a single to center, scoring runner Logan Tretick to give the Golden Eagles a 4-3 lead.
Bowling was placed at second in the bottom of the 8th; Sheila Davies' sacrifice bunt moved her to third. But Rossman struck out the next two hitters to end the game.

Smith (right) allowed eight hits and two earned runs, walking just one, in suffering the tough-luck loss. Rossman gave up five hits and two earned runs, and walked five, in getting the win.

Casey Ord went 2-3 to lead the Concord lineup.


GAME TWO
BOXSCORE/PLAY-BY-PLAY

Charleston took the first lead with a single run in the top of the 3rd. Jarvis led off with a double, moved to third on Finley's sacrifice bunt, and scored when Vazquez grounded to third.

Rossman was again UC's starting pitcher, and kept Concord in check through the first two innings. But the Lady Lions got to her in the bottom of the 3rd.

Ord and Rachel Mack started the inning with back-to-back singles. Katelyn Williams put down a bunt to Charleston 3B Samantha Herndon, who committed a throwing error trying to get Williams at first base. The wayward toss scored Ord, with Mack advancing to third and Williams winding up at second.
A groundout from Bowling scored Mack and moved Williams to third. One out later, Harper delivered an RBI single up the middle, bringing in Williams.
Next up was Becca Gleason, who clobbered a two-run home run high over the fence in left center that put CU ahead 5-1.

Concord reached Rossman for another run in the 4th. Ord singled with one out and moved to second on Mack's sacrifice bunt. Williams singled to left, and the speedy Ord came around to score. CU led 6-1.

The Lady Lions greeted UC reliever Kelsee Blackwell with a run in the 5th. Harper doubled, and scored on Ericka Davies' single up the middle.

Charleston scored twice in the top of the 6th, with each run scoring on a wild pitch by CU starting pitcher Brooke Bowling. Concord head coach brought Smith in to relieve Bowling with runners at the corners and nobody out, and Smith walked Kimberley Giannini to load the bases.

CU's defense then stepped up. Jarvis rocketed a grounder to Williams, Concord's 3B, who snared the hot shot and turned it into a 5-3 double play. Lady Lions catcher Kaylyn Klatt threw out Giannini trying to steal third to end the inning.
(Monday was CU's Senior Day. Klatt, the Lady Lions' only senior, was honored in a pre-game ceremony, and the area behind home plate was painted with her number [left].)

CU got one of the runs back in the bottom of the 6th, thanks to some Charleston stumbles. Ord led off and struck out, but reached first on a passed ball. A groundout by Mack moved Ord to second. Ord advanced to third on a wild pitch, then scored on another wild pitch (below right).

An RBI groundout by Tretick in the top of the 7th closed out the scoring.

Ord went 2-3 with three runs scored. Her 4-6 day raised her batting average to a team-high .426.
Harper was 3-3 with an RBI and a run scored; Williams went 2-4, also with an RBI and a run scored.

In the circle, Bowling scattered six hits and allowed one earned run in five innings to get the win.

On the day, Smith pitched ten innings, giving up three earned runs on ten hits.


Up next for Concord is a rematch with Charleston in the first round of the double-elimination WVIAC Tournament on Thursday, April 28.
CU, seeded 11th, meets the #6 Golden Eagles at 10:00 am at Jackson Park in Vienna, WV.
A win would move the Lady Lions to a matchup against #3 West Virginia State at 12:00 pm. A defeat would place Concord in an elimination game at 10:00 am Friday.


^{(statistics posted by Concord SID GA Brandon Besl)}

Print Friendly Version