HARRISONBURG, Va. - Three different players homered in the doubleheader for the Hood College softball team at Eastern Mennonite, but the Blazers fell 9-8 in nine innings before game two was called after seven with the score tied at 5-5.
At the Plate
- Rebecca Gottleib, Jocelyn Pfleiger and Alyssa Walters each hit a home run. Gottleib went 4-for-9 between the two games, including a three-hit second game. She drove in four, including her three-run shot in the nightcap. Pfleiger also doubled and had three RBIs on the day. Walters scored three times and drove in two.
Inside the Circle
- Gottleib took a complete game loss in the opener. She allowed seven earned runs over 8.1 innings. She struck out six and did not walk a batter while EMU had 13 hits.
- Rachel Benden, who had three hits in the doubleheader as a hitter, pitched game two and went the distance. In seven innings, she allowed only two earned runs on 10 hits and a walk.
Eastern Mennonite 9, Hood 8 (9 innings)
- A single by Katilyn Fletcher in the bottom of the ninth scored Bri Allen from second as the Royals outlasted Hood in game one.
- The Blazers led 5-4 after five innings before the two teams combined for four homers in sixth and seventh. Walters hit her first career home run, a two-run blast to left center field, in the top of the sixth to give Hood a 7-4 lead. Korenn Paige pulled Eastern Mennonite within two in the bottom of the inning before the Royals led off the seventh with back-to-back home runs by Fletcher and Sierra Lantz to tie the game.
- Gottleib retired the next three hitters in the seventh to send the game to extra innings.
- In the eighth, Brandi Davidson laid down a perfect bunt to put runners on the corners with one out. Cailyn Barthlow followed with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Walters for an 8-7 Hood lead.
- The Royals tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Becca Boone moved up to third on a passed ball and scored on a squeeze play to tie the game at 8-8. Emily Campbell was out on the play and Gottleib got Allen to ground out to end the inning.
- Hood failed to advance its international tie breaker runner in the ninth before Fletcher singled to left center in the bottom of the inning for the walk-off hit.
- Hood scored twice in the top of the first. Colleen Blasko led off the game with a walk and stole second before scoring on an error in the outfield. Gottleib drove in Barthlow for the second run on a two-out, RBI single.
- In the bottom of the first, Erin Keith tripled and scored on a Fletcher double to cut Hood's lead in half, 2-1.
- The Blazers scored three times with two outs in the second to take a 5-1 lead. Angela Acampora was hit by a pitch and Paige Raymond came in to pinch run. Walters reached on an infield single, but Natalye Graham struck out the next two hitters. Barthlow drove in Raymond with a single and Pfleiger doubled to stretch the lead to 5-1, knocking in Walters and Barthlow.
- Eastern Mennonite pulled within one after a three-run fifth. Fletcher and Lantz had back-to-back run-scoring doubles in the inning and Grace Fravel made it 5-4 when she drove in Lantz on an RBI ground out.
- Mallorie Hetzel, Walters and Davidson all had two-hit games for Hood.
- Fletcher went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs for EMU.
Hood 5, Eastern Mennonite 5
- Hood again took an early lead before Eastern Mennonite battled back in game two.
- Pfleiger's second home run of the year went over the fence in left center in the first to make it 1-0. A second run came home when Gottleib singled to right and the ball was misplayed with Benden coming around to score.
- An RBI fielder's choice in the second scored Lantz and an error brought two more Royals home to give EMU a 3-2 advantage. Allen extended the lead to 4-2 with an RBI double that scored Campbell.
- Gottleib reclaimed the lead for Hood with a three-run home run to left in the third, driving in Barthlow and Kiersten Tomshack to make it 5-4.
- Allen drove in Campbell again with an RBI single in the fourth, tying the game at 5-5.
- Hood had chances in the sixth and seventh but did not score. Hetzel and pinch hitter Sammy McIntosh walked to lead off the sixth, but Campbell got the next three Blazers out to end the threat. In the seventh, Benden drew a two-out walk and Gottleib followed with a single before Hetzel hit a comebacker for the final out.
- Benden retired seven of eight hitters entering the seventh inning. Allen and Keith singled and, after they moved to second and third on a groundout by Fletcher, Lantz was intentionally walked to load the bases. Benden forced a pair of pop ups to end the inning.
For the Royals
- Fletcher followed up her four-hit game one with another base hit in the second game to go 5-for-9 on the day.
- Allen was 4-of-9 at the plate with three hits in the nightcap. She drove in two and scored twice.
- Both Royals' pitchers threw complete games. Graham gave up eight runs in nine innings in game one but remained undefeated at 4-0. She struck out six and walked two, allowing 11 hits. Campbell was charged with five runs in seven innings in game two on eight hits and four walks, striking out seven.
Notes
- Hood fell to 7-8-1.
- EMU improved to 14-1-1.
- The tie was the first in program history for Hood.
Up Next
The Blazers open Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth action on Saturday, Mar. 26 with a home doubleheader at 1 p.m.
