CLERMONT, Fl. - The Hood College softball team dropped its first two games of THE Spring Games, falling to Lake Forest College 9-2 and Western New England University 10-2.
At the Plate.
Taylor Lowe (Laurel, Del./Delmarva Christian) went 1-2 with a home run and a walk in game one against Lake Forest.
Lizzie McConnell (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island) went 2-4 over both games, stealing two bases in game one and batting in a run in game two.
In the Circle
Lowe struck out 13 batters in the loss against the Foresters, tying the program's single-game record set by
Rebecca Gottleib (Linthicum, Md./North County) last season.
Sydney Weaver (Landisville, Pa./Hempfield) took the loss against the Golden Bears in the day's second game.
Lake Forest 9, Hood 2
The Blazers kicked things off early in their first game of the day, with each team only getting one batter each between the first and second innings until Lowe blasted a shot to left field that cleared the wall for her first collegiate home run.
Lake Forest saw Lowe's home run and decided to match it as soon as possible, as Kyla Chevalier led off the third with a home run that landed just to the right of Lowe's.
Thankfully for Hood, Lowe quickly locked back in, striking out six of the next 10 batters she faced. With two outs in the top of the fifth though, the Foresters were able to get runners on base and take advantage of an errant throw to first to plate two runs and take a 3-1 lead before getting their third out.
While the Blazers were unable to answer in the bottom half of the fifth, Lake Forest continued to put distance between them, scoring two more runs in the sixth before adding four more in the top of the seventh to make it a tall 9-1 deficit for Hood.
Down to their last three outs, the Blazers were able to take advantage of a new Foresters pitcher, drawing walks and stealing bases to get the bases loaded with two outs. After Weaver was walked to drive in their second run of the game, a foul ball hit behind the plate was just able to be caught by the catcher to end Hood's threat before it shifted momentum.
Western New England 10, Hood 2 (6 inn.)
The Golden Bears got off to a hot start on both sides of the ball, sitting down the first nine Blazers batters they saw while putting up a four-spot in the second inning for an early lead.
After Western New England made it a 5-0 game in the bottom of the fifth inning, Hood's bats woke up in the top of the sixth, with
Kara Heidlauf (Mount Joy, Pa./Donegal High School) drawing a leadoff walk before moving to third after a
Sam Larkin (Pasadena, Md/Chesapeake High School) double to center field. A
Gabby Carton (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North) pinch hit helped drive in Heidlauf, and a hard-hit single from McConnell easly scored Larking and cut the Blazers' deficit to just 5-2. The next two batters went down in order, but Weaver kept the Golden Bears off the board in the bottom half of the inning to keep the momentum going heading into the sixth.
Unfortunately, that momentum would shift back to Western New England shortly after, as Hood got just one baserunner in the top half of the inning before the
Golden Bears tacked on five in the bottom half to end the game early via run-rule.
Up Next
The Blazers continue their Florida trip at THE Spring Games with games against Nichols College and Heidelberg University Monday, March 9 at 11:30 a.m. and 1:45 p.m.
