CHESTERTOWN, Md. – The Hood College softball team battled to a split in a doubleheader against Washington College, winning game one 5-1 but falling 7-5 in game two.
At the Plate
Taylor Lowe (Laurel, Del./Delmarva Christian) went 6-8 across both games, hitting three doubles and driving in two runs.
Sam Larkin (Pasadena, Md/Chesapeake High School) hit a grand slam in the first game, her first long ball of the year.
Kara Heidlauf (Mount Joy, Pa./Donegal High School) finished game two batting 2-3 with an RBI.
Lizzie McConnell (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island) hit her first collegiate home run in the second game, finishing 2-4 at the dish.
In the Circle
Lowe was dominant in game one, striking out 10 batters and allowing just one run.
Sara Munson (Inwood, W.Va./Musselman) pitched her first complete game in the nightcap, allowing six earned runs in the loss.
Hood 5, Washington 1
Despite being a pitcher's duel for the start of the game, the Blazers managed to put pressure on the Shorewomen fairly often, forcing pitcher Anna Hutchison to get out of multiple jams.
Things started to look up for Hood in the fifth inning though, as the first three batters all got base hits to load the bases with no outs. Larkin decided to cash in on all the runners at once, smoking a pitch to dead center that cleared the wall for her first home run of the season and gave the Blazers a 4-0 lead.
That would not be all Hood had left in the tank though, as
Anna Sommerkamp (Mechanicsville, Md./Chopticon) was sent around in the top of the fifth after an errant throw to first allowed her to reach base. It was just as well she scored, as Washington College managed to get on the board with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning.
Although a McConnell triple in the top of the seventh was unable to be capitalized on after she was barely thrown out at home, Lowe took care of business in the bottom half, getting all three batters she faced to hit into outs and secure a 5-1 win.
Washington 7, Hood 5
The Shorewomen found their groove much earlier in the second game of the day, opening the scoring in the first inning before sending four home in the fourth inning.
A two-run bottom of the fourth put the Blazers in a 7-0 hole, but their bats started to warm up in the top of the fifth with a leadoff double from Lowe. A Heidlauf sacrifice fly brought her in to get Hood on the board, but McConnell stole the spotlight with a rocket of a hit to right field that cleared the fence for the sophomore's first career home run.
Munson was able to hold Washington College off the scoreboard the rest of the game, and after another two-run inning in the sixth, it looked like Hood might be able to come back and force the bottom half of the inning the first two batters reached base.
Unfortunately, a double play took out two runners and got the Blazers down to their last out, and although a
Riley Hertzog (Ocean City, Md./Stephen Decatur) single scored McConnell from third, there was not enough in the tank to keep the rally going.
For the Opponent
Gracelyn Goforth batted 4-4 with three runs in game two.
Emma Trainer went 4-6 with three RBIs on the day.
Up Next
Hood returns to conference play with a doubleheader against Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania Saturday, April 18 at 1 and 3 p.m.
