FREDERICK, Md. – A two-home run game from
Taylor Lowe (Laurel, Del./Delmarva Christian) propelled the Hood College softball team to a 17-0 game one win against Gallaudet University before completing the sweep with a 15-2 victory in the second game.
At the Plate
Lowe finished the day batting 4-7 with a walk and eight RBIs, scoring four times.
Anna Sommerkamp (Mechanicsville, Md./Chopticon) batted 3-4 with three walks and four RBIs on the day.
Kara Heidlauf (Mount Joy, Pa./Donegal High School) was 2-2 with two walks and two doubles in the day's second game, driving in two runs.
Gabby Carton (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North) went 1-2 with two walks, an RBI, and a run.
In the Circle
Lowe struck out nine batters in her outing, allowing just one base hit in her first collegiate shutout.
Sydney Weaver (Landisville, Pa./Hempfield) struck out seven and allowed two earned runs in the game two win for her second of the season.
Hood 17, Gallaudet 0 (5 inn.)
Lowe started the game hot, striking out all three batters she faced on just 11 pitches to set the offense up quickly. The Blazers immediately capitalized on the energy, driving in four runs in the bottom of the first and going through the entire order in just their first offensive opportunity.
Another three straight outs from the defense got them back up to the plate quickly, and a leadoff hit from
Rory Achey (Lewisberry, Pa./Red Land) was followed up by a blast to left field from Lowe, and the rest of the team continued that momentum, plating a total of five runs in the inning and increasing the lead to 9-0.
Although Lowe walked the first batter she saw in the third, she locked back in and whiffed the next three. After Hood loaded the bases with just one out, it played small ball to keep moving everyone up one base at a time and make it a 12-0 advantage. With two outs though, Lowe decided to bring the team's momentum to its peak, mashing a ball way over the fence in left center for her first career grand slam.
The Blazers tacked on one more run in the bottom of the fourth, and although Lowe's no-hitter bid was broken up in the top of the fifth inning, she was able to keep the clean sheet and secure a 17-0 victory.
Hood 15, Gallaudet 2 (5 inn.)
A two-strikeout inning for Weaver again kept Hood's momentum going to start game two, and although it only managed to score once, a pair of runs in the second inning quickly made it a 3-0 lead for the home team.
Gallaudet kept things close in the early stages, continuing to get runners on base, and after a one-out single gave the Bison another baserunner, Lacey Drolsbaugh barreled a ball deep to center that easily cleared the outfield netting and cut the Blazers' lead to 3-2.
Fortunately for the home crowd, Hood was able to respond as quickly as they could, loading the bases with just one out. After that, the Blazers could not seem to get out, walking in a pair of runs before doubles from Heidlauf and
Lizzie McConnell (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island) each scored two baserunners to make it a 10-2 lead. Even after getting their second out of the inning, the train kept rolling in Hood's bats, with a 2 RBI-single from Sommerkamp and a defensive lapse after hard contact from Lowe made it a 14-2 affair.
Another clean inning from Weaver set the Blazers up to tack on one more run in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a Carton RBI-single, and even though Gallaudet threatened with a pair of baserunners in the top of the fifth, Weaver and the defense shut the door to sweep the day.
For the Opponent
Drolsbaugh finished game two 2-3 with a home run and two RBIs.
Sammie Howell went 1-2 in the second game, getting hit by a pitch and scoring once.
Up Next
Hood returns to conference play with a doubleheader against York College of Pennsylvania Saturday, April 11 at 1 and 3 p.m.
