PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Softball picked up its second MSC sweep of the young season with a pair of victories on the road Friday afternoon at Pikeville. The Bears (6-8, 5-3 MSC) took the first game in dominating 15-0 fashion with the game being a run-rule finish after five innings. SSU didn't have as much breathing room in the second game as it took a 3-2 decision over Pikeville (8-15, 3-9 MSC).
Right out of the gates, the Bears hung three runs on Pikeville in the top of the first as walks to Ericka Leighty and Holly Brabson were sandwiched around a single by Kirsti Yates to load the bases. Two more walks to Abbey Barrett and Brytan Givens would force in two runs while a Pikeville error allowed the third run of the game to score.
In the second inning, Leighty again got it started, this time with a single, while a Katy Bender single put two runners on for Yates who hit her first of two home runs in the game to put the Bears up 6-0 after the second inning.
Then came the monster fourth inning which started out with a fly ball and ground out to quickly put two down. However, doubles by Barrett and Hannah Dittoe got the two-out rally going. Givens would then single before the first of four errors in the inning was committed. A Tara Prater single and Leighty double would come before the second error and Yates would then unload on her second home run of the game, her third of the season. Two more errors around a single by Barrett would allow the ninth and final run of the inning to score before it finally came to a close.
Ali Thompson would take care of the rest from that point on a she pitched a one-hit shutout while striking out five and walking one. The lone hit in the game came during the second inning but was quickly erased with a double play to the next hitter. The shutout was the first of her senior campaign and 12th of her SSU career.
Allie Chapman, who threw a one-hitter yesterday giving the Bears back-to-back one-hitters, got off to another quick start as she set down the first seven hitters she faced today and pitched a total of four scoreless innings to start the game after a perfect fourth inning of work.
However, the Pikeville pitching also held the Bears to just one hit over the first four innings. Both teams would get their offense going in the fifth. Dittoe would single and reach second on an outfield error to start the inning and Givens would drive her in with another single to make it 1-0. Another error would let Kelsey Jenkins reach base after that, and with one out Leighty would double home both of those base runners to make it 3-0.
Pikeville would get two back in the bottom half of the fifth after a single and double with one out to start the scoring before a fielding error allowed the second run of the inning to score before Chapman would escape the fifth with the Bears leading 3-2.
Chapman would rebound and pitch a perfect sixth inning, her fourth such inning of the game. In the seventh, she allowed a one-out double to the second hitter to come to bat in the inning. Thompson then came back to get the final two outs and would do so by striking out the first batter and getting the final out to pop up to third to pick up the save while Chapman earned the victory in the circle.
The Bears will now be back at home tomorrow for their third doubleheader in as many days. This time, they will take on Davenport in a non-conference matchup beginning at 1 p.m.
