COLUMBIA, Ky. – Big innings from the opposition again proved too much to overcome as softball dropped a pair of games to MSC Regular Season Champion and NAIA No. 8 Lindsey Wilson (43-7, 29-5 MSC) on the road Saturday to close out the conference portion of the regular season schedule. The Bears (25-22, 17-19 MSC) finish the year sixth overall in the MSC standings.
Things got off to a quick start for Shawnee State as a lineup switch generated some power right away with a leadoff home run from Tara Duncan (FR/Lancaster, Ohio) on the third pitch of the opening game put the Bears up 1-0. Duncan's home run was the second of her freshman campaign. However, the Blue Raiders answered back with three of their own in the bottom half. After loading the bases with three straight one-out singles, a dropped fly ball in the outfield allowed two runs to score. A third run would later come across with a two-out single.
Lindsey Wilson then added its biggest inning of game one by scoring seven times in the bottom of the third. A hit by pitch and double scored the first run. The Bears came back to get the second out, but a two-run home run made the score 6-1. A hit by pitch was followed by a strikeout. The Bears then got a ground ball and should have been out of the inning if not for a defensive error. However, that error would lead to four more LWC runs and 10-1 deficit after three innings.
Despite the huge hole to dig themselves out of, the Bears bounced right back with five runs in the top of the fourth. Kirsti Yates (SR/Chillicothe, Ohio) and Holly Brabson (SR/Piketon, Ohio) each singled but the Bears still did not have a run across with two outs. Heidi Hall (FR/Greenwich, Ohio) kept the inning alive with a walk before Kelsey Jenkins (JR/Wheelersburg, Ohio) tripled home three runs to clear the bases. A hit by pitch with Duncan at-bat brought another batter to the plate and this time it was a Lindsey Wilson error that kept an inning alive. Abbey Barrett (SR/Franklin Furnace, Ohio) made that error costly one at-bat later with a double to score two more runs, cutting the deficit to 10-6.
Lindsey Wilson added a single run in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings; however, Shawnee State was still not going to go away quietly. Despite making two quick outs in the sixth, Duncan and Hannah Foster (SO/Portsmouth, Ohio) each singled with two outs to keep the inning going. Once again, it was Barrett who delivered the clutch two-out hit as she drilled a three-run home run over the left field wall to make the score 12-9. Lindsey Wilson then made the call to the bullpen to get out of the sixth, while Yates worked a leadoff walk in the seventh before the Bears stranded their final base runner of the day in the 12-9 defeat.
In game two, Shawnee State loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the first. However, the Bears were unable to capitalize and Lindsey Wilson came back with a five-run bottom half of the first inning. Amanda Trampe delivered an RBI double to open the scoring, while the big blast in the inning was a three-run home run from Bailey Mize. In total, the Blue Raiders recorded six hits and sent 11 batters to the plate in that opening frame.
The Blue Raiders got their second home run of the game and third of the day on a solo blast from game two's starting pitcher Jordan Hood in the third inning. Lindsey Wilson then added two final unearned runs in the fourth to make the score 8-0.
That was more than enough support for Hood. She went the full five innings in the run-rule shortened game and allowed just three hits, while striking out six.
Softball will close out the regular season this Monday at home in a non-conference doubleheader against Asbury. That doubleheader will get underway at 3 p.m. With the No. 6 seed, the Bears will open up the MSC Tournament on Wednesday, April 30 at 12:30 p.m. against third-seeded Campbellsville.
