LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Earlham College softball team eliminated Defiance College with a 7-6 win before falling to Mount St. Joseph University 9-1 in a rematch of the opening round on Friday in Lexington.
GAME ONE: EARLHAM 7 DEFIANCE 6
Tatum Rickert threw 2.1 innings with two strikeouts and four earned runs on six hits against the Yellow Jackets.
Morgan Cooksey threw the final 4.2 innings, earning the win with no runs allowed on two hits with five strikeouts.
Ashley Lewis went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI.
Bo Shelton went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
Keely Hubbard reached base safely in three plate appearances, with one run and one RBI.
Lewis reached on a walk in the top of the first inning, and scored the first run of the game on a passed ball.
In the top of the second inning, the Quakers scored four straight hits with one out to lead 3-0 with the bases loaded. Shelton and
Faith Butler then earned an RBI each on consecutive walks for a 5-0 EC lead.
Ariel Clarkston, who led off the inning for Earlham, earned an RBI with a ground ball to the shortstop for the seventh run of the inning.
Defiance retaliated with four runs on three hits and two errors in the bottom of he second inning, and two runs on three hits in the bottom of the third.
After escaping the jam in the third inning, Cooksey pitched the final four innings with just two baserunners allowed for the Yellow Jackets.
GAME TWO: EARLHAM 1 MSJ 9
Rickert threw 2.1 frames again in the second game of the day with one earned run on four hits. Cooksey allowed just one earned run on two hits in the final 1.2 frames.
Offensively, Lewis earned a walk and scored the only Quaker run.
Bella Schatko went 1-for-2. Shelton scored one hit and one RBI.
Lewis earned a leadoff walk in game two, and advanced to third on a bunt-single by
Keely Hubbard after a throwing error in the Lions' infield. She came home on a single up the middle by Shelton.
The Lions scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning, and three runs in the bottom of the third.
The Quakers conclude their first season back in action with a 15-26 record, making it to the second round of the HCAC Tournament with an 8-10 conference record.
The two starting pitchers rank in the top four in the conference for strikeouts, with over 200 combined Ks. Shelton led the EC offense, placing ninth in the league in slugging percentage, and seventh in hits.
