Barboursville, KY: The NCCAA Mideast Regional Alice Lloyd College Lady Eagles opened up softball play on Monday, February 3rd, when they traveled to NAIA competitor Union College.
Due to the wet weather conditions, the Lady Eagles have not been able to practice on their field. Despite that setback, Coach Nathan Hall seized an opportunity to finally allow his squad the chance to play outside and face some talented competition. He welcomed the tough challenge that should benefit his squad down the road. Following are recaps of each contest.
GAME 1
UC-8; Alice Lloyd-0
On a fairly nice day, the hosts opened up the scoring with 1 run in the first inning, and added 2 more in the second inning on 3 hits. They would then add 1 in the third, 2 in the fourth, and close out the game with 2 in the sixth.
For ALC, freshman Lyndsey Adkins and sophomore Hannah Buchannan both had singles in the second, but they were left stranded on base. Unfortunately, those were the only hits of the game for ALC.
Pitcher Madison Williams earned the victory, allowing 2 hits while striking out 7 and walking 1. Mckenzie Brewer took the pitching loss. She allowed 4 earned runs 9 hits. Mercedes Gilliam allowed 2 earned runs in relief. The Lady Eagles hurt themselves by committing 5 errors.
GAME 2
UC- 2; Alice Lloyd- 0
ALC looked to come back in game 2 to earn a split, but they fell short in the finale. UC jumped out of the gates quickly with 1 run in the first and 1 insurance run in the third. Those would be the only runs Lady Eagles freshman pitcher Kursten Napier allowed as she combined with sophomore Haley Howell to shut Union out the rest of the way.
ALC sophomore Abby Stambaugh opened the fourth with a single but was left stranded at second. Later in their final at bat, the Lady Eagle sophomore Alyssa Clark smashed a single to the fence to give her squad hope. Unfortunately, with the runner at third and needing one big smash to tie the score, UC struck out the final batter to preserve the win.
Pitcher Abby Wall earned the victory while Napier suffered the tough loss despite pitching well. She allowed 2 runs on 5 hits.