Pippa Passes, KY: The Alice Lloyd College Lady Eagles softball team returned home on March 13th to face the Johnson University Lady Royals in a softball doubleheader. The hosts wielded the big bats in earning the impressive sweep.
GAME 1: Alice Lloyd-14; JU-10
Coach Nathan Hall’s Lady Eagles scored runs in each of the first five innings on their way to victory. Things started on an ominous note for the hosts as the Royals opened the game with a two-run blast (0-2). However, ALC responded in their half with two singles, to tie the score (2-2).
The visitors would go down in the second and the hosts would quickly take advantage. The Lady Eagles would smack five hits, including a triple from senior Jada Estep, and a double from junior Alyssa Clark to sprint ahead (7-2). The Pippa Passes crew added one more an inning later when junior Abigail Stambaugh’s double plated one more (8-2).
JU responded with two solo homers in the fourth, only to watch the hometown club gain three of their own. 2 singles and 2 errors produced the harvest (11-4). On the verge of seeing the game end, Johnson came through with four needed runs in the fifth (11-8), only to watch ALC respond yet again. This time, a double from sophomore Elizabeth Mcintosh and 2 more singles produced a trio of runs (14-8).
JU smacked their fourth blast of the contest in the sixth and finally held the Caney girls without a run in the bottom of the inning (14-10). However, junior pitcher Haley Howell quickly ended any threat as she forced the guests to hit three harmless grounders that ended the outing.
For ALC, Clark led the way with 3 hits and 2 stolen bases while Stambaugh, Estep, senior Samantha Sturgill, and sophomore Kursten Napier each had 2 hits. Freshman Mackenzie Methax joined Estep as each drove in 3 RBI’s. Napier earned the victory on the mound for Alice Lloyd, as she and Howell combined for 3 strikeouts. Johnson hit the long ball, but the Lady Eagles won the hitting battle, 14-10.
GAME 2: Alice Lloyd- 11, JU-3
Ten runs in the final two innings put the contest out of reach for ALC. The Lady Eagles jumped out of the gates quickly when sophomore Lyndsey Adkins smashed a homer over the left-field fence (1-0). From that point, the game became a pitcher’s duel. Through the fourth inning, the home squad only added 2 singles. Fortunately, Lady Eagle freshman pitcher Baylee Cox limited JU to just 2 singles through the top of the fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth, Napier doubled, and then two runs scored on Adkins double. Additional runs would score on a walk and an error (5-0). JU finally broke through in the sixth as four hits, including a 3-run bomb, changed things (5-3).
Happily, the Caney bats suddenly woke up. Three singles and a double from Adkins produced two runs (7-3). Then, after a walk reloaded the bases, Cox ended the contest as she promptly drove a fastball that bounced on top of, then ricocheted over the left-field wall to clear the bases and chalk the win up in the victory column (11-3).
For the Eagles, Adkins had 3 hits and 5 big RBI’s while Clark and Napier added 2 hits apiece. Cox finished with 4 RBI’s as a result of her grand slam. On the mound, Cox went the distance, allowing only 6 hits and 3 earned runs. Alice Lloyd won the hitting battle 11-6. Both squads had 2 errors.