Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 After pulling out a victory in 11 innings by the score of 10-8, the Lady Lions dropped game two 26-18 Â in an offensive onslaught Saturday afternoon against Fort Hays State in Hays, Kan. In the second-game loss, the Lady Lions set a new MIAA record with 26 hits.
Game One
Rilee Krier led off the Tigers' first inning with a single up the middle on the first pitch of the game. After stealing second, Krier advanced to third on a passed ball and then scored on a wild pitch. Starter Morgan Colvis retired the next two hitters, and a two-out walk, forced a fly out to end the first down 1-0.
The Lady Lions got the run back immediately when Caitlyn Touchette drilled a homer to lead off the second. Similar to the Fort Hays first inning, Rebecca Stocker worked a two-out walk, but was stranded when Adele Linderman struck out to end the inning.
The top of the lineup added more runs for Lindenwood in the third. Madeline Bohr doubled to left center with one out, and Maria Tippit walked to put runners on first and second with only one out. Faith Koffron continued yesterday's performance and found the gap for a double that scored Bohr and Tippit.
Fort Hays State used a pair of homers in the fourth to regain the lead 4-3 when Paxton Duran led off the inning with a deep ball and Kylie Strand hit a home run after Colvis struck out back-to-back strikeouts.
The game was stagnant until the seventh when Bohr used her third hit of the game after Sisk flew out. After Tippit flew out to center, Koffron singled through the right side with two outs. On a full count, Touchette singled up the middle to bring home Bohr to tie the game. Theis would follow it up with a single of her own to score two more for the Lady Lions to take a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the inning.
After retiring the first hitter of the seventh, Colvis surrendered a single to Madeline LaPolla. Two batters later, Duran struck again with her second homer of the day to tie the game at six apiece. Walking the next hitter, Colvis got Courtney Dobson to fly out to center to send the game into extra innings.
After two scoreless extra frames, Koffron recorded her third hit of the day and Touchette walked with one out. Theis had another go-ahead RBI-single up the middle to give the Lady Lions a 7-6 lead in the ninth. Tori Beltz singled for the Tigers, and moved to second on a groundout. Once again, Duran had an extra-base hit to tie the game as she hit a triple to make the score 7-7 with only one out. Colvis regained composure and retired the next two hitters to send it to the 10th inning.
Per the international tie-breaker, Mallory Eitel began the inning on second base pinch-running for Stocker. After moving to third on a wild pitch, Sisk lined a ball to left field for a sacrifice fly for the Lady Lions to get another lead. The Tigers would tie the game once again after a sacrifice bunt moved Dobson to third with one out. Strand singled to center to tie the game and force the game to the 11th inning.
With Bohr on second to start the inning, Tippit ripped the first pitch she saw up the middle to give Lindenwood a 9-8 lead. Koffron bunted her over to second, and Touchette reached on an error to put runners on the corners with one down. After a Touchette stolen base, Theis scored Tippit on a sacrifice fly to right field. Colvis would head to the bottom of the inning with a chance to close out the game. Retiring the first two hitters, Colvis finally got the best of Duran as she grounded out to first to end the game.
This was Lindenwood's longest game played this season with 11 innings. Bohr and Koffron both had three hits for the Lady Lions, while four others recorded two.
Game Two
The Lady Lions rode the momentum from game on to score three runs in the top of the first. Sisk led off the first with a single to center, and Bohr bunted her over to second. Tippit singled to right to bring Sisk home. After Touchette singled, Theis followed up with a single of her own to score two and give Lindenwood a 3-0 lead.
Fort Hays got those three runs back in its half of the first after Bethany Fountain surrendered three straight hits. Beltz doubled down the left-field line to bring home two, and two batters later Dobson doubled to left-center to tie the game. The Tigers used one more hit and a pair of walks to score three more to take a 6-3 lead, chasing Fountain from the circle. Kaitlyn VanHooser came in relief, as Fountain went to right field, and forced a fly out to end the inning.
The Lady Lions didn't let the first inning phase them. Three straight singles from Fountain, Sisk, and Bohr set the stage for a Tippit double to score two. Touchette scored Bohr on a sacrifice fly, and Theis singled up the middle to score Tippit and make the score 7-6. After Koffron singled, Madison Huot doubled to left field to bring home Theis and Koffron. Stocker followed up with a single to score Huot and give the team 10 runs before the second inning was over. Fountain and Sisk singled again their next time in the order, and Tippit recorded two more runs batted in on a single up the middle.
The offensive showcase continued in the bottom of the second as the Tigers used four hits and three walks to get six across the plate. A passed ball brought home another run for Fort Hays to give the home team a 13-12 lead after the second.
Another Theis and Koffron single combined with a Huot walk led to a RBI hits for Stocker and Fountain driving in three runs to take a 15-13 lead. The offense didn't stop as Fort Hays had five straight hits to drive in five runs. With runners on the corners, reliever Brooke Miller surrendered one more run via a sacrifice fly, but retired the next hitter to end the inning down 19-15.
Huot homered to right field to lead off the fifth for the Lady Lions to chip away at the lead. Stocker would single next, and come around to score on a Sisk double. Tippit brought Sisk home on a single through the left side to cut the deficit to one run and trail 19-18. Fort Hays got the two runs back on a Beltz homer to lead 21-18. Two more hits were sent home after a triple scored both and increased the lead to 23-18 after five. Payton Wilson came in relief for Miller, and after getting a strikeout for the second out, Duran reached on an error to give the Tigers a 24th run.
Fort Hays would score two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on three hits to end with a 26-18 short-game victory.
With the split, the Lady Lions move to 7-21 on the season and 4-8 within the MIAA. Lindenwood gets back to the diamond on Wednesday as they host Missouri-St. Louis in a doubleheader.
