Having begun its season on Saturday afternoon with a loss to Montevallo and win over Bellarmine, the Lindenwood softball team dropped both of its games on the final day of the Music City Invitational in Hendersonville, Tenn. The Lady Lions lost to McKendree in the first game, 11-0, before dropping the finale, 8-4, to Kentucky Wesleyan. The softball team only had four hits each game with all knocks being singles.
Lindenwood 0, McKendree 11
Kimberly Fozzard got the start inside the circle after her great performance on Saturday, but failed to get the same results. The Bearcats scored three times in the second inning on a pair of extra-base hits and sacrifice fly.
After allowing a walk and a hit with an out in the third inning,
Bethany Fountain came in relief of Fozzard. McKendree wasn't phased by the new arm, as a stolen base and three-run homer ended Fountain's outing. The Beacats would score four more times in the inning, leading 10-0 after three frames. Another home run by McKendree made the score 11-0 through four, and only a pinch-hit knock by
Keri Sheehan in the bottom of the fifth was the final shot for Lindenwood before being retired.
Stormee Galka,
Faith Koffron, and
Austine Pauley also recorded hits, while Fozzard drew the lone walk for Lindenwood,
Fozzard suffered her first collegiate loss, and fell to 1-1 on the season.
Lindenwood 4, Kentucky Wesleyan 8
Galka worked around a single in the first inning of game two before allowing two runs in the second inning to the Panthers. Still down 2-0 entering the fourth inning, having been shut down through the first nine hitters of the game, the Lady Lions used a couple hits and a couple KWC errors to gain the lead 3-2. Fozzard knocked in a pair in the inning when she drilled a single to right field, but the fielder let it roll past her to send the freshman all the way to third base before Pauley scored her on a ground out.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Panthers reached on an error with Galka still pitching, and made head coach
Liz Kelly give the ball to Fozzard to try to stop it there. A single put runners on first and second, and a sacrifice bunt put runners in scoring position for KWC. Another single gave the Panthers the lead again, and they wouldn't look back after drilling a two-run opposite-field homer to lead 6-3.
Fozzard allowed two more runs in the sixth inning for KWC to increase its lead to 8-3 entering the final inning. Lindenwood would get a run back when Pauley came around to score on a
Becca Stocker fielder's choice, but that would be the end of the game.
Fozzard was hit with the loss in game two, as well, and dropped to 1-2 in the circle.
Maria Tippit added a hit on the day to join Fozzard, Koffron, and Pauley who recorded a knock in the finale.
The Lady Lions begin the 2017 season 1-3, and will head to Rosemont, Ill. next weekend for five games.
