Softball Takes Both on the Road at St. Andrews
By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media
Photo Courtesy of Karl Moore, Mooreshots Photos
LAURINBURG, N.C. – Reinhardt rolled on the softball field Friday afternoon in North Carolina, as the Eagles earned a clean sweep over the Knights of St. Andrews, 8-3 and 15-1 (5 innings).
The two triumphs lifted the hometown team to the 30-plus win plateau at 30-8 and 14-4 within the Appalachian Athletic Conference.
"We did not start game one off well, but once we got going, there wasn't much to complain about," head coach Jade Geuther said. "A lot of people got opportunities today and we got the end results that we look for every time we take the field. We are ready to get back home for some rest and a couple of walkthrough days before we head out on another long road trip next weekend."
Game 1, W (8-3)
- Four errors by the Knights set the tone for the opening matchup as Reinhardt and St. Andrews were tied at 1-1 after the first inning. From there, the Eagles (a pair of doubles in the opening at-bat) would score in three more frames.
- The visitors would move ahead, 4-1, after two stanzas following a pair of errors: a misplay by the catcher at home and a failed snag in center field that scored a pair.
- The Knights would inch closer with single tallies in the third and fourth, but would get shut down the rest of the way thanks to Reagen Radke and her seven innings with six strikeouts.
- The hometown club would move up by two at 5-3 in the fifth before pulling away in the seventh after runs on another error, a single and a bases-loaded walk.
- Emily Loveless was 2-for-3 with three runs, an RBI and a walk.
Game 2, W (15-1) (5 innings)
- The offense continued in a big way in game two for Reinhardt, as it came across home plate 15 times in just three innings (First, 6; second, 4; and fourth, 5).
- Six hits – out of the Eagles' 14 – came in the opening frame as they scored a half-dozen following a sacrifice fly, a 2-RBI single, an error, another SAC fly and a run-scoring hit to right-center field.
- The second frame consisted of another RBI-knock, an RBI-single up the middle (with another player scoring on an error) and another base-hit for a score.
- The 6-1 lead after one improved to 10-1 following the previously mentioned top of the second, but the hometown squad wasn't done there. It added five more tallies in the fourth, scoring on two bases-loaded walks, a single to shallow center, a fielder's choice and an RBI-groundout.
- Whitney Shepherd was superb in the circle with five innings of work to go along with three hits allowed and three strikeouts (one run).
- Emily Loveless went 3-for-4 with two more runs scored and an RBI. JJ Trowell also had three hits to go with an RBI and a run.
It's back to the practice field for about a week before the team heads to Bluefield (Va.) for a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. on April 10.
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