Softball Eliminated After Pair of Tuesday Defeats
By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media
WALESKA, Ga. – The 2021 softball campaign came to a close Tuesday evening at Ken White Softball Field for Reinhardt, as the Eagles dropped a pair of contests to Oregon Tech (1-0) and Coastal Georgia (5-2) on its own field.
The hometown club was extremely close to playing for a bid to the NAIA Softball World Series tomorrow afternoon, but instead year wraps up with a 42-15 record.
"The end of the season is always hard but there is nothing wrong with a 40-win season," head coach Jade Geuther said. "We hadn't been to the Opening Round in several years, so that's a big step in the right direction, but it's not where we want to be.
"We will aim to improve in a lot of areas and be back better than we left this season."
Reinhardt and Oregon Tech battled like two of the top teams in the country in the opener on Tuesday, and a sacrifice fly in the first inning thanks to a two-strike lead-off double was all the Owls needed behind another dominant pitching display from Sarah Abramson.
The Eagles would muster only three hits against the ace, but had multiple opportunities to score with runners on base. In what could-have-been the biggest inning of the season, Reinhardt threw out a runner at the plate in the top of the sixth only to have a strong scoring chance snatched away following a line-out double play to end the inning.
The hosts would again get two players on the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but Lauren Parker struck out looking on the outside corner to end the contest.
Abramson had nine more strikeouts in the triumph, and Reagen Radke was the unfortunate loser in the circle with one earned run allowed in the opening stanza.
The positive outcome pushed Oregon Tech to Wednesday's Opening Round Final, and forced the hometown squad to line up again on Tuesday evening in an elimination contest against the Mariners – who it beat yesterday.
Coastal Georgia took care of business against Cottey (Mo.), however, and then rode that momentum into a 2-0 day as it downed Reinhardt in the nightcap, 5-2.
The second-seeded bunch seemed to be a scary matchup after gaining some confidence against the Comets, as it came through with three runs in the top of the first after receiving some help from poor Eagle fielding.
The No. 3 seed would respond nicely with a pair of tallies on an RBI-triple and a sacrifice fly for a 3-2 score after one frame, but would go quietly into the night the rest of the offensively. Another Reinhardt miscue on defense would open the door for two more runs for the Mariners – and they took advantage – with a bases-loaded single and walk for a 5-2 advantage.
Emily Loveless went 2-for-3 at the plate, and Whitney Shepherd lasted four innings and gave up five runs (all unearned) in defeat from the circle.
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