Eagles Go 1-1 On the Day But Still Advance in AAC Tournament

KINGSPORT, TN. -  The Reinhardt Eagles Softball team was set to play in the second round of the AAC Tournament versus the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs on Thursday afternoon, but the game was cut short due to a rain delay and was scheduled to resume play the following day on Thursday after noon. Reinhardt ultimately lost 4-1 to move into the other side of the bracket. With it being double elimination, the Eagles hopes to win out in order to clench the 2023 AAC Softball Tournament Champions. The Eagles then played Kentucky Christian University and won big with a score of 12-5 to carry on to the next round of the tournament.

 Game One: Reinhardt 1, TWU 4

Game one of the day started on Wednesday afternoon but was stopped in the 4^th inning due to a rain delay that wasn't continued until the following day. Tennessee Wesleyan was the opponent and was able to score 2 runs in 2 different innings to put them ahead 4-0. Then in the bottom of the 6^th, Reinhardt's Kylie Freije hit a ball up the middle of the field to get Alexis Teems across home plate for their only run of the game. TWU handed Reinhardt their first loss of the tournament with a 4-1 win but with it being a double-elimination contest, the Eagles still moved on to play Kentucky Christian in the losers' side of the bracket.  

 Leaders:

• Freshman of the Year, Kylie Freije, went 1-3 at bat with an RBI. 
• Taylor Wade had a double-hit in the game as well. 
• Alexis Teems recorded a stolen base. 
• Whitney Shepherd was the pitcher with 3 strikes, 69 total strikes and allowed 6 hits. 

 Team Comparison: 

Runs: 4-1 TWU

Hits: 6-4 TWU

Errors: 1-0 RU

 Game Two: Reinhardt 12, KCU 5

With elimination on the verge, the Eagles came out with shots firing and was able to score 5 in the opening inning. Kylie Freije had a double to left center with 2 RBIs to get up 2-0. Then Alexis Griffith had a triple base shot to center field to get Kylie Freije and Emily Loveless across home. Ansley Evans singled to short stop to get the 5^th run on the board in the 1^st inning. Then in the 2^nd, the Eagles were able to score 2 more in the 2^nd and 4 more in the 3^rd inning. One hit included a double from Kylie Freije who scored in 3 different players. Reinhardt ultimately won big 12-5 to advance to the next round in the tournament. 

Leaders:

• Kylie Freije once again led at bat going 2-5 at bat with 5 RBIs and score 2 runs for the Eagles. Alexis Griffith also played a great offensive game with 2 hits, 3 RBIs, and scored 1 run. 
• Taylor Wade and Alexis Teems each had 3 hits. 
• Emily Loveless, Kyra Lightner, and Ansley Evans each had an RBI.
• Alexis Teems also stole 2 bases. 
• Ally Adriano was the winning pitcher with 2 strikeouts, pitched 68 strikes, and only allowed 5 hits.  

Team Comparison

Runs: 12-5 RU

Hits: 14-5 RU

Errors: 3-3 T

 Up Next: The Reinhardt Eagles softball team is moving onto the next round but the opponent and time is TBA. Please refer to the AAC website for updates.