Cougar News
Softball - Mon, Apr. 1, 2013
MAYFIELD, Ky. - Sometimes in the world of sports, a team runs in to an opponent who is on fire, and things get out of hand quickly. That is exactly what happened to the Mid-Continent University softball team on Monday afternoon.
The Cougars (2-16) went to Walnut Ridge, Ark. to take on the NAIA #5 Williams Baptist College Lady Eagles (26-2), and the Eagles used a fast start to claim a pair of victories, 12-3 and 7-0. The wins were the Lady Eagles' 23rd and 24th in their last 25 games.
Williams Baptist wasted no time in breaking game one open, taking advantage of a pair of Mid-Continent errors and three walks to plate seven runs in the first inning. The frame was highlighted by a three-run homer from Kristen Gipson. Williams Baptist added a run in the second and two more in the third inning, building a 10-0 lead. Mid-Continent came alive in the top of the fourth, with Courtney Woods (1) and Rachel Brueggeman (2) each launching home runs - Brueggeman's a two-run blast - to cut the deficit to 10-3, but Williams Baptist answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the stanza. In the fifth, Mid-Continent got a base hit from Stephanie Malone, but they were unable to get anthing started, and the Lady Eagles took the win 12-3.
Karisa Hendrix (13-2) earned the win for Williams Baptist, allowing three earned runs on four hits in the five inning complete game. Colby Smith (1-5) lasted just a third of an inning in the loss, allowing seven runs - six earned on three hits and three walks. Lindsey Rucker added the Cougars' fourth hit, a double that scored in front of Brueggeman's homer.
Game two saw Shelby Anderson make a little history for Williams Baptist. Anderson allowed only two baserunners - Christina Winsett in the first who reached on an error, and Brueggeman who advanced to first base on a dropped third strike in the fourth, throwing the no-hitter for Williams Baptist. Anderson did not walk a batter, and she struck out seven Mid-Continent Cougars in the game, getting plenty of offensive support in the process. Anderson opened the scoring in support of herself in the bottom of the first, blasting a two-run homer that would have been enough for the win on its own. Gipson added her second home run of the day in the third frame, as the Lady Eagles scored three times in the first and three more runs in the third. Williams Baptist added a single run in the fourth frame to cap the scoring and take the win 7-0.
Anderson moved to 13-0 on the season with the win, defeating Lindsey Rucker (1-9) who struck out four while allowing 13 hits in six innings of work.
Mid-Continent must regroup quickly, as they return home to take on the Bethel University Lady Wildcats (4-11, 1-3) in the Cougars' TranSouth home opening double-header. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
