ROCK HILL, SC—After seven innings of a pitcher's duel, Presbyterian College put up four runs in the top of the eighth en route to a 5-2 victory over Winthrop, Friday night in Big South Conference softball action at Terry Field.
The Eagles fall to 14-25 overall and 4-7 in the Big South while the Blue Hose are now 22-12-1 overall and 6-6 in the league.
Winthrop's Chelsey Schoenfeldt and Presbyterian College's Leslie Hensley both pitched seven strong innings before the Blue Hose broke the 1-1 tie in extra innings.
Schoenfeldt walked the lead-off hitter Katie Anderson, who was 1-for-2 on the day but batting less than .100 on the year. Anderson did a good job at taking the walk on a full count and was replaced by Kayla Handy as a pinch-runner at first. Handy moved over to second as pinch-hitter Lindsey Trombley laid down the sacrifice bunt. That paved way for Rachel Hopper to be the hero and she ripped a single up the middle, scoring Handy from second and putting the Blue Hose on top 2-1. Tera Powell walked to put runners at first and second and with two outs, Morgan Durham stepped in and sliced a home run down the right field line for a 5-2 lead. The home run was the sixth of the season for Durham.
The Eagles got runners on base all game, but Hensley was able to work her way out of jams all night. Winthrop started off the game with the first two runners reaching base, only to see Hensley strike out two of the next three batters and end the threat.
She (Hensley) is very effective as she got runners out even though we got runners in scoring position,” said Winthrop head coach Mark Cooke. “She tossed a great ball game. It was a great ball game except for the last inning. Walked the lead-off spot and they took advantage.”
In the second inning, Veronica Berrie led off with a double down the left field line after fouling off a couple of pitches. Kelly Blea reached on a bunt single to put runners on first and third with no outs. Hensley got Ashleigh Jackson to hit a soft chopper right back at the pitching circle and forced her out at first, which also allowed Blea to move to second. Teja Durante grounded out to first for the second out and then Hensley had a hard time finding the strike zone. Megan Chapman walked to load the bases and then Jenna Harbin drew a walk on a 3-1 count to give Winthrop a 1-0 lead. Kathryn Eberlin popped up to end the threat as the Eagles stranded five runners through the first two innings.
Schoenfeldt cruised through innings three and four throwing just 14 pitches, but ran into trouble in the fifth. Schoenfeldt walked the lead-off batter Hensley and Kaitlyn Sambito pinch-ran for her at first. After getting the next two batters out, Sambito moved over to third base on a passed ball. Then Anderson singled to right field to bring in the tying run.
Winthrop had its chance in the bottom of the seventh inning to end the game as Durante reached on a one-out bunt single. Durante was forced out at second on a grounder by Chapman, who was safe at first. Jenna Harbin singled just off the glove of third baseman Taylor Staten as she reached out for it to put runners at first and second. However, Hensley got Eberlin to pop up once again to end the inning.
Schoenfeldt led off the eighth inning with a line drive home run to left center as she extended her hitting streak to 13 games with the sixth home run of the season. Berrie got her second hit of the day with one out as she singled up the middle, but Blea struck out swinging and the game ended on a line out to second base by Jackson on a nice snag from Durham.
Hensley improved to 14-7 on the year as she allowed two earned runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts in eight innings. Schoenfeldt suffered the loss and is now 7-9 on the year after allowing four earned runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Winthrop will remain at home and be back in action on Sunday at 1 p.m. when it hosts Charleston Southern in a double-header at Terry Field. Presbyterian College will step away from conference action as it hits the road for a double-header in Boone, NC on Wednesday, April 20 against Appalachian State at 4 p.m.
