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Kelsey Ritter Batting
Greg Romine

Softball Season Ends With Losses To Top-Seeded Coastal Carolina, Second-Seeded Longwood

Ritter Hit Two Home Runs In Three Games At Big South Tourney

Eagles Finish 27-26, First Winning Record Since 2009

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
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CONWAY, SC—
The season came to an end for the Winthrop softball team after falling 2-1 to second-seeded Longwood after a 7-3 loss earlier in the day against top-seeded Coastal Carolina on the second day of the Big South Conference Tournament.

Winthrop falls to 27-26 as it claims its first winning record since the 2009 season after going 1-2 in the conference championship. Longwood improves to 40-15 on the year as Coastal Carolina is now 40-14.

After falling to Coastal Carolina in their first contest of the day, Winthrop faced off against the Lancers in an elimination game.

The game was tied at 1-1 heading to the bottom of the sixth when Longwood took advantage of a couple of mistakes by the Eagles. Sara Allen issued a one-out walk and then the runner advanced to second on a wild pitch. That brought up Justina Augustine who hit a grounder to shortstop that Naomi Stevens fielded and tried to get the lead runner out at third but all runners were safe on the play. That was followed by a single by Jamie Barbour on a high chopper in the infield that loaded the bases. The winning run came across on a grounder up the middle as Kim Ryder at second dove and scooped the ball over to Stevens at the bag for the force out but Carly Adams scored on the play.

Longwood grabbed the lead in the second inning thanks to back-to-back errors and then Adams scored on a wild pitch. Winthrop answered right back with an RBI double down the left field line by Megan Winningham that scored Paige Haley.

Allen tossed a complete game of six innings allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits with a walk and five strikeouts as she ends the season at 13-12.

Longwood's Libby Morris tossed seven innings allowing the one unearned run on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts to improve to 17-10.

In the first game of the day, things didn't start off well for the Eagles in the first inning as Amanda Daneker hit a three-run home run to left field with one out for a 3-0 lead.

"I thought the biggest thing in the game was the three-run home run in the first inning as it took us out of any kind of game plan that we had," said Winthrop head coach Mark Cooke about the loss to Coastal Carolina. "I like the way our kids battled back. I thought Mel (Andrea) hit a line drive that could have been a game changer. The centerfielder made a great catch on it. They came in and scored three more and sort of took the energy out. But our kids kept playing as our kids scored one in the sixth and seventh. That's what you want your team to do is battled the whole time."

Winthrop loaded the bases in the top of the third inning as Dallas King got things started with one out as she drew a walk that was followed by a single to center from Stevens. Winningham grounded into a fielder's choice as Stevens was just out at second on the play. McKenzi Corn was hit to load the bases as Mel Andrea stepped in with a chance to put the Eagles on the scoreboard. Andrea laced a shot to center field that Brooke Donovan chased down and leaped up to make the grab to end the inning and keep the 3-0 lead secure.

The Eagles got on the board with two outs in the fourth inning as pinch-runner Paige Hartfield Nolan scored from third on a fly ball hit to left by Paige Haley. Haley sliced one to left between shortstop and the left fielder as both positions ran toward the ball to make a play. Shortstop Jessie Winans was backing up and as she tried to make a play on the ball as left fielder Beth Kassuhn was coming in to make a play herself and they collided and the ball fell in, allowing Nolan to score.

Coastal Carolina added three more runs in the fifth inning courtesy of a couple of Winthrop errors.

Ritter homered for a second straight game when she hit a solo shot to left field with one out in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to 6-2. Corn hit a solo shot in the seventh for the Eagles final run of the game as she went 2-for-3 and passed the 180 career-hit mark.

Sutton Watson suffered the loss as she falls to 9-8 on the year after allowing four runs on four hits in 2.2 innings of work with two walks and three strikeouts. King tossed 3.1 innings of relief allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits.

Coastal's ace and 2014 Big South Pitcher of the Year tossed a complete game allowing three runs on five hits with a walk and six strikeouts to improve to 26-5.
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