ATHENS, GA— Aided by four runs in the first two innings the Winthrop softball team opened the season with a 5-1 over Illinois, Friday afternoon at the Red & Black Showcase hosted by the University of Georgia.
It was the first game of the season for both teams as the Eagles are now 1-1 all-time against the Fighting Illini. Winthrop will be back in action early Saturday morning when it takes on Coppin State at 9 a.m. Then the Eagles will face Murray State that evening at 7 p.m.
Senior
Sara Allen allowed one run on eight hits with four walks and five strikeouts in seven innings to earn the win.
"Sara just threw a great ball game," said Winthrop head coach
Mark Cooke. "She was sharp. She got into a couple of jams but was able to get out of them. As a team we put the ball in play, moved the runners and drove in runs when we needed to. It was a complete team effort today."
It didn't take sophomore
Maddie Antone long to show why she was the 2014 Big South Conference Freshman of the Year as she belted a home run to right center in the bottom of the first inning to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead as
Megan Winningham scored as well.
Winthrop made it 4-0 in the bottom of second when
Paige Haley delivered an RBI single up the middle with runners at the corners as
Shayna Covington, who came in as a pinch-runner after a
Sara Allen lead-off double, scored from third. Haley then stole second and but catcher Nicole Tobon's check throw to third gets away and allows
Madison Templeton to score for a 4-0 lead.
With runners at first and second with two outs in the second inning, Allen got a grounder to short as Antone threw out the lead runner at third. Then in the fourth and fifth innings Illinois loaded the bases, only to see Allen get the out she needed. In the fourth Kylie Johnson, who was the top hitter in 2014 with a .383 average, lined out to short to end the threat. In the fifth Allen loaded the bases with two outs after a walk and hitting a batter but forced a grounder to third that ended the inning.
Shelese Arnold took the loss in the circle for the Illini as she allowed five runs (two earned) on six hits with six walks and eight strikeouts in six innings.
Allen led the Eagles with two hits while Antone, Noble, and Haley each had one.
