BOILING SPRINGS, NC— Winthrop softball dropped two one-run games in a doubleheader loss at Gardner-Webb suffering losses of 1-0 and 7-6, Friday evening in Big South Conference action.
The Eagles fall to 14-40 on the year and 4-19 in the league while Gardner-Webb improves to 20-32 overall and 6-17 in the league. The two teams will wrap-up the series on Saturday at 7 p.m. with the game airing on ESPN3.
"We just lost two tough games today," said Winthrop co-head coach
Mark Cooke. "We hit in the first game but not in the second. We just didn't play good defensively but we didn't quit or give up as they battled until the end."
The Eagles led 2-0 after an inning and a half but the lead didn't last long as the Runnin' Bulldogs took advantage of Winthrop's mistake. Scarlett Harris led off the inning with a home run to right center but
Dallas King got the next two outs before giving up a double to Megan Champion. King then got a grounder to third but an error allowed Champion to score from second and keep the inning going. Gardner-Webb made the Eagles pay with four more runs capped off by a two-run home run by Megan Gibbons to left center.
Winthrop had grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a
Zharne Glover RBI double and then
Morgan Lowers made it 2-0 with a bases loaded sacrifice fly to center.
Lowers cut the Gardner-Webb lead in half in the top of the fourth with another sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and no outs.
Shayna Covington hit a grounder to the left side that third baseman Callie Thornton made a nice play to her left to snag the ball in the air for the second out and then the threat ended when Glover popped out.
In the top of the sixth the Eagles made it a one-run game thanks to an RBI single from
Leah Young and two RBI single from Glover. Winthrop did get the tying run on base in the top of the seventh but the runner was stranded at second.
King took the loss as she falls to 4-6 on the year after allowing six runs (one earned) on five hits with no walks and a strikeout. Summer Darnell got the win for the Runnin' Bulldogs as she allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits with three walks and three strikeouts to improve to 6-6.
Lowers finished with two RBI in the game while Glover tied her career-high of three RBI. Glover along with
Kim Ryder and
Paige Haley each had two hits.
The first game of the doubleheader was decided on a bases loaded walk. In the bottom of the fifth inning,
Kiley Majette ran into trouble with one out when Gardner-Webb's Jill Blank reached on a bunt and then Majette issued a walk to Rachel Cumiskey. The Eagles got a force out at third on a grounder for the second out but back-to-back walks gave the Runnin' Bulldogs the only run of the game.
Majette finished the game allowing the one run on four hits with four walks and a strikeout as she falls to 7-15. Gardner-Webb's Mackenzie Thompson improved to 10-11 after allowing just one hit, walking one and recording two strikeouts in a complete game effort.
