ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop softball rallied late but came up just short in a 6-4 loss to Longwood in the opening game of the series, Friday night at Terry Field.
GAME INFORMATION
RECORDS: Winthrop (10-12, 1-3 Big South) | Longwood (13-7, 1-0 Big South)
WINTHROP LEADERS: Tori Walker (1-for-2, 2R, HR, RBI) | Romine (1-for-2, R, 2BB)
WHAT HAPPENED
- Longwood grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning as Leah Powell hit a solo shot to left center on a 1-0 pitch
- The Eagles used the long ball as well in the bottom of the third as Tori Walker hit a homerun to left
- Jenna Dunn reached on an error to start the 4th inning and the Lancers took advantage
- Karleigh Donovan followed with a single and then Kasey Carr walked to load the bases
- Chelsea Whitcomb singled to center for a 2-1 lead as the runners moved over one base
- After Kiley Majette got pinch-hitter Madison Blair to foul out, Powell came through again for Longwood with a double to right for a 4-1 lead
- Majette got another foul out but Longwood added two more on a triple to right by Jordan Clark
- Eagles tried to get some runs back in the bottom of the fourth as Brooke Ellison led off with a single and then Keleigh Romine drew a walk
- After Ashley Westbrooks struck out Blake Wallert grounded into a double play to end the threat
- Winthrop pushed three across in the sixth inning to make it a two-run game
- Eagles scored all three runs without a hit as they used their plate presence to draw five walks and two were hit by a pitch
- Walker drew a leadoff walk followed by back-to-back line outs from Morgan Lowers and Ellison
- Walker back-to-back wild pitches moved Walker to third
- Keleigh Romine and Ashley Westbrooks walked to load the bases and Wallert then walked to score the first run
- Taylor Charlton was hit by the first pitch to score the second run and then Ansley Gilreath battled her way through an eight-pitch walk to make it a 6-4 game
- The threat ended as Longwood's Sydney Gay was able to get Logan Webb swinging for the third out
- Walker led off the seventh inning with a walk to get things started and bring the tying run to the plate
- Lowers grounded into a fielder's choice to short as Walker was out at second on the play
- Lowers moved into scoring position on a wild pitch and then over to third on a ground out by Ellison
- Gay ended the game with a strikeout as Romine on a 1-2 pitch
- Majette fell to 3-8 on the year after allowing six runs (three earned) on eight hits with two walks and four strikeouts in five innings
- Gay earned the win and is now 7-4 after allowing two runs on three hits with five walks and five strikeouts
EXTRA BASES
- The Eagles were one walk shy of a season-high as they drew a total of seven for the game
- In the last four meetings the Eagles have 13 runs while Longwood has 15 runs
- In the series with Longwood, the last seven games and nine of the last 10 have been decided by two runs or less
- Romine had a leadoff single in the second as she currently has a team-best three-game hit streak
ON DECK
These same two teams meet on Saturday, Mar. 16 with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. to wrap-up the series.