GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Tusculum University softball split a doubleheader with West Virginia State on Wednesday (Feb. 18) afternoon at Red Edmonds Field.
Tusculum (4-6) is scheduled to host Barton (Feb. 21) and Young Harris (Feb. 22) this weekend for a pair of 1 p.m. doubleheaders.
Game 1: Tusculum 3, West Virginia State 1
The Pioneers scored three unanswered runs in the middle innings to win the opener over the Yellow Jackets, with Chelsey Stonesifer‘s strong performance in the circle.
WVSU got on the board in the second inning behind a well-placed bunt and a speedy runner. With one out, the Yellow Jackets doubled to right center. The runner came home on a bunt that trickled in between two Pioneers in the middle of the infield.
Tusculum responded with a run in the third. Brooke Smith doubled down the left field line as one of her two hits in the contest. With two outs, Sammy Jimenez legged out her third triple of the season to plate Smith.
The Pioneers pulled ahead for good in the fourth frame. Hailey Nichols hit an infield single, followed by Muriel Dillow‘s single. Dillow knocked a ball to the right side and advanced to second on the throw. Andrea Davis, who pinch-ran for Nichols, advanced to third and scored on a throwing error, which also moved up Dillow. Smith took a ball back up the middle to score Dillow from third.
Stonesifer (3-3) pitched a complete game on 99 pitches. She relented one run on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
Game 2: West Virginia State 6, Tusculum 2
The Yellow Jackets scored six unearned runs on three TU errors to salvage a split in Greeneville. Both of Tusculum’s runs came via sacrifice fly.
The Pioneers scored in each of the first two innings. In the opening frame, both Nichols and Ellie Alvarez reached on errors and stood at the corners. Jimenez cashed in with a sacrifice fly. Dillow led off the second with a double, followed by both Ava Hallows and Abby Hunter eking out bunt singles to load the bases. Smith tried to go for a third-straight bunt but Dillow was thrown out at the plate on a fielder’s choice. Nichols lofted a ball to center to score Hallows on the second sacrifice fly of the contest.
West Virginia State finally broke through in the fifth. The second batter of the inning reached on an error before coming around to score on a two-out double.
WVSU scored five in the sixth inning. The bases were loaded with one out after a TU miscue and a run scored on a single. The next batter was out on an infield fly to bring up Kylie Price. She belted a grand slam to right field to finalize the score at 6-2.
Aleyia Satterfield tossed five innings in her start, allowing one run on five hits with one strikeout. Natalie Spaitis (0-1) got two outs in relief, relenting five runs on four hits with a strikeout. Izzy Wilson pitched to two batters, tallying the final out of the sixth. Catherine O’Donohue went three-up, three-down in the seventh.
