Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 CINCINNATI, Ohio-- The Mount St. Joseph softball team welcomed the Yellow Jackets of Defiance College to the Kinder Morgan Softball Complex for an HCAC double header. After an long day of softball the Lions were able to gain a split of the games.
Game 1
In game one the Lions sent Paige Kiesewetter (Piqua, OH/ Miami East) to the mound. Defiance would jump out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Kiesewetter allowed one walk, three hits and three runs in the first, even with only one batted ball leaving the infield. After the first she settled into a nice grove allowing only one run over the next four innings. That run came on a tight breaking inside screw ball, that the batter was lucky to even make contact with. In total she gave up 10 hits and 6 earned runs, while it was not her best outing she gave the Lions a fighting chance.
Yellow Jacket pitching kept the Lions batters off balance for the entire first game. As the scored only one run over the first six innings of play. That run came on a Katie Tarter (Fairfield, OH/ Fairfield) RBI single. Come the bottom of the seventh inning they threatened to get back into the game. Defiance quickly got two outs to begin the inning, thats when the Lions started to goto work. The next three Lions reached base, then Savannah Sturgill (West Harrison, IN/ East Central) singled into left field. On the hit one run scored but an outstanding relay Defiance cut down Morgan Kain (Batesville, IN/ Batesville) at the plate to end the game, leaving the tying run standing in the on deck circle.
Game 2
The Lions would send Danielle Nichelson (Glencoe, KY/ Gallatin County) to the mound in game two and she would go the distance. That was some feat in this one as the game lasted more than three hours and 12 innings.
The game was a true back and forth affair as the teams battled to a 3-3 tie at the end of 7 innings. Katie Hoelmer (Cincinnati, OH/ Colerain) got her first start in more than a year and she delivered for the Lions, driving a long two-run homerun into left field. The Lions went into the bottom of the 6th inning trailing 3-2, when Kiesewetter hit her 3rd home run of the season to tie the score.
As the game entered extra innings each team took advantage of the international softball rule of placing a runner at second base to begin the inning. They traded one run innings in the 8th,10th and 11th innings.
Then came the decisive 12th inning, Defiance bunted the runner over to third to begin the inning. Nichelson then enduced two groundouts to shortstop Olivia Quick (Sunman, IN/ East Central), to strand the runner at 3rd base. In the bottom of the inning the Lions bunted the runner over as well, then with two out Morgan Hoehn (Cincinnati, OH/ Colerain) slapped a ball to the shortstop, which she beat out for a walk-off 7-6 win.
Up Next
The Lions travel tommorrow to take on HCAC foe Hanover, the games are scheduled to get underway at 1:00 PM
