Cincinnati, Ohio—On Wednesday afternoon the Lions Softball program played host to the Panthers of Hanover College. The Lions were putting their ten game winning streak on the line when they welcomed Hanover to the campus of Mount St. Joseph.
GAME ONE: MSJ 2 HC 1
Game one was a very tightly contested matchup between the two teams. Both teams were unable to get their bats going until the bottom of the third inning when the Lions plated two runs. Opening up the bottom of the third for the Lions was Gracie Woodyard, who hit a leadoff home-run. Later in the bottom of the third Aleiha Tucker came to the plate with two outs, she then hit the second home-run of inning for the Lions.
After holding a comfortable 2-0 lead, Hanover was able to score their only run of the ball game in the top of the fifth inning to keep things close. Ultimately the Lions were able to hold on to their lead and win game one.
The key players from game one for the Lions were without a doubt Woodyard and Tucker. Both players finished the ball game with one hit, both home-runs and one RBI each. As usual Sarah Miller had another great performance pitching for the Lions, going all seven innings, surrendered no earned runs and struck out five batters. This performance was good for Miller's 12 win of the season.
GAME TWO: MSJ 7 HC 1
The second game saw the Lions get hot in the batters box, scoring in each of the first four innings. On the other hand the Lions defense was able to hold Hanover to just one run for a second ball game in a row.
The Lions got on the board early, as Tucker reached on a single, then later advanced to third base on a Broke Otto double. Then Tucker was able to score on a wild pitch, giving the Lions an early 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the second the Lions were able to get another run across, scoring Woodyard on a Tucker sacrifice fly. Following a quiet top of the third the Lions scored their third run of the game off of a Maiah Hodge RBI single.
In the Home half of the fourth inning the Lions offense exploded. With runners on the corners and nobody out Tucker crushed her second home-run of the double-header giving the Lions a 6-0 lead. Then later in the inning with one out Casey Bramble drove in Otto on a sacrifice fly. At the end of the fourth the Lions found themselves with a controlling 7-0 lead. This ended the Lions scoring for the game, after allowing one run in the top of the seventh the game ended in a 7-1 Lions win.
Several Lions had a great game in game two. Tucker led the Lions going two for two at the plate, including a home-run and four RBI's. Otto also had a great game collecting two hits and scoring one run for the Lions.
The Lions defense was headlined by pitcher, Kamryn McCool who collected her 12 win of the season. McCool allowed one run in seven innings of work while striking-out seven batters.
After this sweep of Hanover the Lions extended their winning streak to 12 games. The Lions look to clinch a share of the Heartland Conference title, when they host Franklin College for a double-header. For coverage of the Franklin double-header continue to follow msjlions.com
