CINCINNATI, Ohio - On Thursday, April 6th your Mount St. Joseph University softball team played host to the Eagles of Asbury in a non-conference matchup. The Lions pitching was dominant in the pair of matchups allowing just 2 runs on 8 hits through the 2 games.In Game One
Maddie Kennedy flashed her power smashing her 6th home run of the season en route to a 5-1 victory. In Game Two
Kaci Finchum led the way crushing a pair of RBI doubles to give the Lions a 9-1 victory in just 5 innings of play.
GAME ONE | MSJ - 5 ASBURY - 1
Casey Kemp took the circle for the Lions in Game One and started off hot. Kemp struck out the side to begin the game getting the Lions bats to the plate quickly. In the bottom of the 1st the Lions were patient at the plate.
Ali Lang led off the inning with a walk followed by a pair of bunt singles to load the bases. With 1 out both
Casey Kemp and
Maddie Kennedy drew walks of their own to give the Lions an early 2-0 lead. After another scoreless frame from Kemp the Lions headed back to the plate.
Emily McDonald led off bottom of the 2nd with a missle to left field, legging out a double. The Lions would then sacrifice their way to their 3rd run of the game.
In the top of the 3rd Kemp was dominant again, getting the Eagles out in order. In the bottom half, the Lions would strike again. With 1 out and the bases empty,
Maddie Kennedy flexed her muscles with a deep shot to left center for her 6th home run of the season, extending The Mount's lead to 4-0. After another scoreless frame, the Lions would get another opportunity to strengthen their lead. With 1 out
Ali Lang drew her 2nd walk of the day and then swiped 2nd base. With Lang on 2nd
Kelsi Stevenson drove a ball into the left center gap for a RBI double giving the Lions a 5-0 advantage.
In the top of the 5th Asbury would answer back. After an error and a single, the Eagles would knock in their first run of the game off a fielder's choice to cut the Lions lead to just 5-1. But, The Lions wouldn't surrender a run for the rest of the game. After 7 innings, the Lions earned their 14th victory on the season.
GAME TWO | MSJ - 9 ASBURY - 1
Courtney Keller took the circle for the Lions in Game Two and was dominant from the start. Keller began the game with a pair of strikeouts getting the Lions bats up in a hurry.
Kelsi Stevenson got the action started with a walk followed by a double from
Macy Cornelius. Stevenson was able to come around and score off an error by the right fielder giving the Lions an early 1-0 lead. After another scoreless inning The Mount headed back to hit.
Elizabeth Ivers got the inning started with a double to left center followed by another double from
Kaci Finchum to build their lead again to 2-0.
In the third, Keller retired the side in order setting the Lions up for a big inning. Stevenson led off the bottom of the 3rd with a single to right. Cornelius and Kemp followed with singles of their own loading the bases for the Lions. With 2 outs, the Lions took advantage of their opportunity to score big. Ivers smashed her 2nd double of the game to left center clearing the bases and extending the Lions lead to 5-0. Finchum followed with her 2nd double bringing in Ivers from 2nd adding again to their lead which now sat at 6-0.
In the top of the 4th the Eagles would answer back. With 2 outs, Asbury smacked a home run to left field cutting into the Lions lead, with the score now reading 6-1. In the bottom of the 4th, the Lions would again explode offensively. With 1 out Stevenson walked followed by a double from
Macy Cornelius setting up
Courtney Keller to hit with 2 in scoring position. Keller took advantage crushing a ball to deep centerfield, crashing off the wall for a bases clearing double extending The Mount's lead to 8-1. But, the Lions weren't done yet as
Lauryn Miller smacked a double of her own to right field bringing in Keller to give the Lions a 9-1 lead.
In the top half of the 5th, Keller survived after allowing a pair of 2-out base runners to give the Lions the 9-1 victory.
Macy Cornelius was impressive on the day finishing 4-6 with a pair of doubles and a walk.
Maddie Kennedy also impressed finishing 2-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. The Lions pitching was also excellent on the day. Kemp finished game one pitching 7 innings, allowing just 5 hits and 1 unearned run while striking out 6. Keller finished game 2 pitching 5 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 4 batters.
UP NEXT: Your Mount St. Joseph Lions are back in action on Saturday, April 8th when they welcome the Panthers of Hanover to Delhi. The doubleheader matchup is scheduled to begin at 1pm & 3pm.
