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Box Score 4 Montgomery, Alabama – The Mount St. Joseph University softball team traveled south for the second weekend in a row, taking on Rhodes College and Huntingdon College on the campus of Huntingdon. Playing double-headers on Saturday and Sunday, the Lions opened strong with a 7-3 win over Rhodes but fell to Huntingdon 5-0 in the second game. They bounced back Sunday with another tight 6-5 victory over Rhodes, before closing the weekend with a hard-fought extra-inning loss to Huntingdon, 3-2.
Game One | MSJ 7 - Rhodes 3
The Lions wasted no time, as senior
Macy Cornelius led off the game and quickly crossed the plate. Rhodes responded in the first inning, tying the game.
By the end of the second inning, the score was knotted at 3-3, and the teams remained locked until the fifth inning, when senior
Kiley Hankenhoff sparked a rally with a clutch double to center field, bringing in
Emily McDonald. The Lions capitalized, plating four runs in the inning.
Freshman
Lesleigh Reimers earned the win, allowing just two hits and two runs, while the Lions' defense shut down Rhodes through the seventh inning to seal the 7-3 victory.
Game Two | MSJ 0 - Huntingdon 5
Huntingdon jumped ahead early, scoring two runs in the first inning. Despite 11 total hits in the game and zero errors, MSJ struggled to bring runners home.
The Hawks added runs in the third and fifth innings, while freshmen
Clare Lopeman (4.0 IP) and
Courtney Hankenhoff (2.0 IP) combined in the circle, issuing six total walks.
The Lions managed three hits—one each from
Emily McDonald,
Maddie Kennedy, and
Avery Wiltermood—but couldn't break through against the Huntingdon defense.
Game Three | MSJ 6 - Rhodes 5
The Lions came out firing in the first inning, with Kennedy doubling in McDonald before
Kayla Bain followed with another RBI double, giving MSJ a 3-0 lead.
Rhodes answered in the third inning, and the teams continued trading runs throughout the game. It was an offensive battle, with MSJ tallying 12 hits and Rhodes collecting 11.
Key extra-base hits came from Kennedy and Bain (doubles), along with triples from
Shelby Rakosky and
Alayna Flynn. The Lions' offense kept pressure on Rhodes' pitching staff, securing the 6-5 win.
Game Four | MSJ 2 - Huntingdon 3 (8 Innings)
The Lions closed out the weekend with a hard-fought extra-inning battle against Huntingdon but ultimately fell 3-2 in a game that saw both teams collect six hits.
Kennedy got things going in the seventh inning with a deep leadoff double. With two outs, Wiltermood battled at the plate, and on a check swing, the Huntingdon catcher hesitated, thinking the ball was foul. Kennedy took advantage, sprinting home from second to tie the game.
In the eighth inning, the Lions had a chance to take the lead when Flynn attempted to score on a passed ball, but she was called out at the plate.
With the game still tied in the bottom of the eighth, Coach
Beth Goderwis made the strategic decision to load the bases after the international tiebreaker runner advanced to third. Freshman pitcher Reimers was in the circle, and an inside pitch hit a batter, bringing in the game-winning run for Huntingdon.
Despite the tough loss, the Lions showed resilience, battling through extra innings in a back-and-forth matchup.
Up Next: The MSJ softball team heads to Winter Haven, Florida for The Spring Games, opening with a double-header on March 3 against Aurora University at 9 AM, followed by Marian University at 11:30 AM.
