FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. - The Brevard College softball team split a doubleheader at nonconference foe Emmanuel on Thursday afternoon, winning an extra innings affair 8-6 before falling 9-1 in the second game.
Emmanuel (1-1), which is new to Division II this season and competes in Conference Carolinas, exacted its revenge on the Tornados (1-3) in the second contest. The Tornados gave up five runs in a disastrous second inning, all of which came with two outs, and were unable to recover. Kinsey Parrish was 2-for-2 with a run scored, while Dallas Heaton notched Brevard's only other hit on an RBI double to right field.
The highlights for Brevard, however, occurred in the afternoon's first game, as the team pounded out 13 hits and were perfect in the field. Four Tornados had multi-hit games, including three-hit performances by Dallas Heaton and Michelle Ray.
The scoring started in the first inning, when Lauren Parker led off the game with a walk and came around to score on a Heaton RBI single. The Tornados tacked on three more runs in the third inning, with the big blow coming in the form of a two-run double by Michelle Ray.
Emmanuel pulled within a run by scoring twice in the fourth inning, but the Tornados got a crucial insurance run on an RBI groundout to the right side of the infield by Jillian Gleeson. Single runs in the fifth and sixth innings by the Lions tied the game at five runs each and forced extra innings.
In the eighth, however, the Tornados flexed their offensive muscles. Lauren Parker was placed on third base due to the international tiebreak rule and was moved over to third by a Kinny Davis sacrifice bunt. Kinsey Parrish pushed a single through the left side to score Parker before Casey Whitaker, a second team preseason all-conference selection as a utility player, put the Tornados up by three with a two-run blast. Emmanuel scored a run in the bottom of the eighth but stranded the tying run at first base.
The Tornados next take to the field on Sunday afternoon as the team welcomes Milligan to Brevard for the 2015 home opener. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
