ANDERSON, S.C. - The Brevard College softball team dropped an extra inning affair to No. 22 Anderson, 3-2, before falling, 7-1, in the second game of a doubleheader on Friday afternoon during South Atlantic Conference (SAC) action.
Game one was tied at two heading into extra innings. After the Tornados (9-22, 2-15 SAC) scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning on a RBI single by Lauren Parker to score Jillian Gleeson, the Trojans answered in the bottom of the inning with two runs to win the game in walk-off fashion.
With Jessica Neidigh on second, she was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt before tying the game at two on a single through the middle by Molly Child. Child advanced to third on a throw home before scoring the winning run on a single by Cailah Niles.
The Trojans took a 1-0 lead in the third inning after Carli Hurtado reached on a lead-off walk. She moved to second on a steal before moving to third on a single by Child. She came around to score on a single by Chelsea Jones.
Brevard answered in the top of the fourth with a run. Kinny Davis led off the inning with a single to left field before advancing on a sacrifice bunt. She moved over to third on a passed ball before scoring on a RBI double by Dallas Heaton.
The Tornados were unable to score Heaton to take the lead for the rest of the inning.
Neither team could get the offensive opportunities until extra innings. Heaton started the games for the Tornados going two innings while allowing one hit and walking one. She also struck out two. Casey Whitaker and Jamie Hrobak pitched well in relief. Hrobak went three full innings while taking the loss but had six strikeouts without surrendering a walk.
She also scattered just two hits in the game. Jones pitched the complete game for the Trojans in game one, giving up two runs on six hits and striking out six. She allowed one free pass and one run was unearned.
Game two was all Trojans from the beginning as they scored runs in all four innings as the game was called after the top of the fifth because of rain. The Tornados scored just one run in the top of the fifth inning.
Anderson loaded the bases with no outs in the first before scoring on a hit by pitch. The hosts had a runner thrown out at home prior to the hit by pitch. Another run in the second made it 2-0 Trojans before they scored five runs in the third and fourth innings.
The Tornados scored their only run in the top of the fifth without a hit. Paige Atkinson went down swinging, Gleeson and Kinsey Parrish both walked before Parker reached on an error. She was thrown out at second on a 7-5-4 putout but not before Gleeson scored on the play.
Davis led the Tornados offense with two hits on the day while Parrish, Parker, Heaton, and Michelle Ray each had one. Parker finished the day with two RBI's while Heaton had the other. Heaton pitched game two as well allowing three hits, two runs, and four walks while fanning three. Whitaker allowed five hits and five runs, three of them earned, in two innings of work in game two while taking the loss.
The Tornados return to action tomorrow with a SAC doubleheader against Catawba in Salisbury, N.C. Game one is set to begin at 1 p.m.
