WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Brevard began a 10-game swing during the school's Spring Break with a pair of losses at Winston-Salem State Wednesday, falling 2-1 in a pitcher's duel in the first game before the Rams took an 8-4 decision in the second.
Jamie Hrobak was the hard-luck loser in Game One, striking out 12 batters without allowing a walk. She retired each of the last 13 batters she faced beginning with a strikeout to end the second inning. The Tornados (5-9) outhit the Rams (4-8) 6-5, but a costly error in the second proved to be the difference.
Three of the first four Rams to come to the plate in the inning hit singles, loading the bases with one out. Hrobak got a swinging strikeout for the second out and was ahead 0-1 on leadoff hitter Chyna Riley when the second baseman hit a bouncing ball to third base.
Paige Atkison was officially credited with an error when she was unable to make a play at any base, allowing the Rams to score the first run of the game. Idaysha Quinones then fouled off two Hrobak offerings to work the count to 2-2 before hitting an RBI single to left center for the game's second run.
The Rams would not have another baserunner the rest of the contest. Kinsey Parrish brought the Tornados to within a run with a solo shot in the fourth, her third of the season. Brevard would place two more runners in scoring position with two outs, but the inning ended on a strikeout to end Brevard's most potent scoring threat.
Winston-Salem State's Mercedes Hargett went toe to toe with Hrobak, coming away with the win after allowing a single earned run. Like Hrobak, she did not issue a free pass.
The Rams' offense was more consistent in the afternoon's second game, scoring in each of the first three innings to put distance between themselves and the Tornados. An RBI groundout in the first preceded a pair of run-scoring singles an inning later that made the score 3-0.
Brevard got back to within a run after an RBI groundout by Atkison and a single up the middle by Kinny Davis in the third, but Winston-Salem State again stretched the lead with a pair of runs. A three-run fifth put the Rams ahead by five and snuffed out any hope of a Tornados' comeback.
Ricki Kuhn picked up the loss after allowing eight runs in 5.0 innings in the circle. Hrobak pitched the sixth inning, extending her streak of consecutive batters retired to 14 before allowing a one-out single through the left side. She struck out three more batters in the inning to give her 15 punchouts on the day.
Brevard will return to action Thursday with a doubleheader at Francis Marion. First pitch from Florence, South Carolina is slated for 3:00 p.m.
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