BREVARD, N.C. - Jamie Hrobak established a new single-season record with her 250th strikeout and Paige Atkison doubled home Brittan Miller, both in the seventh inning of Game One, to highlight a 4-3 win and a doubleheader split with visiting Anderson on Tuesday afternoon.
The Tornados (18-32, 6-14 SAC) tied the game at three runs apiece with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth. Hrobak calmly worked a 1-2-3 seventh, punctuating the inning by retiring her 10th consecutive batter on her 250th career strikeout, establishing a new single-season record in Brevard's NCAA era.
Brittan Miller led off the bottom of the inning by reaching on an error. Consecutive fielder's choices gave the Tornados two outs with the speedy Lauren Parker on first base. Kinsey Parrish laced a single into center field before Paige Atkison rocketed a double into the right center field gap, scoring Parker from second to give Brevard its second walk-off win in the last three home games.
Parrish and Atkison's back-to-back hits provided half the offense for the Tornados. Starting pitcher Augie Pena had a no-hitter through four innings, but was lifted in favor of Randee Bettis to begin the fifth. Ricki Kuhn greeted the sophomore right-hander with a triple before Ashleigh Ivey's double moments later put a run on the board.
Brevard struck for two runs without the benefit of a hit in the sixth. An error, a walk, a fielder's choice, and another walk loaded the bases for Ivey, whose RBI base on balls made the score 3-2 in favor of the Trojans (29-17, 9-11 SAC). A wild pitch allowed Atkison to score from third to tie the game to set up the game's dramatic conclusion.
Hrobak earned the win, and the new strikeout record, by allowing three runs on seven hits in a complete-game effort. She struck out nine batters, walked just one, and held the Trojans without a baserunner after the second out of the fourth inning.
Hrobak took the loss in a 4-2 Trojans' victory in Game Two, allowing three runs on nine hits in the contest. Kuhn didn't allow a hit in her two innings of relief work, giving up one unearned run and recording a strikeout. She entered with two on, no outs, and three runs already in in the sixth inning, but retired the first three Trojans she faced by mixing her pitches well and fooling hitters with an impressive rise ball.
Anderson tacked on an unearned run in the seventh without recording a hit to reach the final margin, scoring all of their runs in the final two frames. Brevard began the game by taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Atkison and stretched the lead on a Parrish sacrifice fly two innings later.
The Tornados currently sit in 10th place in the South Atlantic Conference standings, 2.0 games back of the eighth and final tournament spot. Brevard has played two more games than both of the teams it can mathematically pass and owns the tiebreaker over ninth-place Mars Hill, which the Tornados trail by a game.
Brevard would be eliminated from postseason contention if Lincoln Memorial sweeps Mars Hill at the home of the Lions on Wednesday. A split or Lions' sweep, however, would set up a myriad of potential tiebreak scenarios heading into Saturday's league finale with Queens.
Prior to facing the Royals, Brevard will travel to Converse Thursday and host Bluefield on Friday. Senior Day festivities will take place between games on Friday afternoon.
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