LAURINBURG, N.C. - CIU Softball played their final road series of the regular season in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) as they took on the Knights of St. Andrews University. In need of a win after a recent slump, the Rams swept the Knights due to solid pitching from their two starters. The Rams improve to 17-26-1 on the season and 8-14 in the AAC with three home series remaining.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
GAME ONE: CIU 6 SAU 3: SAU brought in the game's first run in the bottom of the second inning. The Rams would answer in their following at-bat, as Hallie Miller would bring in a run on a single to left-center field, and then Shannon Patton doubled to the same spot to bring in two more, helping the Rams take a 3-1 advantage. The Knights then tied the game with two runs in the fourth inning at 3-3. However, CIU would explode for another three-run inning in the top of the sixth. Hallie Miller would come up big for the Rams once again with her second single to score two of the Ram's three runs in the inning. The Ram's defense would anchor down to help CIU close the game with a much-needed 6-3 win in conference play.
BOX SCORE NOTES:
- Kaitlynn Creel was 2-of-4 on the day with two singles.
- Hallie Miller was 2-of-3 at the plate with two singles and three RBIs.
- Mary Esterak pitched lights out with seven strikeouts in seven innings of work.
GAME TWO: CIU 6 SAU 2: Game two was knotted with no score until the Rams put up two straight three-score innings. Hallie Miller got the bats going as she did in game one, with a single to score the first of the Ram's six runs. St. Andrews added two runs in the sixth inning but none more as the Rams claimed their third AAC sweep of the season, 6-2.
BOX SCORE NOTES:
What Coach Sara Allen is saying:
"It was really good to see the girls bounce back from a tough string of losses. Cissy and Mary pitched very well, and we had some great clutch hitting. Hopefully, today helps restore our confidence going into our last few series of the season."
Up Next:
The Rams return home for a three-series stretch as they close out the regular season. The first series starts Saturday, April 16 at noon against Bluefield (Va.).