LAURINBURG, S.C. - CIU softball hit the field for a midweek Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) series against St. Andrews University. The Rams entered the contest on a five-game win streak with two walk-off victories. Under the helm of Coach Sara Allen, CIU was just two wins away from the program's 100th win. The Rams checked this off their list of accolades after a sweep of the Knights on Tuesday evening, improving to 18-24 overall and 7-17 in conference play.
Game One: CIU 11 SAU 7: The Rams quickly took the lead after putting up a five-spot in the first inning, highlighted by a three-run homer from Lilli Petty. They added another on a sac fly from Hannah Murphy in the second, which the Knights responded to to bring the score 6-1. CIU went scoreless the next three innings, but St. Andrews scored six to take the lead (7-6). The Rams scored three in the top of the sixth after a triple from Caydon Thompson to regain a 9-7 lead. They added two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh after a single from Ally Clapp and a triple from Macey Drye to secure the 11-7 win.
Box Score Highlights:
-
Thompson, Petty, Clapp, and Drye led the team with two hits.
-
Thompson and Petty led with three RBI, including Petty's first homer of the year.
-
Jada Cox picked up the win after allowing one run and five hits in 4.1 innings.
Game Two: CIU 13 SAU 3: The Rams scored two in the second inning off RBI from Clapp and Drye, but the Knights answered with one of their own to cut the lead in half (2-1). Drye, Sophia Noriega, and Thompson combined for five RBI in the fourth to give CIU the 7-1 advantage, but the Knights added two in the bottom of the inning after an error to bring the score to 7-3. The Rams plated six more runs between the fifth and sixth innings to lead by 10. St. Andrews threatened to score in the bottom of the sixth, but a flyout and strikeout secured the run-rule win.
Box Score Highlights:
What Coach Sara Allen is saying, "I'm really proud of the fight we showed today. We've grown tremendously throughout this season, and that is evident in how we responded to some adverse situations in the games. There were cool moments for several players! I'm also honored to have won our 100th game as a program. Many special individuals have contributed to our successes over the last six years, especially in the first few years of building our team. It feels good to reach this milestone for them!"
Up Next: CIU travels to Virginia to take on Bluefield University (Va.) on Saturday, April 20, for their last road conference series of the season.
