COLUMBIA, S.C. - CIU kicked off regular season play in the Cola Classic Tournament, co-hosted by Columbia College (S.C.). The Rams cruised to a 6-0 win in game one against Brewton-Parker College and nearly grabbed a walk-off win in game two against Point University. CIU starts the season 1-1.
Game One: CIU 6 BPC 0: Due to the tournament setup, CIU was the visiting team in their first game. Macey Drye and Caydon Thompson drove runs in for the Rams in the top of the first to quickly lead 2-0. A single from Sophia Noriega in the second extended this to a 3-0 lead. Both teams went down quietly in the third and fourth innings, but Drye and Thompson drove in two more runs to bring the score to 5-0 in the fifth. Noriega pushed another run across in the sixth, and the Rams' defense held the Barons scoreless in the final two frames for their first win of the season.Â
Box Score Highlights:Â
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Thompson led the team with three hits, while Abigail Guthrie went 2-for-2.Â
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Thompson, Drye, and Noriega recorded all 6 RBI, two respectively.Â
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Abby Ragan recorded the win on the mound, surrendering just two hits and no runs in seven innings.  Â
Game Two: Point 5 CIU 4: Point scored one in the first and three in the third to quickly lead 4-0. The Rams struggled to put runners into scoring position, but a single from Alexuz Barnes put CIU on the board in the bottom of the fourth. The score remained 4-1 until the Skyhawks added another run in the top of the seventh. However, the Rams did not go down without a fight. A sac fly from Lilli Petty, a single from Drye, and a double off the fence from Mackenzie Brown brought the Rams within one (5-4) with a runner on the third, but the comeback was cut short after an intense ten-pitch at-bat did not end in CIU's favor.Â
Box Score Highlights:Â
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Drye and Alexuz Barnes led the team with two hits.Â
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Brown recorded the only extra-base hit of the contest.Â
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Raleigh Stewart allowed no earned runs in the final three innings.Â
Up Next: CIU takes on College of Coastal Georgia and WVU Tech tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 8th, at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET.Â
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