WISE – UVA Wise softball split their South Atlantic Conference opener against Limestone Saturday afternoon on the Bill Gatton Softball Field. They fell in the first game 6-4 and the took the nightcap in a marathon ten inning contest by an 8-7 score via a walk-off home run from
Lindsey Polan.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result Game One: Limestone 6, UVA Wise 4
Result Game Two: UVA Wise 8, Limestone 7, 10 innings.
Records: UVA Wise (14-9, 1-1 SAC); Limestone (7-11, 2-2 SAC)
Location: Wise, VA | Bill Gatton Softball Field
GAME ONE
- Both teams scored in the first inning, with the Cavaliers' run coming via a
Lindsey Polan single to right field that scored
Taylor Clay from second base.
- The Saints then added three runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth.
- After
Mataya Ausmus was walked to open the fourth inning for UVA Wise, eventually would score from third off a sacrifice fly by Clay, cutting the lead to 6-2.
- The Cavs picked up two more runs in the fifth inning, one when
Mallory McKnight scored via a Saint error and the other when Gracie Greer made it home when LU walked in a run with the bases loaded.
- Limestone changed pitchers in the sixth inning, and shut down the Cavs in order in the final two innings to claim the win.
- Polan, Ausmus, and McKnight accounted for all the Cavalier hits in game one, with
Adyson Gibson and Clay notching a RBI each.
GAME TWO
- UVA Wise was the first to score as Polan scored from third after Ausmus singled down the third base line in the third inning.
- The Saints answered that run in the next inning, added one more in the fourth, and two more in the sixth to take the 4-1 lead.
- McKnight singled in the bottom of the sixth, scoring Clay. The Cavs then tied the game up in the bottom of the seventh as Ausmus reached via an error and then
Bayleigh Allison singled. Allison had pinch hit for
Riley Nichols, who was put back in to run. A sacrifice bunt moved them up a base, and then they scored as
Kaylynn Baker doubled to right center, tying the game. It would then go to extra innings.
- The international tie-breaker rule then came into effect, and in the eighth and ninth innings that runner would score for each team, keeping the game going. In the tenth, the Saints once again had the tiebreaker runner score, this time after getting to third on a sacrifice bunt and scoring on a sacrifice fly.
- Then it was the Cavs' turn. Baker was placed on second and Polan was up to bat. Rather than bunting to move the runner over, like had happened the previous two innings, Polan took a ball on the first pitch and then launched a rocket over the left field fence to win the game in walk-off fashion.
- Polan had a big game as the freshman had two hits, scored twice and had two RBI. Her home run was her fifth of the year and her second walk-off. The other was against Lock Haven on Feb. 14.
- Clay,
Abagail Mills and Polan had two hits apiece to lead the team, and Baker and Polan had two RBI each.
- As a team, the Cavs had eight runs off of eleven hits.
-
Olivia Shockley improved to 2-1 on the season as she entered the game in the sixth inning and go 4.1 innings in relief, allowing no hits and three unearned runs. She also fanned four Saint batters.
UP NEXT
The Cavs will host Davis & Elkins tomorrow at noon and 2 p.m. in a game that was moved from February 26. It will close out the longest homestand in school history for UVA Wise as they have played 20 straight home games. After Sunday's games they will go on the road for the first time since February 9
th to play at Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday and Tusculum next Saturday.
