BETHANY – Southern Nazarene's softball team split the final day of action on Saturday with East Central as they dropped the first game 4-1 but bounced back to take the finale 7-4.
On "Abby Brobston Day" at Cypert Athletic Complex, the Crimson Storm (17-16, 15-9 GAC) honored the Brobston family pregame on "Strikeout Cancer Day" in the doubleheader. It took SNU a while to get their bats going as they managed just five hits in the first game but combatted that with 11 in the nightcap.
Game 1
Chelsea Vandiver got the start in the circle for Southern Nazarene as she took her seventh loss of the season in 2.1 innings of work, allowing two runs on five hits.
Brooklyn Sparkman provided 2.2 innings out of the bullpen along with
Cassidy Davila who tossed 2.0 innings and struck out three Tiger hitters.
The Crimson Storm managed just one RBI in the opening game of the doubleheader and that came from
Hailie Fellers. She finished 1-for-2 as
Emma Nightengale was the run scored for SNU.
Sydney Sundbye,
Mahina Sauer,
Natalie Jones, and
Victoria Rodriguez were the four other Storm hitters to reach base as SNU left nine total runners on base by the end of the game.
East Central struck first in the opening inning with one score to give the Tigers an early 1-0 advantage. SNU came back in the bottom of the second when Fellers sacrifice fly scored Nightengale to tie things up at 1-1. From there, the Tigers scored one run each of the third, fourth, and sixth innings to gradually build their lead to 4-1. The Storm had a chance coming down the stretch but couldn't push across any runs as East Central took the second game of the series 4-1.
Game 2
Southern Nazarene had no plans to let East Central complete the series sweep as they used a
Brooklyn Sparkman grand slam to blow the game open and secure one win to close out the weekend. Sparkman got the nod on the rubber in the final game as she tossed 3.0 innings and allowed four runs on four hits.
Hannah Sattler provided some excellent relief for the Storm out of the pen as she pitched 4.0 innings and allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out two. Sattler earned her second victory of the season.
At the dish, Sparkman's four RBI's led the way to a nine hit performance for SNU batters in the game.
Caitlyn Curlee and
Sydney Sundbye finished with multiple hits as the duo each went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Hailie Fellers drove in a run with her 1-for-3 effort at the plate while
Victoria Rodriguez also recorded an RBI.
Skye Ah Yat and Sattler each finished with a hit for SNU as well.
Much like the first two games of the series, East Central wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard as the Tigers plated two runs in the opening inning to jump out to a 2-0 lead. ECU added one more run in the second to make it 3-0 before the Crimson Storm's bats started to wake up.
After the Storm loaded the bases in the bottom of the second, Rodriguez was hit by a pitch that allowed Curlee to stroll in to cut the deficit to 3-1. The next batter Fellers ripped a single to right field scoring Sundbye and Nightengale and just like that, the game was tied at 3-3. SNU's defense got reckless in the third inning as they recorded a couple of errors that ECU eventually capitalized on. The Tigers scored on a wild pitch in the third to re-take the lead at 4-3.
The Crimson Storm's bats got going again in the fifth as Sattler, Ah Yat and Sauer all reached base for SNU. That opened the door for Sparkman to deliver a towering missile over the right field wall clearing the bases. The grand slam was the first of the season for Sparkman as the Crimson Storm took a 7-4 lead and never looked back. They closed out the final two innings to secure the victory, their 15
th conference win of the season.
Southern Nazarene will be back in action next weekend for another home series as they welcome in Arkansas-Monticello on Friday and Saturday. First pitch with the Blossoms on Friday is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
