GAFFNEY, S.C. - The Lady Saints softball team split a conference double-header with Erskine College on Wednesday evening, at the Lady Saints Field. The Saints dropped game one 5-8 and won the second 11-10 as both games went into extra innings. The Lady Saints are now 20-28 overall, 8-8 in the league while Erskine stands at 23-16-1 overall, 14-2 in the conference.
In game one, the Fleet jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the top of the third inning. Limestone came alive in the bottom of the third, scoring their first run on an Erskine error at the plate. Christina Woolgar (Orangeville, Calf.) drove in two more runs on a single and Jessica Brown (Inman, S.C.) finished the run with an RBI single to put the Saints up 4-3 after three innings. Erskine went on to score two more runs in the sixth on a two run homer by Ashlee LaFontaine (Grovetown, Ga.), to go up 5-4. Limestone tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on a one run homer by Hannah Mills (Richmond, Va.), to send the game into extra innings. In the top of the eighth, Lindsey LaPrad (Greer, S.C.) drove in two runs on a double and Kaitlin Hunt (Lake Wales, Fla.) doubled to bring in the third and put the Flying Fleet up 8-5. The Saints struggled in the bottom, as the first three batters popped up to end game one.
Emily Wallace (Winchester, Ky.) took the loss from the mound, falling to 11-13 on the season. Erskine’s Rebekah George (Mauldin, S.C.) was credited with the win.
In the second game, the Fleet scored five runs in the first inning. The first Fleet run came as Kelly Davis (Weaverville, N.C.) stole home as the runner on first was involved in a run down play. Courtney Davis (Ashville, N.C.) hit a three run homer to put the Fleet up 4-0 and LaPrad followed with a one run homer, as the Fleet finished the top of the first up 5-0. The Saints put two on the board in the bottom of the first on a triple by Woolgar. Erskine scored two more in the second, one in the third, and another in the fifth to jump ahead of the Saints, 9-2. The Saints fired back in the bottom of the fifth scoring six runs with RBI’s coming from Woolgar and Samantha Weaver (Emmitsburg, Md.). Brown stepped up and hit a triple to bring in two more. Keisha Thompson (Union, S.C.) who had been on the injured reserve list for several weeks, knocked in another run and Mills singled for the last RBI of the inning, as the Saints trailed 9-8. Both teams were scoreless in the sixth, but Limestone would tie the game at 9-9 in the bottom of the seventh on another RBI by Brown. Erskine scored on an RBI by Kelly Davis to go up 10-9 in the top of the eighth. Woolgar finished a great day, driving in two runs on a double to win the game for the Saints, 11-10.
Wallace picked up the win, while Gunter took the loss for Erskine.
