Williamsburg,
Ky. -- The Patriot softball team (15-9, 2-2 MSC) was back
in action today when they finished a four-game series with Cumberlands (Ky.) in
Williamsburg, Kentucky.
The two teams split a doubleheader on Friday to open
the series on Friday and they both got the same result on Saturday. Cumberlands
(12-7, 2-2 MSC) won the opener 7-4, but St. Catharine battled back and won a
high-scoring affair in the second game 16-14.
Game
1: St. Catharine 4, Cumberlands 7
For the second day in a row Cumberlands’ offense got
the best of Tiffany Wickline (Georgetown, Ky.). Wickline (8-4) tossed six
innings and allowed seven runs – six earned – on 12 hits.
St. Catharine got on the board first with a run in
the opening inning. Emily Fenwick (Lebanon, Ky.) singled then, two batters
later, Carly Benz (Brooks, Ky.) ripped a triple to right-center that scored
Fenwick giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Cumberlands quickly answered with two of their own
in the bottom of the first, but SCC had another answer with two more in the
second. Tiffany Wickline helped her own cause in the inning with an RBI single.
Cumberlands once again battled back in the bottom
half of the inning with three runs taking a 5-3 lead, but St. Catharine scored
another run in the third inning when Kelsey Gravens (Mt. Washington, Ky.)
scored on an errant throw.
From that point on the Patriot bats went silent as
Cumberlands scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to come away with
the 7-4 win.
Carly Benz led the way at the plate where she went
2-for-3 with an RBI. Brittany McKee (Somerset, Ky.) added a 2-for-4 day at the
dish, while Tiffany Wickline finished with an RBI.
Game
2: St. Catharine 16, Cumberlands 14
In what looked more like a football score in the
nightcap where the two teams combined 30 runs on 30 hits, but it was St.
Catharine that came out on top for the 16-14 win.
Jennifer Ortega (Delano, Calif.) picked up the win
for the Patriots to move to 5-4 on the season. Ortega pitched 6.1 innings
allowing 11 runs – nine earned – on 11 hits. Brittany McKee picked up the save
in relief after nailing down the final two outs to seal the 16-14 win.
Cumberlands got on the board first with three runs
in the first inning. Then in the second inning, both teams scored a run apiece
as Cumberlands led 4-1 after two innings.
After neither team scored in the third inning, St.
Catharine took the lead when they scored six runs in the fourth inning. Emily Fenwick delivered the big blow in the inning when she took a 2-2 pitch and
blasted it straightaway center field for a three-run home run.
St. Catharine scored two more in the fifth inning
thanks to Lynsie Clark (Morgantown, Ky.). Clark ripped a double to deep
left-center that scored one and she later scored in the inning on a passed
ball.
Cumberlands scored a single run in the bottom half
of the fifth, but St. Catharine once again responded with two runs in the sixth
inning. This time around it was Miranda Whelan (Palmyra, Ind.) who blasted a
two-run home run to make the score 11-7 after six innings.
Tiffany Wickline belted a three-run home run in the
seventh inning as part of a five run inning for St. Catharine. Cumberlands
attempted a comeback in the bottom half of the inning when they scored seven
runs, but McKee got the final two outs to seal the 16-14 victory.