Yellow Jackets fall to Manchester in HCAC Tournament opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Manchester (Ind.)
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 1 |
|
Defiance
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Defiance College softball team scored three runs in the first inning but the Spartans pitching staff shut down the DC offense the rest of the way and scored six unanswered runs offensively to take the HCAC Tournament opener, 6-3.
The win for the Spartans avenged the two losses to the Yellow Jackets in the regular season. Manchester improves to 20-18 overall and Defiance falls to 14-24.
After Riley Alcorn worked a 1-2-3 first inning to start the game, the DC offense went to work and plated three for the early lead. Ali Mowen led off with a single and Anika Craft followed with a single. Two batters later, Payton Mallett tripled to score both Craft and Mowen and then scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to give DC their 3-0 lead.
Alcorn worked around a lead off double in the second to keep Manchester scoreless. However, Manchester's Lizzy Willis came into pitch and was able to shut down the Yellow Jacket offense while Manchester's offense got going and scored in third, fourth, and fifth innings to take a 3-2 lead. A lead off base hit followed by an error started the rally for the yellow and black to take their first lead of the game.
The Yellow Jackets looked to get a rally going in the bottom of the third as there were two on with two out but came up empty. Laney Grimwood struck out for the second out and Madison Guggenbiller lined out sharply to the pitcher to end the inning. DC got runners on in both the fourth and fifth inning but weren't able to score as a few quick hits followed the runners reaching base.
In the sixth, Guggenbiller led off the inning with a single and loaded the bases with one out thanks to a dropped fly by the Manchester pitcher. Mowen, the lead off hitter, stepped to the plate and hit a sharp ground ball to the Spartans third baseman that resulted in an inning ending double play which allowed Manchester to once again escape a jam.
Silcox singled with one out in the seventh but both Mallett and Grimwood were retired to end the game. Manchester's Elizabeth Willis pitched 6.2 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win and kept the DC offense at bay for the majority of the game.
Riley Alcorn got the start for the Yellow Jackets, pitched 3.1 innings and allowed three runs, all earned while walking four. Savannah McCoy (4-10) was credited with the loss in relief pitching the final 3.2 innings and allowing three runs while striking out three. Silcox and Mallett led the team in hits with two each and Mallett had both RBIs in the first inning with her first career triple.
Up Next
The Yellow Jackets will play an elimination game tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. against the loser of the Earlham and Mount St. Joseph matchup.
