CRESTVIEW HILLS, KY – The Wilmington College softball team earned a split with perennial NCAA participant Thomas More in non-conference action Thursday at Thomas More Field.
GAME ONE: WILMINGTON 4, THOMAS MORE 3
Freshman Kaylee Barber (Columbus, OH/Westland) come up with the biggest hit of her college career – a two-out, bases-loaded triple in the top of the sixth inning to knot the game at three. She scored the go-ahead run as freshman KenDahl Bowles (Middletown, OH/Madison) reached on an error.
Wilmington had just one hit heading into the sixth inning. Junior Savannah Hooper (Leesburg, OH/Wilmigton) led the inning off with a single, stole second and moved to third on an error, and freshman Grace Yoder (Springboro, OH/Springboro) walked and stole second. Junior Becca Carpenter (South Charleston, OH/Southeastern) loaded the bases with an infield single, and they all scored on Barber’s triple.
Senior Kerrie Trautman, 1-1, (Hartville, OH/Field) earned the victory with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. She allowed three hits with one strikeout. Trautman worked around a leadoff double in the seventh inning to secure the victory.
Sophomore Allison Pierce (Troy, OH/Troy) had Wilmington’s other hit.
Thomas More scored all three of its runs in the fifth inning.
Carpenter danced around a bases loaded, one-out situation in the fourth inning to keep the game scoreless. She allowed three runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings with three strikeouts.
GAME TWO: THOMAS MORE 11, WILMINGTON 2
Thomas More did all of its scoring in the second and third innings, scoring five in the second and six in the third inning.
Wilmington scored first as Pierce reached on an error, allowing Yoder to score from third.
Pierce brought home the Fightin’ Quakers’ other run with a single in the seventh, scoring senior Sydney Kelly (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore) – who opened the inning with a single.
Junior Beth Persicano, 1-3, (Cincinnati, OH/Turpin) absorbed the loss, allowing five runs on six hits in 1 2/3 innings.
Freshman Mallory Roberts (Urbana, OH/Graham) allowed one hit with a strikeout in 1 2/3 innings.
Eight different players recorded a hit in the game.
HEAD COACH QUOTES
“Game one today, Kerrie and Becca did a tremendous job pitching for us,” said Wilmington head coach Beth Floyd. “They kept batters off balanced, got a lot of ground ball outs and our defense was strong.”
“(Kaylee) has been working hard in practice to be able to drive the outside pitch to the right side,” said Floyd. “She came up big with the three-run triple. She was patient at the plate, let the ball get deep and didn’t try to do too much.”
“We have an extremely young team, and the parts are there,” said Floyd. “If we can continue to get better, compete and learn, we are going to do some good things.”
“In game two, you have to tip your hat to them, they hit the ball extremely well,” said Floyd. “There are some things we have to make some adjustments on, but we just got out-hit.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Wilmington (2-10) opens Ohio Athletic Conference action 1 p.m. Saturday, hosting Heidelberg in a doubleheader.
