ANDERSON, S.C. - Junior Charlotte Sieber and sophomore Molly Child combined for eight hits, including two home runs, and eight RBI as the Anderson softball team split a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader with Lincoln Memorial, winning 15-6 in the opener and falling 6-2 in the nightcap, Wednesday afternoon at Smethers Field.
With the split, Anderson moved to 24-8 overall and 4-4 in the league, while wrapping up its brief four-game homestand with three victories. Lincoln Memorial (19-10, 5-3 SAC) has won six of its last nine outings.
Game #1
Anderson 15, Lincoln Memorial 6 (5 innings)
Child blasted a pair of home runs, her eighth and ninth of the
season, and finished the opener by going a perfect 3-for-3. In
addition to the homers, the hard-hitting center fielder added a
first-inning walk and a fifth-inning single, while scoring four
times and driving in five runs. Molly's sister, Abby, was 2-for-3,
with a pair of singles and Sieber was 2-for-4 at the plate, scoring
once and recorded a season-best three RBI. Freshman Courtney
Czentnar ripped a two-run homer in the second inning and added an
RBI-single. Junior Jessica Neidigh added a pair of singles and
crossed the plate twice, while driving in a run. Catcher Laura
Jansky was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Freshman Lauren Rudesheim improved to 11-4 on the season, after surrendering six runs (one earned) in four innings of work. The right-hander struck out four and walked a pair of Lady Railsplitters. Junior Katelynn Howser tossed the final inning and allowed two hits, while walking one.
The Trojans won their third straight game after jumping out to a quick one-run lead in the bottom of the first inning. Molly Child drew a one-out walk and crossed the plate on Czentnar's single back up the middle.
Anderson plated five runs, while sending eight batters to the plate in the second frame. Molly Child and Czentnar highlighted the scoring, as each ripped a two-run homer, boosting the Trojans' advantage to 6-0.
LMU countered with an unearned run in the top of the third, with Anderson answering with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Molly Child's three-run shot headlined the scoring.
The Lady Railsplitters closed the gap to 10-6 by plating five runs on the strength of junior Laura Taricano's two-run home run in the top of the fourth, but the Trojans added five runs in the bottom of the fifth to end the contest. With AU holding a 12-6 edge, Sieber lofted a two-out fly to right field that dropped in for a hit, scoring Jansky, Rebecca Martin and Bri Cason.
Game #2
Lincoln Memorial 6, Anderson 2
Sieber was 2-for-3 in the nightcap, with a pair of singles and
scored once. Jansky added a solo home run in the fourth inning, her
fifth of the season.
Howser took the loss, falling to 8-3 on the season. She recorded her third complete game of the season, striking out four Lady Railsplitters and issuing five free passes. Howser surrendered six runs (two earned) on eight hits.
LMU capitalized on three Trojan miscues in the top of the first inning to plate five runs, with four of the scores unearned. Neither team managed to push a run across in either the second or third innings, with Jansky's home run trimming the deficit to 5-1 after four innings.
Senior first baseman Danielle Swygert ripped a two-out single the opposite way to bring home Sieber with AU's only remaining score of the nightcap. The Lady Railsplitters added an insurance run in the sixth to push out to a four-run advantage, and while the Trojans threatened in the bottom of the seventh, AU was unable to get any closer.
Anderson will get back in action for a South Atlantic Conference
doubleheader at Wingate on Saturday. First-pitch versus the
Bulldogs is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the WU Softball Complex
