Cleveland State Softball Opens Season With A Split
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The Cleveland State softball team got the ball rolling in fine fashion on Tuesday afternoon as they took a 5-3 win in game one of a doubleheader with visiting Snead State at Lady Cougar Field. Game two was a different story as the Lady Parsons blanked the Lady Cougars 8-0 to earn a split in the first games of the season for Cleveland State.
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"We came out ready to play and were hitting the ball well," stated Lady Cougar coach Katie Willingham. "They scored first, but it didn't bother us, we just came right back and took the lead. We attacked the ball, pitched well and played well defensively."
Snead jumped on top in game one with an unearned run in the their first turn at the plate. The Lady Cougars got that run back plus one in the bottom of the first as Leslie Still reached on and error and later scored on a double from Sydney Howell to tie the game. Maura Ditto put Cleveland State on top with a double of her own seconds later for a 2-1 lead.
A triple by Savannah Harper helped the visitors tie the contest in the third, The Lady Cougars then took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth as Ditto doubled in another run and Emily Huston singled home one more while the third run of the inning crossed on the back end of a double steal for a 5-2 advantage.
Snead State added a run in the seventh, but that would be all the damage they could muster as they Lady Cougars put their first win of the season on the board. Kelsey Capella picked up the win for the Lady Cougars.
Game two was a complete turnaround for both teams. The Lady Cougars managed only three hits off Lady Parson hurler Megan Honea while the Lady Parsons pounded out 11 safeties.
A hit batsman with the sacks full of Lady Parsons pushed the first run of the game across and a two-run double by Honea put the Lady Cougars (1-1) behind 3-0 before their first at-bat.
An RBI double by Hannah Harris in the second and a two-run homer in the third from Mary Graves pushed the lead to 6-0 and another two-run shot in the sixth by Kyla Holland finished the afternoon of softball and a split of the twinbill. Honea went the distance to pick up the win for Snead State (1-6).
"Game two was a complete flipflop," explained Willingham. "We just didn't hit the ball. We had a few walks and hit a couple of batters to start the game and they jumped on us early. We just couldn't get it going."
The Lady Cougars will travel to Piedmont college next Tuesday.