Scoring runs in bulk continued to be the trend for the Covenant softball team on Thursday afternoon at Sewanee. The Lady Scots scored 34 runs on 39 hits on the day, but only came away with a doubleheader split with the host Tigers. Covenant dropped game one 12-11 in eight innings before rebounding with a resounding 23-6 victory in game two.
Covenant has scored at least 10 runs in four of its last six games. The Lady Scots move to 6-10 overall on the season, while Sewanee goes to 1-9.
Morgan Lane went 8-for-11 on the afternoon with nine RBIs, a home run and six runs scored. Lane tied the school-record with seven RBIs in game one and then set a new program mark with five hits in game two.
GAME ONE: Sewanee 12, Covenant 11 (Final-8 innings)
Lane tied a school-record set just two days ago with seven RBIs, including a grand slam home run, but Covenant could not hold leads in the sixth or eighth innings as Sewanee rallied for a 12-11 extra-inning win.
Lane finished 3-for-5 with a home run and seven RBIs. Before Tuesday's games at Maryville, no Covenant player had produced more than five RBIs in a single game. Lauren Johns set the record in game one on Tuesday and was joined in the seven-RBI club by Lane on Thursday.
Covenant was held scoreless until the fifth inning when they put two runs across to cut its deficit to 3-2. Lane singled home Chandler Shepherd and Kaitlyn Sirmons with two outs to highlight the frame.
The Lady Scots' bats awoke in the sixth as they scored six times to take an 8-3 lead. Pinch-hitter Anna Verwey singled in a pair and Lane emptied the bases with a grand slam with two outs in the inning. The homer was Lane's second of the season.
Sewanee answered with six runs of its own in the bottom of the sixth to take a 9-8 lead. But Covenant rallied as Johns led off the seventh with a single and later scored the tying run on a Morgan Strennen RBI single.
In the extra innings, Lane wasted no time as she led off the eighth with an RBI single that scored Shepherd, who was placed at second to start the inning. Lane would come across two batters later when Johns bounced into a double play to give Covenant an 11-9 edge. Sewanee needed just three batters in its half of the eighth to rally for the win. Sarah Fleming and Courtney Saunders had consecutive singles to bring in three runs.
In addition to Lane's three hits, Johns also went 3-for-5 with a run scored. Kendall Whann and Strennen were each 2-for-5 while Strennen had a run batted in. Cori Hilt (4-5) takes the loss for Covenant as she went the distance and allowed five earned runs.
GAME TWO: Covenant 23, Sewanee 6
Lane set the program single-game record with five hits and had two more RBIs as the Lady Scots pounded Sewanee 23-6 to earn a doubleheader split.
The 23 runs are the second-most in school history. Covenant scored 25 against Sewanee in 2008. The Lady Scots did set a new program record with 24 hits in the game, eclipsing the previous record of 22 set last season at Wesleyan.
Every Covenant starter recorded at least one hit and scored at least one run in the rout. Lane led the way with her five hits in six at-bats. Shepherd, Jordan Brett, Madison Quirk, Whann and Sirmons each had three hits. Brett finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs and four runs and Quirk added three RBIs. Johns tallied two hits in five at-bats with two RBIs and three runs, while Strennen and Nicole White each had a hit.
The Lady Scots scored two runs in the second, thanks to Strennen and Shepherd RBI singles, and three more in the third. Covenant added two runs in the fourth by taking advantage of a Sewanee error and then produced four runs in the fifth. Shepherd, Brett and Whann all had run-scoring hits in the four-run fifth inning.
Covenant put the game away with 12 runs in the sixth. 15 batters came to the plate in the inning and the Lady Scots scored 12 times on 11 hits. Johns and Quirk each had two RBI-producing hits in the inning with Quirk driving in three runs.
Hannah Rogers (2-5) took the pitching win for Covenant as she threw all six innings.
Covenant will return to USA South play on Saturday when they host LaGrange for a doubleheader. Game one is set to start at 1 p.m.