A combination of top-notch pitching and powerful batting by the No. 2 seed Bryan Lions proved too much for the No. 7 seed Koalas of Columbia College (S.C.) in the first round of games in the 2016 Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament.
The AAC Pitcher of the Year, Sarah Hundley, tossed a gem as she worked through six shutout innings, surrendering only one hit and collecting one strikeout. Kaitie Sims didn’t disappoint as she threw the final inning and besides one hit, she managed to close the game with three strikeouts.
The Lions were the first to post a run in the contest.
Olivia Gore got Bryan rolling as she reached first on a walk in the bottom of the first frame. Kim Borowski followed with a sacrifice bunt that advanced Gore to second. Lacye Walker batted third and delivered a ground out, which placed Gore in scoring position at third. With two outs, Mariam Wood connected on a pitch with a full count and ripped the ball down the left field line to plate Gore, giving the Lions an early 1-0 lead.
Gore and Kaleigh Riley paced the Lions offense for the duration of the game. Gore took her turn first as she led off Bryan in the bottom of the third. She was patient at the plate, watching three straight balls cross home to begin her at-bat. A strike trailed to bring the count to 3-1, but the next pitch was just what Gore was waiting on as she brought the bat around and blasted a solo shot over the right field fence for her third homerun this season, extending the Lions lead to 2-0.
After two outs to start the bottom of the sixth, Riley showed no hesitation as she swatted the first pitch thrown her direction and sailed it deep over the fence in right field for Bryan’s final run of the game to give the Lions a 3-0 edge. It was Riley’s second homer in a three-game stretch as she knocked her first homerun on Saturday at Union College (Ky.).
Wood and Riley were the only Lions to register a multi-hit performance. Gore ended the game 1-for-2 with two runs scored and one RBI with a solo homerun. Wood chipped in an RBI single after hitting 2-for-3. Riley collected one RBI and one run scored off her solo homerun.
With the win, the Lions move on to face the winner of this evening’s matchup between No. 3 seed Tennessee Wesleyan and No. 6 seed Point University (Ga.). Bryan will play the victor Wednesday at 5pm.