It took extra innings in both games, but the Lee University softball team dropped two games to Union University on Saturday. Lee dropped the first game in nine innings 11-10 and lost the second one in eight innings 4-3. All three games of the series went to extras for the two teams and the Lady Flames now sit at 16-23 overall and 10-14 in Gulf South Conference action.
Smith once again got the game going for Lee. After an error allowed Hailey Simco to get on base, Smith hit a two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the first.
The Lady Bulldogs answered right back in the bottom of the first scoring two runs on three hits.
Lee retook the lead in the fourth. Laney Harris got the scoring going after an error from the centerfielder. Alyson Jarvi drove in Annalyn Ormsby to add a run. Then a couple of moments later, another error from UU allowed Jarvi to score and make it 5-2. Simco drove in Alexa Scalzo to give Lee a 6-2 lead. The four-run lead was short lived as UU answered right back and scored twice on three hits and an error to make it 6-4 game after four innings of play.
The fifth inning saw the Lady Flames added three more runs thanks to a three-run homer from Bella Galloway. She brought home Jarvi and Harris and Lee led 9-4. Union hit their own two-run home run from Macey Neal and it was a 9-6 game after the fifth.
Lee scored their tenth run in the sixth inning when Smith singled to bring Scalzo home. UU tied the game in the bottom of the sixth scoring four runs on five hits with all the runs coming with two outs. The Lady Flames got two base runners on in the seventh but couldn’t score and for the second straight game, it went to extra innings.
In the eighth, both teams went down in order. Then in the ninth, Union used two hits and a wild pitch to score the winning run.
Union out hit Lee 15-10 in the contest. Smith had three more hits for the Lady Flames. She and Galloway had three RBI a piece.
The first run of game 2 didn’t come until the third inning when Brooke Puckett for UU drove in a run to make it 1-0.
The next runs didn’t come until the sixth inning. After a Scalzo walk and a Smith single, Rylie Goodridge hit a three-run bomb to give Lee the 3-1 lead. UU answered in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game.
So for the third time in three games, Lee and Union went to extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth, UU used a walk, error, an a single to warn the win
UU out hit Lee 9-6 in the second game. Six different Lady Flames had a hit in the loss.
The Lady Flames will return home to take on Emmanuel College on Wednesday, April 17. The Lady Flames will host a double header at 2 PM at Butler Field.