By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The Cleveland State softball team
dropped three of their four Region VII Conference games over the
weekend as the Lady Chargers of Columbia State came to town.
The teams split a pair of games on Friday with Columbia State
taking game one 4-1 and the Lady Cougars bouncing back to take game
two, 3-2. On Saturday, the Lady Chargers flexed their muscles to
sweep the doubleheader 9-1, 7-4.
Columbia State dominated game one on Saturday from start to finish
banging out eight hits and capitalizing on three Lady Cougar
miscues.
The visitors scored twice in the second inning on a wild pitch and
a sacrifice fly and then added a four spot in the fourth. Mandy
Bunnell belted a solo homer to start the rally while Kelby Reeves
singled in a run and another crossed on an illegal pitch to push
the lead to 6-0.
The Lady Cougars picked up their run in the bottom of the fourth as
Maura Ditto and Shelby Hanson each singled and Meghan Allen loaded
the bases by getting plunked. Emily Huston plated a run with
sacrifice fly, but the rally would end there.
Ashley Price added a Columbia State run in the fifth with solo
homer and the visitors tacked on two more in the sixth to finish
game one. Shelby Dawson went the distance to pick up the win,
allowing five hits and fanning nine along the way
The Lady Cougars took an early lead in the back end of the twinbill
on Saturday with a run in their first turn at the dish. Amber
Swaney drew a one-out walk, moved over on a sacrifice bunt by Sara
O'Rear and scored on a single from Ditto. Allen belted a solo homer
in the second as the Lady Cougars doubled their lead to 2-0.
The Lady Chargers broke through in a big way with four in the
fourth as two bloop singles and an infield roller opened the door
for a pair of runs while Twyla Pratt doubled in two more as the
vistors took a 4-2 lead. Carmen Whitfield singled in two more runs
in the fifth and another in the sixth on a single from Rebecca
Curtis as the visitors opened up a 7-2 lead.
The Lady Cougars would not go quietly though, as Amber Covington
got two of those runs back with a long two-run home run in the
bottom of the sixth. But the comeback would end there as the Lady
Chargers finished strong to take three out of four in the
series.
Lacie Patterson got the win for Columbia State (14-7, 10-2), while
Ida Watson took the loss for Cleveland State (4-12, 3-9).
On Friday, the Lady Chargers struck first in game one with a pair
of runs in the second inning as Reeves doubled in a pair of runs
for a 2-0 lead. The visitors doubled their lead in the fourth as
Curtis cracked a two-run homer for a 4-0 advantage.
The Lady Cougars picked up their only run of game one in the fifth
as an error, a hit batter and a walk allowed Ciera Belcher to
eventually score on a wild pitch. That would be all for the home
team in game one as Dawson allowed only one hit along the way to
pick up the win.
The Lady Cougars turned the tables in game two as they put a single
mark on the board in the first and second frames. Ditto drew a
walk, moved around on an error and a stolen base and scored on an
infield singe by Emily Houston. Allen crushed a solo homer in the
second inning as the Lady Cougars jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
Kaylee Jones got Columbia State on the board in the fourth with a
solo homer, but the Lady Cougars got that run back in the bottom of
the frame. Allen singled and moved to third on a double from Amber
Swaney and scored on a groundout by Ditto for a 3-1 lead.
Price doubled in a run for the visitors in the fifth to cut the
lead to 3-2 setting up an amazing finish.
With the home team only three outs away from a win, things got
interesting in the Lady Chargers’ last at-bat. A leadoff
walk, a fielders choice and a double from Tasha Horne put runners
on second and third with only one out. Mandy Bunnell lifted a
shallow fly ball to centerfield. Leslie Still came racing in to
make a highlight film diving catch and then got up and threw the
ball to third base to get the third out on appeal, as the Lady
Charger runner had left too early, thus ending game two in dramatic
fashion.
Kelsey Capella went the distance to pick up the win for the Lady
Cougars, while Patterson took the loss for Columbia State.
The Lady Cougars will travel to Georgia Perimeter on Tuesday for a
pair of games and then host Motlow State next weekend for a
four-game set.
