HELENA, Mont. – Saints softball splits the doubleheader against 3rd-ranked Oregon Tech, dropping the first game 4-3 but winning the second 5-2 on Sunday.
In the first game, Carroll took the lead early in the second inning after
Courtney Cloud singled and later scored on a RBI single by lead-off hitter
Jaylin Kenney.
Oregon Tech answered back in the top of the third after a ground out scored the tying run from third base.
Tianna Sell gave the Saints the lead in the bottom of the fourth on her sacrifice fly drove in Kenney. The next batter,
Allison Bayer hit a RBI single to center field to score
Paige Blake and give Carroll a 3-1 lead going into the fifth inning.
With two outs in the fifth, Tre Sullivan for Oregon Tech singled up the middle to drive in two runs and tie the game.
Sullivan came through in the clutch again in the seventh inning with another two out RBI single to give the Owls a 4-3 lead.
The Saints threated in the last half inning with the bases loaded and two outs in the inning. Pitcher
Ashley Davis for the Saints popped up to the pitcher's mound and Oregon Tech captured the 4-3 win.
Bayer went 3-4 on the day with a RBI while Kenney and Blake both had two hits. The top four hitters for the Saints went a combined 8-15 with all three RBIs. The Saints left 11 runners on base.
Davis threw a complete game but picked the loss to go to 3-3 on the season. She gave up nine hits with four runs and had one strike out.
During the second game,
Kaydee Parsons hit her first career home run in the bottom of the third that cleared the left-center wall, giving the Saints a 1-0 lead.
Megan Gipe started the second game for Carroll and did not give up a hit until the fourth inning for the second game in a row.
Oregon Tech took the lead in the fifth inning after RBI singles by Sydni Scott and McKenzie Shrum to give the Owls a 2-1 lead.
Carroll answered right back in the bottom half of the inning after Blake singled to left field with two outs to score Cloud and tie the game at 2-2.
The Saints broke open the score in the bottom of the sixth, with the bases loaded and back to back singles by Gipe and Parsons drove in two runs. Kenney's sacrifice fly to center brought home
Taylor Ostwald to seal the 5-2 victory for Carroll College.
Parsons sparked the offense with 2-3 day with two RBIs and a run scored. Gipe was also 2-3 with a RBI while throwing a complete game and picking up the victory to improve to 3-5 on the season. She gave up five hits and two earned runs with three strike outs.
Carroll's next games will be on the road against University of Great Falls on Tuesday. Great Falls is 9-9 on the season after splitting a doubleheader against Southern Oregon on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. MDT.
