CALDWELL, Idaho – The Carroll College softball team played 13 innings over most of two games and didn't score a single run, but in the 14th, they found their rhythm in a big way scoring six runs in the seventh inning of game two to earn a 6-1 win and a split after dropping game one 5-0.
The Saints tallied six hits in the first game but couldn't string any together while C of I scored in the second, third and sixth innings to earn a 5-0 win in game one.
The second game was a defensive battle through six innings. Carroll again struggled to string together hits. The Saints left runners on base for each of the first five innings.
C of I scored in the bottom of the second to take a 1-0 lead which held until the seventh.
Megan McCormick pinch hit for Megan Gipe with one out and nobody on in the top of the seventh. She doubled on a one-hopper that hit off of the top of the fielder's glove and into the outfield. That double started a rally.
Hannah Alcorn pinch hit for Kaydee Parsons and blasted a single right up the middle to score McCormick and tie the game. The Saints took the lead on a blooper single right over the top of the first baseman, scoring Parsons who returned to run for Alcorn.
After an error allowed Brittany Smith to score and gave the Saints a 3-1 lead, Allison Williams hit a bomb to center field that had little doubt from contact. Alison Bayer and Anna ApRoberts scored on the three-run jack. The Saints led 6-1.
"I think we took a little page out of the men's basketball book and kept it interesting until the very end," head coach Aaron Jack said. "I am excited about how we finished. The girls could have laid down in game two but they battled, and we gave ourselves a chance to win the series tomorrow."
After giving herself some insurance, Williams returned to the circle and closed out the game with a 1-2-3 seventh inning to earn her second win of the season.
"Ali Williams pitched a great game," Jackson said. "She helped herself out with the home run and then closed it out with a big seventh inning. It is exciting to see her play so well."
The late rally preserved hope for the Saints of capturing the Cascade Conference series. The first game of tomorrow's doubleheader will count as a conference game, the second as a non-conference.
First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. with the second game following at 1 p.m. Live stats are available via the College of Idaho website.
