NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – A seven-run fourth inning proved to be the difference as Mount Aloysiu claimed a 9-7 victory over Brevard in the opening game of the Fast Pitch Dreams Tournament in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Trailing 1-0 heading into the top of the second, Brevard used a double by Emily White and a single off the bat of Teegan Bullock to set the table for Paige Atkison. Atkison delivered with a two-run double and eventually moved to third on a wild pitch by Wawros.
Brevard (0-1) extended its lead to 3-1 in the top of the third when Atkison drew a bases loaded walk to bring home teammate Amber Hong.
Facing a two-run deficit, the Mounties (5-4) used singles by Riley Keefer, Lydia Defazi and Abby Reitz to score the first run of the fourth inning. Reitz moved to third on an error by the catcher before eventually tying the game on a single by Kayla Hopkin.
Emily Wawros put Mount Aloysiu in the lead with a single, scoring Courtney Lin in the process. Kara Pisczek extended the inning with a single that plated Hopkin and Keefer in her second at-bat of the inning reached on an error at short, scoring Caroline Sho and Warwos. Mount Aloysiu scored its final run of the inning when Reitz belted an RBI single that scored Pisczek from third.
The Tornado offense put together its second multi-run inning of the game in the fifth, scoring four runs in the process, as it trimmed the deficit to 8-7. Brevard got its first runner on base when White was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a steal. A walk by Ricki Kuhn was followed by Atkison's second two-run single game, scoring Kuhn and White in the process.
With Bullock and Hawk in scoring position Olivia Pauldin grounded out to short, bringing Bullock home from third for the Tornados' sixth run. Hawk followed shortly after, scoring on a wild pitch from third with Sara Lalier at the plate.
Mount Aloysiu added an insurance run in the home half of the fifth when Hopkin delivered a double that scored Kate Little.
Atkison led all hitters with a 2-for-3 performance that resulted in one double and five RBI. Kuhn slipped to 0-1 on the mound after surrendering seven runs, three earned, nine hits and three walks over 2.2 innings.
GAME 2: MEDAILLE 9, BREVARD 4
In similar fashion to the first game of the day, Medaille capitalized on four runs in the fourth inning to vault themselves to a 9-4 victory over the Tornados in the second game of the day at the Fast Pitch Dreams Tournament.
Jordan Hawk, who finished 2-for-3 at the plate and responsible for one RBI, was the only hitter in the Brevard lineup with multiple hits. The Tornados capped off the game with three doubles from Hawk, Elizabeth Traxler and Emily White.
The Tornados finished with seven hits as a unit and were led on the mound by Ricki Kuhn, who tallied two strikeouts, allowed seven hits and five runs (three earned) over 4.2 innings.
A double by White in the first inning, who was caught attempting to advance to third base, scored Teegan Bullock for the first run of the game. Medaille answered in the home half of the inning with a series of singles by Lauren Kocher and Morgan Bedford to move in front 2-1.
Atkison opened the second inning with a single to short and motored to third on a double by Hawk. Breanna Allen grounded to second, scoring Atkison from third, to knot the game at two-all.
The Mavericks returned the favor in the bottom of the frame, capitalizing on an error by Kuhn to move Sharon Trigilid and Amanda Szynkowsi into scoring position. Mercedes Suzzbach reached on an error at short, allowing Szynkowsi to score from third and Abby Nicometi added the fourth run of the contest on a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
Brevard trimmed the lead to 4-3 in the top of the fourth when Bullock connected on a single that scored Hawk from third base. Three straight singles to lead off the bottom of the fourth loaded the bases for the Mavericks who tallied their fifth run on a walk by Nicometi. Kocher doubled the lead to 6-3 with a bases loaded walk, bringing up Morgan Bedford.
With Bedford at the plate and Allen on the mound the pitch got away from Lalier, allowing Suzzbach to score the seventh run of the game from third. Bedford grounded out to short, but Nicometi crossed the plate for the 8-3 Medaille advantage.
The Mavericks scored their final run of the game in the fifth after back-to-back singles by Szynkowsi and Samantha Klein put runners at first and second for Trigilid. Trigilid came through with a single, scoring Szynkowsi from second on the play, to extend the lead to 9-3.
Brevard's final run of the game came in the sixth after Elizabeth Traxler led off the inning with a double. With one out, and Traxler at third, Allen scored her teammate from third on a double play by the shortstop to make for the 9-4 final.
Brevard returns to the diamond on Thursday, March 8th, when the Tornados face Sage and Hilbert.