LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. – The Brevard College softball team (6-13. 2-6 USA South) dropped a pair of tight, one-run contests to host and USA South Conference foe Covenant College (16-11, 6-2 USAS) on a chilly Saturday afternoon in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Covenant took game one of the conference doubleheader by the score of 9-8 followed by a 7-6 victory in the second matchup of the twin bill.
GAME ONE – COVENANT 9, BREVARD 8
Senior centerfielder Jocelyn Folkers and sophomore designated player Olivia Martinez each homered and drove in three runs apiece as the Tornados registered 12 hits in the 9-8 defeat. Martinez doubled as well, while senior catcher Taylor Hannah, graduate third baseman Emily White and sophomore first baseman Autumn Lollis also recorded multi-hit games.
The host Scots took an early lead with a solo home run by centerfielder Vanessa Davis in the bottom of the first, followed by another run in the second inning.
Down 2-0 after three complete innings, the Tornados responded with a thunderous six-run fourth inning to take a 6-2 advantage. All six of the runs in the fourth came with two outs as senior second baseman Savannah Jones hit an RBI-single to score White to begin the scoring parade. The very nat-bat bat with Lollis and Jones on base, Martinez hit her first career home in a Tornado uniform with a three-run blast to centerfield that catapulted BC into the lead 4-2.
Later in the frame as BC batted around, Folkers drew a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch to score left fielder Karley Queen. A sixth run in a six-hit inning then came home on an RBI-single by White that plated right fielder Beth Hyatt.
The Scots however answered right back with four runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game 6-6. After holding BC scoreless in the top of the fifth, Covenant added two more runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 8-6 lead.
The back-and-forth affair continued the next inning as Hannah singled with two outs to set up Folkers who promptly homered to tie up the game once again. The two-run shot marked the first home run of the season and the fifth in the career of the Milledgeville, Illinois native.
Tied 8-8, Covenant answered the bell once again with another solo home run by Davis to give the Scots the definitive 9-8 win.
BC used four different pitchers in the contest with freshman Abby Delp, junior Lindsey Tolle, freshman Grace Reynolds and senior Kaitlynn Farmer all seeing action. Delp started the game and went three innings with three strikeouts.
GAME TWO – COVENANT 7, BREVARD 6
Junior shortstop Mikayla Morgan went 4-for-4 with two doubles, three runs scored and two RBI's to lead the Tornados offensively in game two of the doubleheader. White continued her hot hitting with a 3-for-4 performance, while Folkers and Lollis also registered two-hit games.
Farmer pitched five innings for the Tornados, facing 27 batters. Jones pitched one inning of hitless relief, allowing one unearned run.
Unlike game one, it was the Tornados who struck early with a three-run first inning. Folkers and White hit back-to-back singles to start the offense followed by a two-RBI double by Morgan to clear the bases. Following a single by Lollis, Jones hit a sacrifice fly that scored Morgan and give BC the early 3-0 lead.
BC added two more runs in the third as White singled and Morgan doubled, then each came home on an error by the Scots' defense.
Covenant rallied however with three runs in the fourth and two runs in the fifth to take a 6-5 lead. The Scots then added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth to take a 7-5 lead into the final frame.
BC attempted a rally of its own in the top of the seventh beginning with back-to-back singles by Morgan and Lollis. Gabby Hooper then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Morgan and Lollis to second and third. Martinez next delivered an RBI-single to score Morgan and cut the deficit to one run. Covenant however was able to secure the game's final two outs and escape with a 7-6 win.
Brevard will return to USA South Conference action with a home doubleheader vs. Piedmont University on Wednesday, April 13. First pitch for game one of the twin bill is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the BC Softball Field.
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-BC-