Columbia
UNC Wilmington
Lions Round Out Spring Break Trip With Longest Game In Division I This Year
3/18/2016 10:37:00 AM | Softball
After falling to the Seahawks in the opening game, the Lions battled through a 15-inning affair in game two behind a heart-filled performance by junior Kayla Maloney who threw all 14.2 innings for the Lions, finishing the night with 224 total pitches.
GAME ONE RECAP: UNC Wilmington 6, Columbia 1
Maddie Gott was able to pick up the first hit of the day for the Lions, sending a two-out double down the right field line in the top of the first, but the Seahawks were able to get out of the inning unscathed.
Still scoreless in the bottom of the second, freshman Lacey Fox was able to put UNC Wilmington on the board first as she sent a two-out home run off the top of the fence in right-center to give the Seahawks a 1-0 lead.
After sitting the Lions down in order in the top of the third, the Seahawks were able to add two more runs in each the bottom of the third and fourth to make it a 5-0 game into the fifth.
Trailing 6-0 in the top of the sixth, Kerry Cook was able to get things going for Columbia as she opened the inning with a double down the right-field line. After moving to third on a right-side ground ball, Cook was able to give Columbia its first run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Maddie Gott.
Unfortunately the Lions were unable to pick up another hit from here as the Seahawks held on to claim a 6-1 game-one victory.
Peyton Jordan (9-2) earned the victory for the Seahawks after 5.0 innings of scoreless work, allowing only two hits while striking out four. Tessa Kroll (1-7) took the loss after throwing 6.0 innings, allowing five earned runs on nine hits while striking out a pair.
Maddie Gott led the Lions after going 2-for-2 with a double and a sac fly while Kerry Cook picked up the team's only other hit with a double.
GAME TWO RECAP: UNC Wilmington 2, Columbia 1 (15 innings)
After three innings of scoreless action to open the game, Reilly Metzger was able to spark the Lions' offense in the top of the fourth as she took a 2-1 pitch off the jersey to earn a free pass to first. Following a four-pitch walk to Maddie Gott and a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners, Alexandra Yule was able to put the Lions on the board with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Metzger to give Columbia a 1-0 advantage.
With the Lions still leading 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, the UNC Wilmington offense began to battle back as Nella Chamblee led off the inning with an infield single to second. After a walk and a fly ball to right to move both runners into scoring position, the Seahawks were able to tie the game up at 1-1 on a sacrifice fly before Kayla Maloney could get out of the inning and keep it tied heading into the sixth.
Still tied at 1-1 in the top of the seventh, Olivia Parker was able to spark things up with two outs as she slapped a base hit off the glove of the UNCW third baseman to put a runner on for the Lions. Following a base hit into center by Kerry Cook and a full-count walk by Reilly Metzger to load the bases, Maddie Gott was able to square a ball up into deep right center but Claudia Spinelli tracked the ball down running on to the warning track to end the inning and keep the game all squared up at 1-1 into the bottom of the seventh.
After a pair of fly balls to right for the first two outs, Kayla Maloney was able to get a called third strike on the outside corner to get Kelsey Bryan looking and send the game into extra innings all tied at 1-1.
Taylor Troutt got things going in the top of the eighth, battling through a nine-pitch at bat to work a leadoff walk before Alexandra Yule could follow things up with a base hit into center. While the Lions were able to put a pair into scoring position on a sac bunt, the Seahawks were able to end the inning and keep the game tied.
UNC Wilmington looked as if they had control of the game in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases with one out, but Kayla Maloney was able to get a first-pitch popup to Townsend at third and a called third strike to end the inning and strand the bases loaded, sending the game tied up into the 10th.
Following a back-and-forth pitching battle between Kayla Maloney and Peyton Jordan over the next five innings to send the game into the bottom of the 15th, Erin Brown who was able to get things going for the Seahawks as she sent a double past Taylor Troutt and into the right-center gap. After a wild pitch allowed Brown to get to third, Rachel Willis was able to send a fly ball into shallow left-center field just far enough to let Brown score from third and give UNC Wilmington the 2-1 victory.
Jordan (10-2) earned the win after throwing 7.0 innings of relief, allowing only three hits while striking out six. Maloney (0-3) took the loss after throwing 224 pitches in 14.2 innings of work, allowing only two runs on 12 hits while striking out four.
Olivia Parker (2-for-5) and Kerry Cook (2-for-7) each picked up a pair of hits for the Lions while Reilly Metzger went 1-for-4 with a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch and scored the only run of the game for Columbia.
The Lions will return to action next weekend as they head back to New York to host the Columbia Classic on March 25-26 with Canisius and Fairleigh Dickinson.
