WILMORE - Asbury University softball honored their five seniors Saturday afternoon in front of a bigger than usual crowd against Cincinnati Christian and the seniors did their best to thank the support from the fans in attendance as they took down the visiting Eagles 8-1 and 8-0 in games one and two, respectively.
HAVE A DAY, SENIORS!
- Summer Rattliff, a mainstay for the past four season as the Eagles' go-to pitcher, came into the contest needing five strikeouts to reach the 500 career mark and she did that with ease. She struck out the first four batters she faced and fanned the game's sixth batter in just the second inning to reach the career milestone. She'd finish with 11 Ks in the game and 19 total on the day.
- Kateland Hunter, who's having a career year in terms of batting average and homeruns, was being honored on senior day as well and she jacked a two-run shot over the left field fence in the sixth inning to bring her total to eight on the season. She finished the first game 1-for-1 at the plate with three walks and three runs scored.
- Kylee Gorby, the lead off batter in both games, and Madi Adair, the face of Asbury softball, both had their hands in the wins as well. Gorby went 2-for-4 in the first game and 1-for-2 in the second for three hits, two runs scored and a stolen base. Adair was 0-for-3 in the first game but turned it around in the second and went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored, and a putout and assist in the field.
- AB Hill finished 3-for-4 on the afternoon with three runs scored, three RBIs, and three hits on a 3-for-4 outing at the plate in the two games combined. She hit a double and was hit by a pitch in the second game while adding a stolen base.
GAME ONE STORY
- Asbury started the scoring in the bottom of the second after Rattliff fanned five of the first six batters and got the sixth to pop out to right field. An Abbie Bowlingsingle to right center field with the bases loaded scored Hill from third. The Eagles would strand three on in the inning though and take a 1-0 lead to the top of the third.
- Another run came for the Eagles in the third after Rattliff and Co., kept the visitors at bat yet again. Hill's sac-squeeze bunt brought Hunter in from third after Rattliff's deep single bumped Hunter over to third after Hunter's lead off walk.
- A scoreless fourth paved way for CCU to get a run back in the fifth and cut the Eagles' lead to just two at 3-1. A single followed by a sac bunt bumped the lead off hitter to third base and in a position to score on Courtney Garrett's RBI single. A ground out and strike out from CCU ended the threat though.
- With CCU gaining momentum the Eagles bats and timely errors put an end to the glimmer of hope for CCU. Four runs on two hits and two errors in the fifth and two runs off one hit and an error in the sixth was enough to put some distance between dueling Eagles teams. Hunter's bomb in the sixth put the exclamation point on the 8-1 win, the Eagles' 6th in conference play.
GAME TWO STORY
- A shake up in the batting order from coach DeMartine took a bit to get figured out for the Eagles but once they settled into it, they started clicking.
- It all culminated with Tisha Lane's two-RBI double in the fifth to seal the deal in five innings as the Eagles went up off the hit.
- Asbury's first run, though, came in the second as Madi Adair's lead-off double was cashed in on by Alyssa Gaines' RBI single up the middle with two outs. Gaines stole second and looked primed to steal third on the next pitch but overslid and was tagged out to end that inning.
- The Eagles' lead was extended to 3-0 in their half of the fourth. A wildly errant throw to first on Tisha Lane's bunt allowed both her and Alex Ledford, who was pinch running from Rattliff, to score on the play. All this occurred with two outs.
- The Eagles ended it in the fifth with Lane's double but not before Kendall Anderson led off with a single down the left field line and Kylee Gorby bunted and reached on an error. AB Hill's double down the left field line scored Anderson from third and Gorby from second to put two on the board. Two ground-outs from the Eagles bumped Hill to third and eventually to home for a lead of 6-0.
- Adair followed with a single and Bowling walked putting runners at first and second for Lane's two-RBI, game-ending double.
GAME NOTES
- Asbury clinched a spot in the KIAC Tournament with the game one win and now sits in sixth place in the conference with two games to play against Brescia on Tuesday.
- Cincinnati Christian dropped to 3-13 on the season in the KIAC and are all but eliminated from the eight-team KIAC Tournament next weekend.
NEXT UP FOR ASBURY
Asbury finishes the regular season at home against Brescia on Tuesday for a 2 p.m. doubleheader. Catch those games live online via Stretch Internet.