Valdosta State 5, Miles 2
VALDOSTA, GA – Miles College Lady Bears (29-27), the No.8 seed in the NCAA South Regional Softball Tournament, came up short as No. 1 seed Lady Blazers of Valdosta State University won game two 5-2, Friday at Valdosta State Softball Complex.
Kayla Bowmaster (12-8) went six innings for the loss, while giving up five runs (two earned) on eight hits and two strike outs.
Courtney Gunby (8-0) was awarded the win for the Lady Blazers with four inning pitched, zero runs allowed and two hits given up. Brianna Hancock started giving up two runs, three hits and three strike outs.
The Lady Blazers started with two unearned runs in the first inning, a run in the second and one more in the third before receiving the fifth run in the sixth. After back to back singles from Morgan Johnson and Samantha Posey, Natalia Morozova reached on an error by the Miles second baseman that allowed Johnson and Posey scored.
With the early 2-0 lead, Courtney Albritton doubled down the left line in the second inning. Posey hit a sacrifice fly to plate Albritton and increase the lead to 3-0. Next, Ashley Steinhilber singled in the third. She came home after singles from Angela O'Connor and April Hutchens.
Miles made a comeback bid with two runs in the fourth. Amanda Talleywalked followed by a Brittney Mitchell single. Both players scored on a Brianna Barrantine double, but would be all the Lady Bears could muster.
Later, with the score at 4-2, Hutchens nearly hit a home run but Miles centerfielder, Terri Roberts was able to get under it. However, Roberts bobbled the ball over the fence for one more Lady Blazer run in the sixth.
Rollins 6, Miles 2
VALDOSTA, GA—The Miles College Lady Bears were eliminated from the NCAA South Region Softball Tournament after a 6-2 loss to Rollins College at the Valdosta State Softball Complex.
Rollins scored six runs in the first two innings, including a two-run home runs by Lawna Hunter in the bottom of the first inning.
After two scoreless innings by both teams, the Lady Bears got on the board in the top of fifth inning after RBIs from Kayla Blanchard (error by SS) and Kayla Cox (sac fly), scoring Kate Haisten and Brianna Barrentine respectively to make the score 6-2.
Heather Mitchell pitched four scoreless innings with two strikeouts and just one walk after Amanda Talley gave six earned runs in the first two innings to record the loss.
Miles College, who won the 2012 SIAC Softball Championship, finishes the season with a 29-28 overall record.