Danville, KY - Centre hosted Spalding on Sunday in the final non-conference home games of the season. On a windy day, the Golden Eagles bats got to the Colonels early in both games en route to a doubleheader sweep.
Game 1: Spalding 13, Centre 3 (5 innings)
Spalding attacked Centre starter,
Sophia Lay, from the start. The Golden Eagles put the first seven runners on base with 5 scoring before Lay was replaced by
Katherine Weller. Spalding scored 2 more in the inning, all charged to Lay, to take a 7-0 lead before the Colonels ever came to the plate.
Rylee Sandifer got Centre's offense going in the bottom of the 1st with a single to left. She then stole 2nd and late scored on a single from
Layne Ogle. The Colonels stranded two on the bases and trailed, 7-1, after 1.
Spalding started the second with 3 base hits in 4 batters off Weller to put 2 more on the board for a 9-1 lead.
Kennedy Caudill then came on in relief of Weller. The Golden Eagles looked for more in the inning but a pickoff on 3rd by
Juliana Aragon ended the threat. Centre got 2 runs back in the bottom of the 2nd.
Jada Challiss reached on an error and would score on a triple from
Rylee Sandifer to cut the deficit to 9-2.
Brinley Muller followed with a single to center to cut the deficit to 6 after 2 innings.
The Golden Eagles added a run back to the lead in the top of the 3rd after a passed ball to grab a 10-3 lead. Centre's offense went quiet for much of the rest of the game as Spalding would add on 3 more runs in the top of the 5th and go on to the mercy rule win.
Sophia Lay took the loss, dropping her record to 3-3 on the season.
Game 2: Spalding 11, Centre 5
The second game of the day felt like deja vu for the Colonels. Spalding attacked
Ashley Howard from the start and were rewarded for it. A four spot on the scoreboard immediately put the Colonels in another hole. The Golden Eagles added another run in the 3rd and 2 more in the 4th to take a 7-0 lead before Centre's offense got going.
In the bottom of the 4th, Spalding committed consecutive errors to start. A sac bunt from
Morgan Tabor pushed
Kira Mashburn to 3rd and
Emily Lammers to 2nd with 1 out.
Jada Challiss followed with a sacrifice fly to center that brought Mashburn home and got the Colonels on the board.
Kennedy Caudill then stepped in as a pinch hitter and smashed a ball to the wall in left field. The double scored Lammers to cut Centre's deficit to 7-2 after 4.
Sophia Lay came on in relief of Howard to start the 5th and walked the first two batters. A bunt single followed to load the bases with no outs. After a shallow fly out to center, Spalding played station-to-station softball with a single to right and sac fly to right to add 2 to the board and grab a 9-2 lead going to the bottom of the 5th. The Colonels responded to make it a game. With 1 out and
Layne Ogle on 1st,
Kira Mashburn singled to center.
Emily Lammers drew a walk to load the bases.
Morgan Tabor then stepped in and shot a single off the wall down the left field line. Ogle scored to cut the deficit to 9-3.
Jada Challiss then ripped a double to left to score 2 and get Centre within 9-5 heading to the 6th.
It would prove the final threat as Spalding added a run in the 6th and 7th innings for the 11-5 win and sweep of the doubleheader.
The Colonels now turn their focus to a road trip for the first time this season and the opener of the SAA slate. Centre travels to Millsaps next Saturday for a doubleheader, starting at 2:00pm.
