Danville, KY - Centre Softball completed a series sweep over Sewanee on a picturesque day for five Colonel seniors. Between games, the Colonels honored
Layne Ogle,
Cheney Floyd,
Izzy Rushing,
Emily Lammers, and
Morgan Tabor for all of their sacrifices and accomplishments while donning the gold and black.
Game 1: Centre 3, Sewanee 2
Ashley Howard got the ball for Centre and was strong in the circle in a game the Colonels had to have it. She breezed through the top of the 1st on just 9 pitches. Sewanee pitching was equal to the task as Centre went down harmlessly in the bottom of the inning.
Howard's day was not without adventure. In the top of the 2nd, she allowed back-to-back 1 out singles. Howard toughened up and followed with a strikeout and harmless fly ball to center to end the threat. Centre mustered little in the bottom of the 2nd as the game stayed scoreless heading to the 3rd. Centre finally gave Howard a lead in the bottom of the inning.
Cheney Floyd blooped a single to right and took second on defensive confusion from Sewanee. Two batters later,
Brinley Muller singled to short, allowing Floyd to come home from 3rd and get the Colonels on the board.
Rylee Sandifer then smashed a ball through the legs of Sewanee's 3rd baseman to put two runners on. They both scored with 2 out as
Layne Ogle ripped a double to the right-center gap to give the Colonels a 3-0 lead after 3.
Howard continued to work efficiently in the 4th. Despite a 1-out single, Howard needed just 10 pitches to retire the side and maintain the lead. That lead carried to the 5th when Sewanee was able to finally break through on Howard. A leadoff double was followed with a 2-out triple as Sewanee cut Centre's lead to 3-1. The Tigers added another run in the top of the 6th to cut the lead to 3-2. Centre had a chance in the bottom of the 6th but an attempted bunt with 2 out did not work and stranded two runners on base to send the game to the 7th.
Sewanee started the 7th with a single. An would-be sacrifice bunt was misplayed by Howard to put two runners on base with no out. A fielder's choice and walk would load the bases with just 1 out. On a 1-0 count, Howard induced a ground ball to short.
Brinley Muller made the smart play to come home for the force to get the second out and keep the Colonels in the lead. With 2 out and the bases loaded, the next Sewanee batter lofted a deep fly ball to center, but
Rylee Sandifer was there at the base of the wall to make the catch as the Colonels held on for the 3-2 win to clinch the series.
Howard improved to 3-4 on the year with a complete game win. She allowed 9 hits but only 2 runs while striking out 2.
Game 2: Centre 6, Sewanee 3
After the Colonels honored their five seniors between games, the matter of a sweep was at hand as Centre had to refocus for the series finale.
Sophia Lay got the ball for to start and faced immediate trouble. Sewanee led off with a 1-1 double to left and would take a 1-0 lead on a bunt single. The Tigers would soon add a second run, but Lay was able to retire the final two batters to limit the damage.
Centre's bats were right there to pick up the slack in the bottom of 1.
Baylee Estes led off with an infield single and went to second on a groundout.
Rylee Sandifer then singled to left to score Estes and cut the deficit in half.
Emily Lammers then took the first pitch she saw to the wall in right center as Sandifer motored home to tie the game at 2 after the 1st.
Lay settled down in the 2nd, only allowing a 1-out single but nothing more. The Colonel offense continued its attack in the bottom of the inning. With 1 out,
Jada Challiss and
Cheney Floyd each singled.
Baylee Estes then tapped a ball to short, but the Sewanee shortstop was indecisive on where to go with the ball, which loaded the bases for Centre.
Brinley Muller followed with a fielder's choice as Challiss scored for a 3-2 Centre lead. After a Sewanee pitching change,
Rylee Sandifer greeted the new reliever with an RBI triple to left to push Muller and Floyd home. Two batters later,
Layne Ogle singled down the left field line to score Sandifer and cap a 4-run inning to give Lay a 6-2 lead heading to the 3rd.
The Colonel righty allowed two singles in the top of the 3rd but Sewanee could not push either home. Centre had a chance to break the game open in the bottom of the inning. With 2 out,
Cheney Floyd singled to right. The inning was extended by a Sewanee error that put
Baylee Estes on 1st.
Brinley Muller then tapped a infield single to 2nd to load the bases.
Rylee Sandifer then lifted a 3-1 pitch deep to center but playable as the Colonels squandered the chance.
Kennedy Caudill took over for Lay in the circle in the top of the 4th and retired the bottom of the Sewanee order with little challenge. She would work around a leadoff walk in the 5th to keep the Colonels in front and put herself in line for the win. Sewanee's last noise on offense came via a solo home run in the top of the 6th to cut Centre's lead to 6-3. Caudill was able to close the game out from there and secure the series sweep.
The four seniors in Centre's lineup combined for 6 of the team's 10 hits.
Rylee Sandifer also was huge, going 2-4 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored.
Centre evens its SAA record to 3-3 ahead of a big home series next weekend against nationally-ranked Berry.
