Elmira Drops a Pair to No. 13 Nationally Ranked Piedmont
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HTML Box Score 1 | HTML Box Score 2
Demorest, GA -- The Elmira College softball team dropped a pair of non-conference games against No. 13 nationally ranked Piedmont College this afternoon. Elmira pushed game one to extra innings but eventually fell 2-1 in the eighth and in game two, the Purple and Gold dropped a tough one, 7-2.
The Soaring Eagles were led offensively by
Mikayla Bean '14 who went 2-for-7 at the plate with a pair of runs batted in, both coming in game two. Shortstop
Katie Day '15 drove in Elmira's other run in game one as she went 1-for-4 from the plate in that game.
Alex Puglisi '14,
Emilie Rogers '14, and
Emily Carlin '17 all saw time in the circle today. Puglisi got the start in game one as she tossed 7.1 innings of two-run ball while striking out nine batters. Of the two runs scored during Puglisi's appearance, only one was earned, keeping her earned runs average through two appearances at 1.05.
Game One Recap
The first four innings were scoreless but in those four innings, both teams had ample opportunities to score the game's first run. Piedmont opened the bottom of the second inning with a double and would eventually have runners on second and third with just one out.
Katie Dore '15 would make a heads up play as she threw a runner out at home plate for the second out of the inning, allowing
Alex Puglisi '14 to strike out the next batter, keeping things scoreless at the end of two.
Puglisi led-off the top of the third inning with a triple but the next three EC batters would be unable to bring her home as Elmira missed out on a chance to take control of the game. It looked as though the missed opportunity was going to turn into a Piedmont lead as they again put runners on second and third with one out. Once again, Elmira would work their way out of a jam as Puglisi fanned the next two batters, keeping the game at 0-0.
The Lions would land the first punch in the bottom of the fifth as Olivia Duncan drove home Allison Vaughn for the game's first run. Vaughn setup Duncan's RBI by leading off the inning with a triple.
In the next inning, Elmira evened the score at 1-1 with a RBI triple by Dore. Scoring the game-tying run for the Soaring Eagles was
Krystal Bupp '14. Unfortunately for Elmira, Piedmont pinch-hitter Tori Mitchell would end the game in the bottom of the eighth inning on a walk-off single as her hit brought home Duncan for the 2-1 win.
Game Two Recap
Piedmont took an early 1-0 lead in game two as they scored in the bottom of the first inning. Elmira had a chance to even things in the top of the second as EC's first two batters reached safely. However, three straight foul-ball pop-ups bailed the Lions out of the inning as Piedmont clung to their 1-0 advantage.
The Lions blew things open in the bottom of the fourth inning as they put four runs on the scoreboard. The big play in the inning was a two-out triple by Piedmont's Whitney Wolfe which drove in three runs.
Piedmont scored another two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a commanding 7-0 lead. Elmira would get on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh inning on a
Mikayla Bean '14 single that scored Bupp and
Jacquelyn Heggie '16. Unfortunately, that would be all the Soaring Eagles would get as they fell, 7-2.
Elmira will be back in action on Thursday, February 20th when the Soaring Eagles take on LaGrange College in a non-conference double-header. Thursday's double-header is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. in LaGrange, GA.