CHATTANOOGA -- A little over three weeks have passed since the Covenant softball team tasted victory. Playing some stiff competition along the way did not help the Lady Scots as they endured a 6-game losing streak heading into Wednesday's doubleheader against Cumberland University. Covenant snapped its losing streak with an offensive outburst in game one winning 10-5, but the Lady Scots fell in game two 8-3.
Covenant is now 5-7 on the season while Cumberland, a member of the NAIA and the TranSouth Athletic Conference, goes to 15-13.
Covenant third baseman
Lindsey Potter was the hitting star for the Lady Scots in game one as she went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs.
Christine Core also went 2-for-4 with 2 runs batted in and
Sonja Townsend had a hit, 2 RBIs, and a walk. Not to be outdone,
Jenni Jobe added 2 hits in 3 at-bats with 3 runs scored and an RBI, while Kristen Walker added an RBI double.
Hampered by rain, which caused a slight delay, the Covenant offense did not get rolling until the 2nd inning of game one. Going into the inning, Covenant trailed 2-0, but the Lady Scots responded by getting 3 runs on 3 hits. Potter and Core each had RBI singles while Townsend drove in a run and reached base via an error as Covenant took a 3-2 lead.
The Lady Scots added 3 more runs in the 3rd inning that started with
Courtney Wagoner and Jobe each getting hits. Walker then doubled over the head of the left fielder to score Wagoner, and Potter followed that up with another RBI single up the middle. Townsend capped off the inning with a run-scoring single that made it 6-2 in favor of the home team.
Potter would then end her outstanding game with a 2-RBI single in the 4th inning that scored Jobe and pinch-runner Chandler Shepard. Covenant would add 2 more runs in the 5th inning on a Jobe RBI double and a wild pitch that allowed Jobe to score from third base that made it 10-4 Covenant.
Those runs would be enough for Covenant starter
Chelsea Krafft as she was able to work around 3 errors by the Lady Scots defense to surrender just 2 earned runs. Krafft struck out 5 while walking just 2 batters in the complete-game effort while picking up her 3rd win of the year. Allison Blackwood was saddled with the loss for the Lady Bulldogs, despite going 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs at the plate herself.
Unfortunately, the Lady Scots could not carry the momentum from game one to game two. Cumberland opened up a 3-0 advantage going into the bottom of the 3rd inning. Covenant was able to get back a run in the 3rd when Wagoner doubled and drove home Beth Harris.
But in the 4th inning, Blackwood's bat came alive again for Cumberland as she helped the Lady Bulldogs put 3 runs on the board with her RBI double. Blackwood would go 4-for-5 in the game with 2 RBIs. Victoria Bennett also went 4-for-5 with 3 runs scored and an RBI for Cumberland.
Trailing 6-1 in the bottom of the 4th inning, the Lady Scots tried to mount a comeback as they scored twice, both runs coming off the bat of Wagoner and her 2-RBI double, to cut the Lady Bulldogs lead to 6-3. Wagoner would go 2-for-3 in game two with 3 RBIs while Harris scored twice and went 2-for-4 at the plate.
Single runs in the 6th and 7th innings for Cumberland were enough to seal the win as the Lady Bulldogs' Caity Gray shut down the Covenant offense for the final 3 innings. Townsend gets the loss for Covenant as her record falls to 2-4.
Covenant will have a busy weekend of softball as the Lady Scots will host doubleheaders against Centre College and Wesleyan College. Centre will come to Lookout Mountain on Friday with game one set for 2:00pm. Wesleyan, a GSAC member, will visit Lookout Mountain on Saturday with the first pitch also set for 2:00pm.
