LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- Covenant starting pitcher Chelsea Krafft pitched two complete games and the Lady Scots bats came alive as Covenant swept fellow NCAA Division III member Centre College 3-2 and 10-5 Friday afternoon. It is Covenant's first sweep in almost a month, and the Lady Scots are back at .500 with a record of 7-7. Centre falls to 7-9 on the year.
Krafft threw over 200 pitches on the day and was able to hold the Lady Colonels offense in check for the better part of the two games. The junior allowed just 2 runs on 4 hits in game one while striking out 5. In game two, Centre collected 11 hits off Krafft but could only manage 5 runs, with 2 of those coming late after the game was already in hand. Krafft's record improves to 5-3 on the year.
The Lady Scots offensive attack was also held in check for most of game one by Centre starter Emily Meador. Covenant got on the board first with 2 runs in the 2nd inning when Beth Harris tripled to right-center field that scored both Sonja Townsend and Morgan Booker. But Meador allowed just one Covenant hit over the next four innings.
Meanwhile, Centre cracked the run and hit columns in the 3rd inning to cut the Covenant lead to 2-1. Ashley Christian's single to right field brought home Meador and put the Lady Colonels on the board.
Krafft and Meador then matched each other out for out over the course of the middle innings. It looked as if Krafft would get out of the 6th inning easily until Centre's Regina Sena took a 3-2 pitch deep over the center field wall for a solo home run that tied the game at two.
"Through game one, we just kind of coasted," commented head coach Sara Russell. "We didn't play badly but we weren't cashing in runs. It was a strong defensive effort without a lot of production until late."
Going into the bottom of the 7th inning, the game was still tied at 2-2 when Courtney Wagoner singled to start the inning. Chandler Shepherd came on to pinch run for Wagoner and was moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Lindsey Potter. Booker then singled and Centre threw the ball away trying to catch Booker rounding first base, and that error allowed Shepherd to come home with the winning run.
Game two started off shaky for Krafft and the Lady Scots. The Lady Colonels scored 2 runs on 4 hits in the 1st inning to jump out to a quick lead. Mary Saylor and Taylor Childress each had run-scoring singles in the innings. Centre would add one more in the 2nd inning on a Chelsea Collard single.
But Covenant would respond in a big way in their half of the 2nd inning. With Potter at third base and Harris at first base, Covenant pulled off a double steal as Centre decided to throw to second base, but Harris was safely in and Potter took home. Christine Core then doubled home Harris, and would later score herself on an error by Centre as the Lady Scots tied the game at 3.
"We were able to capitalize on [Centre's] errors in game two," continued Russell. "After we came back and tied it up, that switched things. We were only able to move forward from there."
Covenant took the lead for good in the 3rd inning when Potter singled home Kim Cuticchia to make it 4-3. The Lady Scots kept adding runs as they scored three times each in the 5th and 6th innings. Booker had the big blast for Covenant as her 2-out, 3-run home run, her 2nd home run of the year, put the Lady Scots ahead 7-3. Wagoner and Potter then added RBI hits in the 6th inning to secure the win and the sweep.
In the two games combined, Covenant scored 13 runs on 18 base hits. Beth Harris, Christine Core, Courtney Wagoner, Kim Cuticchia, Kristen Walker, Lindsey Potter, and Morgan Booker all had at least 2 hits in both games combined. Wagoner now leads the team in hitting with a .413 batting average and is tied in home runs with Booker (each with 2) and in RBIs with Potter (each has 11).
"We have been offensively driven so far this year, but in the games we lost, we haven't made the little outs on defense. Today, we made those outs. Core threw a runner out at third from center, Beth threw someone out at the plate from left, and Kim picked off a girl at second. We are becoming more disciplined, and I have to especially praise our middle infield today. We did a good job knocking balls down and getting dirty."
The Lady Scots have a quick turnaround as they will play a doubleheader on Saturday against Wesleyan College on Lookout Mountain. Game one is set for 2:00pm.
