BIRMINGHAM -- The Covenant Lady Scots avenged an early season sweep at the hands of Birmingham Southern with a split over the Lady Panthers Thursday night. Covenant lost the first game 3-0, then won game two by the same score, 3-0. Covenant moves to 15-9 on the year, while 'Southern goes to 23-9.
The Lady Scots were swept by the Lady Panthers by a combined 13 runs earlier this year, but Covenant was up to the challenge this time around. Chelsea Krafft pitched two more complete-games, allowing just 1 earned run over the course of 13 innings pitched. Krafft runs her record to 12-4 on the year as she struck out 13 batters and gave up just 9 hits in the two games combined.
The Covenant offense was stifled throughout game one as the Lady Scots could muster just 2 hits and had only two base-runners reach second base the whole game. Jenni Jobe and Lindsey Potter were the only Lady Scots batters to get a hit, but Covenant did manage 5 walks. Much of that was due to the pitching of Southern's Ronni Ferris who went the distance for the Lady Panthers while striking out 7 and throwing 141 pitches.
The Lady Panthers got on the board in the 3rd inning by scoring 2 runs thanks to shaky defense by the Lady Scots. Southern would then add one more run in the 4th inning on Ashley Bice's run-scoring single that made it 3-0.
In game two, Covenant got out to a fast start as Christine Core led off the 1st inning with a single. A few batters later, Jobe singled to bring in Core and put the Lady Scots up 1-0. Courtney Wagoner added a sacrifice fly later in the inning that scored Beth Harris, and Covenant led 2-0. The Lady Scots would put one more on the board in the top of the 7th as Kim Cuticchia singled home Rebekah Marbury with two outs that made it a 3-0 game.
Southern threatened in their half of the 4th inning as they loaded the bases with two outs. But Krafft was able to work out of the jam as she got Jordan Allen to strike out swinging to end the frame. The Lady Panthers would try to mount one more rally in the bottom of the 7th when they put runners on first and second with two outs. This time, Krafft got Ferris to ground into a fielder's choice to end the game.
Cuticchia went 2-for-3 with an RBI in game two as Covenant scored their 3 runs on 8 base hits. Lindsey Potter was the only other Lady Scot to get more than one hit on the day as she went 2-for-6 in the doubleheader.
Covenant will play at future Great South Athletic Conference foe Piedmont College on Saturday. That doubleheader will start at 1:00pm in Demorest, Georgia. The Lady Scots next home doubleheader will be on Thursday, April 21 against Agnes Scott College with game one beginning at 4:30pm on Lookout Mountain.
