DECATUR, Ga. -- Morgan Lane had quite an afternoon for the Covenant softball team. The junior went 4-for-4 with three home runs and a total of eight RBIs in two games combined to lead the Lady Scots to a doubleheader sweep of Agnes Scott on Saturday in Decatur. Covenant won game one 4-3 before taking game two 13-2 in five innings.
The games were orginally scheduled to be played on Wednesday, but winter weather forced the postponement of the contests. Covenant was set to take on Mount St. Joseph on Saturday but again wintry precipitation prohibited those games from taking place and Covenant was able to reschedule with Agnes Scott.
Covenant improves to 5-1 on the year, its best six-game start to a season in program history. Agnes Scott drops to 0-6 overall.
Game 1: Covenant 4, Agnes Scott 3
Lane launched a two-run home run in the first inning and Covenant added a third run in the frame and would hold on from there for a 4-3 win in game one of the day.
Lane finished 1-for-1 with her home run, her first of the year, with a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch. Jordan Brett, Shannon Schmitt and Jami Johnson each had two hits to lead Covenant's nine-hit attack in the win.
After Lane's homer in the first, Covenant tallied one more when Kendall Whann reached on an error allowing Schmitt to score giving the Lady Scots a 3-0 lead. In the third inning, Covenant made it 4-0 on a Whann sacrifice fly that scored Lane.
Agnes Scott chipped away at the Covenant lead with a run in the fourth, coming on a Casey Arnold solo home run, and two in the fifth. Joni Johnson came on in relief and threw two scoreless innings to secure the victory for the Lady Scots.
Cris Gant (2-0) gets the win after going five innings and allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits with seven strikeouts. Joni Johnson allowed just one hit in her two innings of work and is credited with the save.
Agnes Scott starter Molly Baker (0-2) is saddled with loss as she went the distance allowing two earned runs on nine hits. Arnold led the Scotties offensively going 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs.
Game 2: Covenant 13, Agnes Scott 2 (5 innings)
Lane continued her impressive performance in game two by going 3-for-3 with two home runs and six RBIs to lead Covenant to a 13-2 victory and a sweep of the host Scotties.
Lane's two homers mark the eighth time in progrma history that the feat has been accomplished. Her six RBIs are second-most in a game. Lane now holds games of seven RBIs (done last season) and six RBIs.
Covenant had a 3-0 lead after three innings thanks to a two-run homer from Lane in the first and a solo shot in the third. The Lady Scots then broke the contest wide open with 10 runs in the fourth.
In that fourth inning, Jami Johnson led off with a walk and was brought home on Kaitlyn Sirmons' double to make it 4-0. With the bases loaded, Lane came through with a three-run double to put Covenant ahead 7-0. The Lady Scots were not done there as they tallied RBI hits from Whann, Jacey Massetto, Nicole White and Kasey Hart later in the inning to make it 13-0. In all, Covenant scored 10 runs on seven hits and sent 16 batters to the plate.
Those runs would be more than enough for Covenant starter Joni Johnson and relievers Tyler Epes and Hannah Rogers. Johnson (2-0) gets the win as she set down all nine batters she faced in three innings of work.
Brett went 2-for-3 and Massetto was 2-for-2 for Covenant.
Covenant will open USA South play next Friday at Greensboro. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 1 p.m.
Be sure to follow the Scots all season long on athletics.covenant.edu and on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news and other information.
