LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- Kirsten Aanensen and Faith Manning had five hits apiece in the two games and the Covenant softball team got in the win column with a doubleheader sweep of Mary Baldwin on Saturday on Lookout Mountain. Covenant took game one, 6-5, before completing the sweep with a 9-4 win in the finale.
Covenant (2-6) gets its first two wins of the year, while it was the season opener for Mary Baldwin (0-2).
Aanensen was 5-for-6 on the day with two RBIs, while Manning was 5-for-7 with three runs scored in the sweep for the Scots.
GAME ONE: Covenant 6, Mary Baldwin 5
Covenant broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth on an Aanensen RBI double and added three more runs in the frame to defeat Mary Baldwin, 6-5, in Saturday's opener.
The Scots led 2-0 entering the sixth, but Mary Baldwin tied the game on Alexis Clark's two-run homer in the top of the frame. In the bottom of the inning, Aanensen delivered a go-ahead RBI double that plated Cassee Wood to give Covenant a 3-2 lead. Emma Giller capped the four-run inning with a two-run double that scored MK Pritchett and Shelby Ralston for a 6-2 lead.
Mary Baldwin scored three in the seventh, all coming on Marybeth Strickler's three-run homer, but Sarah Huskey closed the door on the visiting Fighting Squirrels with a strikeout to end the game.
Heather Long got the win in the circle for the Scots after tossing six innings. Long (1-2) scattered six hits and allowed just two runs, while striking out four.
Manning, Wood, and Aansensen each had two hits. Wood gave Covenant a 2-0 lead in the third inning with her two-run double to left field.
Courteney Back (0-1) received the loss for Mary Baldwin after going 5.2 innings and allowing two earned runs. Strickler was 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
GAME TWO: Covenant 9, Mary Baldwin 4
Covenant pounded out 12 hits and a season-high nine runs to complete the sweep with a 9-4 win in Saturday's finale.
Manning went 3-for-4 with two runs and Aanensen was 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI to lead the 12-hit attack. Wood and Madyson Gibbins added two hits each in the win and Aileen Hill had two RBIs.
Covenant scored three runs in the second inning on a pair of bases loaded walks before a fielding error by Mary Baldwin brought in another run. In the fourth, Covenant got an RBI double from Aanensen that scored Manning before another bases loaded walk drawn by Baylie Sims made it 6-2 Scots.
The Scots put the game away in the fifth with three runs. Wood singled home Erika Mast and Hill followed with a two-run single to make it 9-3.
That was enough offense for starting pitcher Lauren Kierpa (1-2) as she got the win after going 4.1 innings and allowing three runs with five strikeouts. Huskey tossed the final 2.2 innings and picked up three strikeouts to notch the save.
Lindsay Simmons (0-1) went 1.1 innings and got the loss in the circle. Samantha Grimsley had three hits, while Sam Breeden had two hits and two RBIs for the Fighting Squirrels.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GAME
UP NEXT
Covenant will travel to Emory for a doubleheader on Tuesday. Game one is set for 2 p.m.
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