MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Cope Whitaker hit her first career home run in game two, but the Covenant softball team fell twice to Rhodes on Saturday in Memphis. Rhodes rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Scots in eight innings in the first game before holding on for a 6-3 win in the second game.
Covenant falls to 0-4 on the year.
In the first game, Covenant scored four runs on six hits in the top of the first but Rhodes scored three runs in the seventh to tie the game and won it in the eighth inning, 5-4.
Makenna Dance, Lauren Kierpa, and Whitaker all had RBI singles in the four-run first inning. Tori Layfield and Faith Manning led off the inning with back-to-back singles to set up the frame.
Leading 4-1 in the seventh, Covenant could not hold off Rhodes. The host Lynx scored all three runs with two outs to knot the game at 4-4.
In the eighth, Rhodes put runners on second and third with nobody out. One batter later, Katelyn Siekerka beat the throw home on a grounder to win the game.
Manning and Dance went 2-for-4 each and seven different Scots recorded at least one hit in the nine-hit attack. Kierpa (0-2) went the distance in the circle and threw 75 pitches, 56 for strikes, with a pair of strikeouts before getting the loss.
Lauren King and Leslie Matherne had three hits apiece for Rhodes. King got the win in relief after tossing a scoreless eighth inning.
In game two, Covenant fell behind in the second and trailed the whole game despite trimming the deficit to one run twice.
Whitaker had an RBI bunt single in the third inning that got Covenant within 2-1. In the fifth inning, Whitaker hit a two-run homer to bring the Scots within 4-3. The home run was Whitaker's first of her career.
Rhodes scored two runs in the second and added single runs in the third and fourth before tacking on two more in the sixth on a King two-run homer.
Whitaker finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs for the Scots. Manning, Jordan Holman, Aileen Hill, Diana Muniz, and Jennifer Coates had one hit each.
Baylie Sims (0-1) made the start in the circle and went 2.2 innings before Kierpa came on in relief for the final 3.1 innings.
Andie Priest (1-0) got the win for Rhodes. King and Siekerka combined for five hits and four RBIs at the plate.
UP NEXT
Covenant will host Reinhardt on Tuesday for a doubleheader. Game one is set for 1 p.m. on Lookout Mountain.
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