Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 COLUMBIA, Ky. -- Through 10 innings of softball, Asbury (Ky.) hadn't connected for a hit and 14th ranked Lindsey Wilson College was on its way to a pair of shutout wins on Tuesday afternoon at the Lindsey Wilson Sports Park.
The Blue Raiders won both games of the home-opening doubleheader by run-rule in five innings. Game one finished with Lindsey Wilson on top 8-0 and game two was a 10-0 decision against an Asbury team receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Top-25 Poll.
Lauren Seibert threw a shortened no-hitter in the opener, striking out 10 batters and issuing three walks in five innings.
Cara Law and Jordan Hood combined for another five-inning no hitter in game two, with Law in the circle for three innings and Hood receiving two innings of relief work.
Law struck out five with just one walk, while Hood matched her with five strikeouts and no walks.
Freshman right fielder Andrea Whelan continued her hot streak, connecting for four hits with two home runs and three RBIs. The Rineyville, Ky., native has three home runs on the season.
Whelan was the fifth player in Kentucky high school history to record 400 strikeouts in a season and was looked at as a pitching prospect, but it's been her bat that keeps getting her in the lineup.
"I like outfield, I think its fun and as long as I'm hitting too, I just want a part in the lineup," said Whelan.
First baseman Amy Buwalda ripped three hard singles to the outfield and seniors Emily Priar and Jamie Williams both joined Whelan with home runs of their own.
It was a feel-good day for the Lindsey Wilson (5-1) offense after a stagnant performance in the loss to Freed-Hardeman on Saturday.
In game one, seven different players got a hit with eight reaching safely in game two.
"I think we were a little bit nervous at first, but we definitely got the bats going and showed that we can hit one through nine and that's exciting to see," said Blue Raider head coach Ashley McCool-Cozart.
Asbury (0-2) -- playing its first games of the season -- not only struggled at the plate, but also had some problems in the field, committing a combined three errors in the two losses.
The Eagles' game-one starter, Kelsey Robinson, pitched 4-2/3 innings with eight runs allowed on 10 hits and four strikeouts. Game-two starter Ashleigh West allowed four earned runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts in four innings.
After three and a half scoreless innings in game one, Lindsey Wilson finally rounded the bases for a three-run fourth inning.
Left fielder Megan Huckaby started things off with a single, followed be Priar's two-run homer over the center-field fence. Two batters later, Whelan sent her first blast into orbit to give the Blue Raiders a 3-0 lead.
Seibert continued to shutdown Asbury in the top of the fifth, which led to the decisive fifth inning outburst from the Blue Raider offense.
Lindsey Wilson scored all five of its runs in the inning in meticulous fashion, hitting singles in all the right spots to slowly bring in enough runs to reach the run-rule decision.
The Blue Raiders hit five singles in the inning and had three batters reach first on a fielder's choice.
Catcher Josie Cox's run scored off a single by Hood capped off the rally after reaching base earlier on one of the singles to left field.
It didn't take as long for the Blue Raiders to pounce on Asbury in the second game as they took advantage of two errors to score eight runs in the second inning.
Williams led off reaching base on a bobble by left fielder Jessica Huston and Whelan added to the pain with a home run over the left-field fence once again to put Lindsey Wilson up 2-0.
Buwalda tallied a single to right field in the next at-bat and made it all the way to third and nearly home on a misplayed grounder by right fielder Ashley Vonlinger.
From there things ballooned for the Blue Raider offense as catcher Mikaila Etheredge doubled, Huckaby singled, center fielder Amy Harner walked and Priar singled which all set up Williams for a three-run homer to left field.
Already with a large enough lead to force a shortened game, Lindsey Wilson added two more scores in the third inning as Etheredge and second baseman Chelsea Collins scored on another single from Priar.
Hood closed out the game in style, striking out the side in the top of the fifth inning.
Lindsey Wilson returns to action on Feb. 24-26 in the Alabama Arctic Blast hosted by Shorter (Ga.) University in Decatur, Ala.
The Blue Raiders open play at 4 p.m. CT against Indiana University Southeast.