HENDERSON, Tenn. – The Blue Raider softball team ended its busy week on a high note with a two-game sweep of Saint Francis (Ind.) on Saturday afternoon in the Freed-Hardeman Classic.
Kaiden Rodgers drove in four runs on four hits,
Natalie Wandrie recorded three RBIs on two hits, and
Atavya Fowler rattled off two doubles and a triple as part of her three-hit day.
In the circle,
Grace Adams earned a pair of wins in as many relief appearances. The junior totaled 7.0 innings pitched, allowed six earned runs on six hits and retired two on strikes.
Game One: Lindsey Wilson 7, Saint Francis (Ind.) 5
Lindsey Wilson got off to a fast start in Saturday's opener, scoring three runs in the top half of the first inning.
Nora Epley drew a lead-off walk, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. After another walk to Hartman,
Kendall Dailey singled down the left line to load the bases for
Katie Lorenz. The Blue Raiders' catcher produced a base-hit of her own, driving home Epley. A subsequent walk to Rodgers and fielding error off the bat of
Natalie Wandrie plated Hartman and Dailey, giving Lindsey Wilson a 3-0 lead.
The Cougars tallied one run in their first plate appearance and the 3-1 scoreline held until the fourth frame.
A fielding miscue by Saint Francis let
Melaina Tucker reach first safely, and an RBI-double by Fowler pushed Tucker home and restored the Blue Raiders' three-run lead.
In the fifth inning, Rodgers singled home Hartman to bump the score to 5-1, but a four-run at-bat by the Cougars in the following half-inning quickly tied the game at 5-5.
Knotted up late in the game, the Blue Raiders swiftly went back to work in the sixth with a lead-off double from Fowler. As the inning progressed, Fowler worked her way around the bags until a failed pickoff attempt at third base cleared the way for her plate the go-ahead run.
Not done yet, Fowler struck again in the seventh frame with an RBI-triple to right field.
Adams and the Blue Raider defense did the rest from there, sending down the Cougars in order in the bottom leg of the inning to seal the win.
Game Two: Lindsey Wilson 8, Saint Francis (Ind.) 7
The Blue Raiders and the Cougars went back-and-forth in game two. Lindsey Wilson was heard from first in the bottom of the first inning as consecutive base-hits by Dailey and Rodgers scored one run, apiece.
Saint Francis answered back with two runs in the second inning, but Wandrie edged the Blue Raiders back in front in the third with an RBI-single to right field.
The Cougars, again, responded, and this time grabbed their first lead of the day in the top half of the fourth inning, only for Hartman to plate Fowler moments later and tie the game at 4-4.
The fifth frame saw Lindsey Wilson retake its advantage off a RBI-single by Wandrie, then the final blow came in the sixth.
With the bases loaded, Hartman scored on a wild pitch, followed by a base-hit by Rodgers to send home
Brooklynn Becker. Hartman eventually scored herself on an infield groundout.
Saint Francis mounted a desperate rally in the top of the seventh inning and came within a run of the Blue Raiders' lead. With the tying-run at the plate, Adams pitched the last batter she faced into a flyout to Dailey at first base.
Lindsey Wilson, having won five of its last six games, travels to New Albany, Indiana at 12 p.m. CST on Monday, March 3 for a doubleheader with Indiana Southeast.
