HENDERSON, Tenn. - No. 11 Lindsey Wilson softball swept a twin bill over Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) on Friday at Tucker Field.
The Blue Raiders outlasted the Lions in a marathon to win game one before shutting the hosts down in the night cap.
Sam Hartman -- 6-for-8 -- and
Summer Ray -- 5-for-7 -- each batted plus-.700. The duo combined to go 7-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and 6-for-7 with two outs.
Kayden Murray earned her 20th win and fifth save of the season, becoming the third different player in program history to achieve both in the same year.
Game One: No. 11 Lindsey Wilson 12, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 10
The Blue Raiders rattled off 20 hits -- a season-high -- for the first time in seven years. Hartman was responsible for four of those hits, making her the first since Alexis Garayzar in 2023 to record four hits in a game.
The senior's first hit came in the form of a solo home run in the top of the first inning, her fifth of the season. Then, in the second inning, Ray and
Nora Epley each produced RBI-singles to plate one run, apiece.
Consecutive doubles by
Natalie Wandrie and Hartman kick-started the third frame, with the latter's scoring Wandrie, and two batters later,
Marissa Frolich got ahold of a 1-2 pitch and cleared it over the left field fence for her first long ball of the year.
Freed-Hardeman cut the visitor's lead down to 6-3 in the bottom half of the third, but an RBI from
Kaiden Rodgers and Wandrie in the subsequent half-inning extended Lindsey Wilson's lead to 8-3.
The Lions, again, responded with two runs in their end of the fourth. Still, the bats continued to swing for the Blue Raiders.
In the top leg of the fifth frame,
Atavya Fowler doubled in Ray, then Rodgers and Hartman converted on back-to-back base hits to push across one run, each. Lindsey Wilson's last tally was earned by Ray in the sixth inning when her double to left field plated
Hannah Carter.
Freed-Hardeman used a five-run effort in its half of the sixth inning to stay within striking distance and eventually brought the would-be game-winning run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh.
After getting the first out to pop out to Rodgers behind the plate, the Blue Raiders' middle infield of Ray and Epley connected on a game-ending double play, effectively stopping the Lions in their tracks.
In all, seven different Blue Raiders recorded multiple hits and five chipped in multiple RBIs.
Hallie Roberts secured her 13th win of the season by pitching 4.0 innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits, and striking out one. Murray checked in for the final 3.0 innings and garnered the save.
Game Two: No. 11 Lindsey Wilson 5, Freed-Hardeman 1
Just as in game one, Hartman got the scoring started in game two with an RBI single to right field. The Blue Raiders added to their first inning total with a sacrifice flyout by Wandrie to improve the score to 2-0.
Freed-Hardeman managed its lone run in the home half of the third inning, but Lindsey Wilson was swift to get that run back as Ray singled home Wandrie in the following half-inning.
Ray made her final offensive statement of the day late in the sixth inning, clubbing a two-run bomb to center field. The junior's fourth home run of the year is her second in three games and bumped the Blue Raider advantage to 5-1.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Lions led off with a single but got no further. The next three plays all went in Ray's direction at shortstop. First, a routine line out, then a sharply hit ground ball snatched on the dive by Ray and flipped to Epley at second, and lastly another ball on the dirt played by Ray leading to an unassisted putout at second base.
Murray dealt a complete-game effort to earn her 50th career victory. She finished with seven strikeouts, two walks, and no earned runs allowed on six hits.
Lindsey Wilson and Freed-Hardeman conclude their weekend series at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, April 18.
