Senior infielder/pitcher Savannah Jones lifted the Brevard College softball team (3-3) to victory on Wednesday afternoon at the BC Softball Field with a game-winning RBI-double to give BC the 4-3 win in extra innings over Pfeiffer University (3-1)
Brevard was able to split with the formidable Pfeiffer squad, taking the first game before the Falcons earned a 9-1 triumph in game number two.
GAME ONE – BREVARD 4, PFEIFFER 3 (8 INNINGS)
Kaitlynn Farmer (2-0) went the distance in the extra inning affair, lasting all eight innings for a career-high total of 133 pitches thrown. Farmer allowed seven hits and three earned runs, while striking out six batters in the contest.
Jocelyn Folkers and Beth Hyatt each had multi-hit performances, while Brittany Franks scored a pair of runs. Folkers and Taylor Hannah each had a triple, while Jones’ game-winner was BC’s lone double of the matchup.
BC threatened early in the bottom of the first inning, as the Tornados placed runners on second and third with two outs. Pfeiffer’s Caiti Mickles (0-1) forced a popup as the Falcons escaped the early jam.
Both teams went down in order in the second inning before Pfeiffer broke through in the top of the third. With runners on second and third and two outs, Mickles helped herself with a two-RBI double that split the left-center gap, giving the Falcons a 2-0 advantage.
After scoreless fourth and fifth innings of action, the sixth frame proved a thriller. After back-to-back leadoff singles and a walk in the top of the frame, Farmer mowed down the Falcons with consecutive strikeouts followed by a flyout to center, keeping the score at a 2-0 margin.
BC found its scoring stride in the bottom of the sixth, as a Falcon error allowed Karley Queen to come across to score. Folkers hit a triple to straightaway center that planted Franks, tying game one at two runs apiece.
Pfeiffer used an RBI groundout in the top of the seventh to retake the lead, 3-2. Mikayla Morgan blooped a single into left field with the bases loaded, knotting the score back up at 3-3 before the contest moved into extra innings.
With the international tiebreaker rule in effect for extra innings, Farmer forced a fly out and a double play to send the game to the home half of the eighth. Franks was placed on second as the Tornados went to the plate.
Autumn Lollis got Franks over to third base on a bunt before Folkers drew a walk to put runners on the corners. With two outs, Jones came up to the plate and stroked a fly ball that landed over the left fielder’s head, clinching the game one win for BC, 4-3.
GAME TWO – PFEIFFER 9, BREVARD 1
Reigning USA South Rookie Pitcher of the Week Abby Delp (1-1) got the start in the second game, lasting three and 1/3 innings while striking out a pair of batters. Fellow freshman Grace Reynolds came on in relief, logging one and 2/3 innings of work.
Franks, Hannah, Lollis, Morgan, and White all totaled singles for the BC offense, while White drove in BC’s lone run of the contest.
Pfeiffer utilized a pair of Mickles doubles and a Gracie Griffin grand slam home run to power past Brevard in the game two win. The Falcons scored a run in the first before Griffin drilled a grand slam over the left-field wall, making the lead 5-0.
White got a run back for Brevard in the bottom of the third, scoring Jones and making the score 5-1. A Tornado error in the top of the fourth allowed Pfeiffer to extend the inning, as the Falcons brought four around to score. The visitors held onto their 9-1 lead, earning the win by run rule in the fifth inning.
Brevard will return to action next Saturday, February 26 as the Tornados play a pair of exhibition contests at USC Sumter in Sumter, South Carolina at 1 and 3 p.m. BC’s next home doubleheader is Monday, March 7 at 12 and 2 p.m. vs. Pikeville University.