VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Eckerd softball team had a sixth-inning lead in the finale of a doubleheader at No. 9 Valdosta State (Ga.) on Tuesday, but a pair of late homeruns lifted the Blazers to a sweep.
VSU scored six runs in the second inning of the opener for an 8-0 win in five innings. The hosts then tied the second game with a two-run homer in the sixth and won it with a one-out walkoff homer in the seventh.
HOW IT ENDED
Game 1
Final: #9 Valdosta State 8, Eckerd 0 (5 innings)
WP: Johnson (9-3) Â
LP: Van Gennep (6-11) Â
HR: Bellinger (2)
Game 2
Final: #9 Valdosta State 4, Eckerd 3
WP: Watts (3-1) Â
LP: Saltzman (1-3) Â
HR: Van Gennep (9), Bellinger (3), Garrett (5)
Records: Eckerd 11-19; Valdosta State 19-7
KEY MOMENTS
Game 1
- Valdosta State took control in the second inning scoring six runs, four of which came with two outs on three consecutive singles.
- Natalia Bellinger connected on a solo homerun in the third, and Logan Hill laid down a successful squeeze bunt in the fourth as VSU upped its lead to 8-0.
- Meanwhile, Eckerd struggled to make contact off Blazer starter Kacie Johnson who recorded 10 of her 15 outs via strikeout. The Tritons managed just four baserunners on two hits, a walk, and hit batter.
Game 2
- Nikole Van Gennep put Eckerd on the board first with a two-out solo homer in the third. Skylar Redish followed with a double but was stranded.
- VSU tied the game in the third on an RBI double by Hill.
- Avery Wakefield came through in the fourth inning with a two-out, two-run double to score Madison Saltzman and Olivia Oppeltz.
- Eckerd maintained a 3-1 lead until the sixth inning when Bellinger connected on her second homer of the day following a leadoff walk, tying the game at 3-3. Â The Blazers put two more runners aboard but Saltzman pitched out of the jam.
- Hannah Famiano reached in the seventh with a one-out single but was stranded. Haley Garrett then ended the game in the home half of the inning with a walk-off homerun.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Saltzman worked out of trouble throughout much of the second game after allowing six hits and walking eight. She stranded nine runners, seven in the first five innings.
- Van Gennep's homerun was her ninth of the season, tying her for fifth-most in program history in a single season.
- Wakefield's RBIs in game two were the first of her career.
UP NEXT
Eckerd resumes conference play this weekend visiting Saint Leo for a three-game series beginning on Friday at 7:00 PM. Â