OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan College softball team returned to Great Midwest Athletic Conference action on Sunday, suffering two losses to visiting Davis & Elkins College. The Panthers were shut out in game one, 5-0, and let an early lead slip away in game two to move to 18-14 on the season overall and 3-3 in conference play.
Game One: Davis & Elkins 5 – Kentucky Wesleyan 0
Maci Brown dominated the plate early, allowing one hit over the first three innings and striking out four batters. It was three up and three down for the Senators in the third, with all three outs coming from swinging strikeouts.
Davis & Elkins got on the board with three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to take a 5-0 lead after five. The Panthers tabbed two hits in the bottom of the fifth and put runners on the corners with two outs but were unable to plate a run.
Brown suffered her fifth loss of the season after pitching 4.2 innings, striking out five and allowing five runs off of seven hits and one walk. In 2.1 innings of relief, Autumn Grady struck out two and held the Senators scoreless.
Meredith Daunhauer was the lone Panther to tab multiple hits in game one, going three-for-four. Maddie Dawson, Jaylin Tidwell, Mallory Nease and Lexie Mullen each recorded one hit.
Game Two: Davis & Elkins 8 – Kentucky Wesleyan 7 (8 innings)
An explosive first inning gave the Panthers a 6-2 lead but the Senators tied it at seven in the top of seventh and plated the winning run in the top of the eighth.
Daunhauer led off the bottom of the first with a single and scored on a single up the middle from Tidwell. Courtney Lockwood followed with another single up the middle to bring home Dawson and tie the game at two.
Facing one out with the bases loaded, Caitlyn Lawson ripped a two-run double down the left field line, driving in Nease and Lockwood. Mullen utilized a passed ball to score the fifth run of the inning for Kentucky Wesleyan and a sacrifice fly from Tempel capped off the six-run first inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, Daunhauer led off with a single, stole second and reached third on a groundout. Tidwell brought home Daunhauer with a single to left center, extending the Panthers lead to 7-2.
The Senators responded with five hits in the top of the sixth to score four runs, and knotted it at seven in the seventh with three straight hits. A double with one out followed by a single put Davis & Elkins ahead by one. Kentucky Wesleyan tabbed five hits in the final four innings but was unable to plate any runs.
Casey Smith pitched 7.0 innings, suffering her fourth loss of the season after striking out two and allowed seven runs off of 13 hits. In 1.0 inning, Jessica Carmon allowed one run off of four hits.
Daunhauer was hot again in game two, going four-for-five and scoring two runs. Tidwell, Lockwood and Nease each tabbed two hits with Mullen and Lawson recording one piece. Tidwell and Lawson each drove in two runs.
The two teams will close the weekend series with a doubleheader starting at 10 am CT on Sunday.
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