OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan College softball team overcame a three run deficit in game one to win in extras, 5-4, before taking game two, 11-3, over Malone in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference matchup. With the two wins on Saturday, the Panthers swept the four-game weekend series to improve to 34-20 overall and 18-8 in conference play.
Game One: Malone 4 – Kentucky Wesleyan 5 (8 innings)
The Panthers found themselves in a three-run deficit entering the fifth inning but two hits and two errors allowed Kentucky Wesleyan to knot the game at four.
Meredith Daunhauer started the rally with a two-out single and reached third after stealing second and an error by the shortstop. Maddie Dawson hit a routine groundball to the second basemen but a throwing error allowed her to advance to second and Daunhauer to score. Tidwell knocked a single to right field, driving home Dawson and making it a one-run game.
The Panthers went three up and three down in the bottom of the sixth but Daunhauer started another rally in the bottom of the seventh with a one-out bunt single. Jaylin Tidwell smashed a double to left field, bringing home Daunhauer and forcing the game into extra innings.
Autumn Grady came in to pitch in the top of the eighth, and struck out both batters she faced.
In the bottom of the frame, Lexie Mullen led off with a double to the fence in left center field. Abbey Winstead squeezed a double down the left field line, scoring pinch runner Hannah Slack and giving the Panthers the 4-3 win.
Autumn Grady picked up her 10th win of the season, pitching 0.2 innings and striking out two. Casey Smith pitched the first 7.1 innings, striking out three and allowing four runs off of nine hits.
Daunhauer and Mullen both went three-for-four in game one with Daunhauer scoring twice and bringing in one run. Tidwell tabbed two hits while Winstead and Jaclyn Parker each had one.
Game Two: Malone 3 – Kentucky Wesleyan 11 (six innings)
The Pioneers held a 2-0 lead after the first inning but Kentucky Wesleyan quickly erased the deficit with three runs in the next two innings.
Parker drove in Mallory Nease with a sacrifice fly in the second. With two outs and one on, Mullen drove a double to right field to knot the game at two. Caitlyn Lawson reached first on a fielding error by the third basemen, and heads up base running from Mullen allowed her to score and put the Panthers ahead by one.
That lead was extended to four runs in the fourth after a single from Tidwell plated two, plus Courtney Lockwood reached on a throwing error, allowing Tidwell to score.
Malone got one back in the top of the fifth but Kentucky Wesleyan pulled away with four runs, all with two outs, in the bottom of the frame. Maddie Dawson drove in Tempel with a single up the middle and Tidwell hit her fifth home run of the season, a three-run shot to left field.
Parker put the game away in the bottom of the sixth with a single up the middle with two outs, scoring Mullen.
Jessica Carmon went the distance in her third win of the season, holding the Pioneers to three runs off of five hits.
Tidwell led the Panthers with three hits and five runs driven in in game two. Daunhauer, Dawson and Mullen each finished with two hits while Nease, Tempel and Parker tabbed one a piece.
Kentucky Wesleyan earned a No. 2 seed in the 2017 G-MAC Championship tournament and are set to square off against the No. 5 seed Ursuline College at 9:30 am CT on Thursday, May 4 at the Athletes in Action Complex in Xenia, Ohio. All tournament information can be found here.
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