Knights Take Two Games Over Fayetteville State
The Knights hosted the Fayetteville State Broncos of the NCAA Division II, in a doubleheader in Laurinburg, NC this afternoon. The day proved to be a great one for the softball team as they were able to win both matches, including a walk off thriller in the bottom of the eighth inning in the second game. The wins move the Knights to 4-8 collectively so far this season, as they prepare for their conference schedule in two weeks time.
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fayetteville State
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
|
St. Andrews
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fayetteville State
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
|
St. Andrews
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fayetteville State
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 4 |
|
St. Andrews
|
4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | X | 10 | 15 | 3 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fayetteville State
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 4 |
|
St. Andrews
|
4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | X | 10 | 15 | 3 |
Taking the mound in the opener for the Knights was Meghan Fritz (Dunmore, PA) who pitched to the tune of 5 1/3 innings allowing three earned runs over four hits, while striking out two Broncos hitters.
After Fayetteville State struck for a couple runs in the top of the first inning, the Knights bats were ready to go as they were able to rally for four runs themselves in the bottom of the first. Ava McPhillips (Missoula, MT) drove in the first run with a single to left field, scoring Taryn Tucker (Oakboro, NC) for the first run of the game, before Meghan Fritz blew the inning open with a two run double to left field. A Charlee Mullins (Camden, SC) single brought in Meghan Fritz and capped off one of the best hitting innings the Knights have had this season.
After Taryn Tucker drove in Haley Zimmerman (Cygnet, OH) in the second inning for another St. Andrews run, the Knights again exploded for more offense in the bottom of the third with three more insurance runs. Charlee Mullins was able to drive a single to center field to score Meghan Fritz, before a Shelby Nisbet (Salley, SC) triple brought in two more runs around for the Knights.
With the Knights holding a 9-5 lead, Sarah Sidell (Salisbury, MD) closed the game out as she pitched the final two innings allowing two unearned runs off her couple of innings of work, to secure the first game victory for the Knights.
Charlee Mullins took to the mound for the second game, and threw an absolute gem by going eight innings strong, while allowing just three earned runs on seven hits, while striking out seven Bronco hitters.
After Fayetteville State had opened things up in the first inning with a run, the Knights were able to respond when Charle Mullins hit a fielder's choice to the pitcher, to score Natalee Victores (Stockton, CA) from third base.
The Knights offense once again struck again in the bottom of the fifth inning when Haley Zimemrman shot a base knock to center field to bring in the first run of the inning. Moments later, Taryn Tucker laid down a beautiful bunt to bring in Haley Zimmerman as the Knights were able to take a 3-1 lead in the ballgame.
Down to their final out, the Broncos were able to string back-to-back hits to bring in the two tying runs they needed to extend the game to extra innings. After the Knights failed to score in the bottom of the seventh, the Broncos would end up scoring the go ahead run in the top of the eigth inning to take a 4-3 lead in the game, with the Knights having only three outs to work with.
With the Knights backs against the wall, Haley Zimmerman shot a single to center field to score Maddy Taylor (Port Royal, VA) from second base to tie the game at four apiece. With one out in the inning, Brooke Vance (Rutherfordton, NC) laced a double to right field to score the game winning run and send the Knights home with a sweep over the Broncos.
The Knights will be ecstatic with a walk-off win and series victory as they play host next to Methodist University on February 25th for a 12:00 & 2:00 PM doubleheader.