FORT MYERS, Fla. – Kenyon College improved to 7-1 this season after two more wins on Wednesday during the Gene Cusic Classic at CenturyLink Sports Complex. The Ladies held on for an 8-7 win against Geneva College before run-ruling Anna Maria College 15-6 in game two.
GAME ONE
The Golden Tornadoes had bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh before a fly ball to left field was snagged by
Lauren Graf preserving Kenyon's 8-7 advantage.
Leading up to that, Kenyon opened with three runs. After
Madi Maldonado was hit by pitch, outfielder
Grace Finn smacked her first career home run to push Kenyon up 2-0. Five batters later,
Grace Pilz brought home
Kathryn Riggs with a single.
Geneva responded to tie the contest in the home half of the frame. Madison Schultz followed up a two-out RBI double from April Lude with a two-run single.
Each team tallied a run in the second and knotted the score up at four. There was nothing brought across in the third before the Ladies came up with three more runs in the fourth.
Britny Patterson, who went 4-for-4, drove Maldonado home with a single and Graf capped off the inning with a two-run hit of her own.
Two innings later, the Ladies got an important run, their eighth, off the bat of
Keely Sweet. The sophomore delivered a two-out single which scored Finn and moved the count to 8-4.
Down its biggest margin of the game, Geneva responded again. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Ashley Grow hit a two-RBI single plating Haley Sainato and Ericka Hess. In the next at-bat, Lude registered a single and watched as Kyleigh Jo Ward scored the team's seventh run.
After the Ladies went quietly in the seventh, Geneva returned and looked ready to steal victory. Two of three batters were retired by Sweet to start; however, back-to-back walks loaded the bases. With pressure mounting, Graf relieved her teammates as she caught a fly ball in left.
GAME TWO
Kenyon faced little resistance from Anna Maria as it earned its fourth victory by run-rule in a 15-6 win.
After the AMCATS scored in the first on a dropped fly ball, the Ladies returned in the home half and took a 4-1 lead. Two of those runs came via error while a passed ball scored Graf.
Juliana Delsante added a sacrifice fly plating Patterson.
Then in the second, Kenyon put an eight-spot on Anna Maria.
Emily Buckwalter's two-run double highlighted the inning. The Ladies also scored on a wild pitch and another passed ball. Maldonado capped off the scoring with a one-run double pushing the score to 12-1.
Three more runs came across for the Ladies in the third and fourth innings. Finn had an RBI single while Buckwalter added a sac fly to right field.
In the fifth frame, Anna Maria did find some offensive continuity as it got a trio of run-scoring hits including a two-out, two-run double from Victoria Falco.
Offensively, eight different players drove in runs for the Ladies. Maldonado led Kenyon with a pair of hits. In the circle, Coyle tossed two innings and allowed just one run and one hit.
Jace Juliano pitched the final three frames, struck out six and earned her first win.
Tomorrow, the Ladies will face Albion College (5-3) and Drew University (4-2) starting at 9 a.m. in Fort Myers.
