Pioneers Take Two in Kansas
Pioneers Take Two in Kansas- Wil Teague, Sports Information Director, 3-6-23
CRC Softball broke the game drought as they traveled to Lawrence, Kansas to take on the Indians of Haskell University this afternoon in a doubleheader matchup starting at 1:00 pm.
Game one:
Crowley's Ridge- 6
Haskell- 1
Lawrence, KS- After having games canceled at home due to the field conditions, the Lady Pioneers finally got to hit the diamond. Shelby Elrod took the mound in game one and tossed 7 complete innings. The junior did give up 9 hits but only allowed 1 run to cross the plate from the Indians. The Pioneer bats were hot as they collected 13 hits in the game but what proved to be the difference maker was a late run in the last two innings that decided the outcome of the contest. Haskell would take the lead with an RBI single to Dru Bryant at center field in the bottom of the third, but wouldn't stay on top long with Bailey Cupples singling the following inning driving in one to tie the game. Elrod and the Pioneer defense would hold the Indians at bay long enough for the Lady Pioneers to rally runs and take control for the remainder of the game. The Pioneers pushed two across in the 5th by Maddie Reed doubling with one out down the right-field line that set up Dru Bryant's sac bunt moving Reed up to third. This allowed Hannah Burk to knock Reed in with a torched ball past the second basemen. The next two Pioneer batters, Kourtni Jagneaux, and Brooklyn Melson used back-to-back base knocks to move up and score Burk ending the 5th up 3-1. The Pioneers collected three quick outs and tacked on 3 more insurance runs with RBI singles from Natalie Brightwell, Dru Bryant, and Hannah Burk in the 6th. The Pioneers' defense stood tall and retired the last three Indian hitters claiming the opening game 6-1.
Leaders: Hitting
The Lady Pioneers totaled 6 runs on 13 hits. The Pioneers had 4 players with a multi-hit game
Burk (2-4, 2 RBI), Jagneaux (2-3), Melson (2-2, 1 RBI), and Farmer (2-4)
Leaders: Pitching
Elrod: 7.0 inns, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO
Game Two:
Crowley's Ridge- 17
Haskell - 1
Lawrence, KS- In game two the Lady Pioneers took control early and coasted their way to a run rule in the 5th inning. Halea Wells got the ball for game two and whirled 4 forceful innings before having Natalie Brightwell close the game out in the 5th. Wells allowed 4 hits and gave up one run in the contest, while the Lady Pioneers took the bats from game one over into game two by outdoing their game-one hit total and racking up 18 hits. The Pioneers scored 2 runs in the first with Elrod stealing home to start the landslide. They then scored 3 more runs in the third with singles from Bryant, Burk, and Jagneaux taking a 5-1 lead. The Pioneers weren't satisfied yet as they truly ran away with the game in the fourth inning by dropping a 10-run inning and jumping ahead to a 15-1 lead. To cap off the day the final 2 runs came from Autum Maxwell as she rocketed a 2-run shot to left field. The Pioneers win game two in a blow-out fashion 17-1.
Leaders: Hitting
The Pioneers scored 17 runs on 18 hits. 6 Lady Pioneers had a multi-hit game (Bryant, Reed, Elrod, Burk, Jagneaux, Maxwell)
Dru Byant went a perfect (4-4) (3 RBI), Elrod (3-4) and Maxwell (2-4) (2 RBI) (HR)
Leaders Pitching:
Wells: 4.0 inn, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
Brightwell:1.0 inn, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO