CLERMONT, Fla. – Mount Union's softball team split a pair of games to open the Florida part of their Spring Break trip, beating Utica 8-0 in five innings and falling against Lake Forest 4-3 on Tuesday afternoon.
The Purple Raiders (4-4) would strike first in their first game of the day when they scored six runs in the bottom half of the second inning, with RBIs coming from seniors
Lydia Brunner (Minerva),
Sydney Mercer (Salem / West Branch),
Kendyll Cahill (Groveport / Groveport Madison),
Brooklyn Schlabach (Apple Creek / Waynedale) and freshman
Alli Hodgkinson (Akron / Manchester) to take a 6-0 lead. Mount Union would then add to that lead in the fifth inning when freshman
Grace Bates (Mount Vernon) hit an RBI single that scored senior
Kaitlyn Culver (Girard) and then freshman
Ava Beas (Brunswick) scored following an error by the Pioneer (1-4) first baseman to give the Raiders the 8-0 win in five innings.
Schlabach would get the start in the circle for Mount Union and would throw 4.1 innings, giving up just two hits and striking out one on her way to earning her second victory of the season. Sophomore
Emma Reemsnyder (Canton / GlenOak) would come in to throw the final 0.2 innings, giving up zero runs on zero hits and striking out one in relief.
The Raiders would strike again first in their second game of the day when Cahill hit an RBI double in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. They would add to that lead in the third inning when freshman
Addy Antonetz (Zanesville) hit an RBI double to extend the lead to two runs and then in the fourth senior
Faith Reicosky (North Canton / Hoover) hit an RBI single that scored Brunner to make the 3-0.
The Foresters (4-2) would cut into the lead with a pair of runs in the fourth inning, coming off a two-RBI double from Laylah Gore. They would then tie the game at three runs apiece in the sixth inning when Gore hit an RBI single to left field. Lake Forest would then take the lead after an RBI sacrifice bunt from Kyla Chevalier and would go on to win the game 4-3.
Cahill got the start in the circle for Mount Union and pitched a complete game, giving up four runs on 10 hits and striking out seven in the loss.
The Raiders return to action tomorrow with another pair of games at the Spring Games in Clermont, Fla., they take on Nichols at 9 a.m. followed by a game against No. 8 nationally ranked East Texas Baptist at 1:45 p.m.