DONALDSON, INDIANA – In their first conference games of the season, the Ancilla softball team split with Lake Michigan College, winning the first game 6-4 and losing the second game 10-2 in five innings.
The Chargers fell behind early in the first game when the visiting Red Hawks scored two runs in the top of the third off of Ancilla pitcher Abbey Renner. Only one of the runs was earned. The Chargers answered with four runs in the bottom half of the frame. Madyson Price led off the inning with a double, moved to third on an infield single by Emily Loden, then scored when Allena McElfresh reached base on an error. Kayla Smith loaded the bases with an infield single. Kayte Miller followed with an RBI single that scored Loden and then McElfresh scored on a Brittany Probasco fielder’s choice. Renner rounded out the scoring by plating Smith with a sacrifice fly, putting Ancilla up 4-2.
Lake Michigan came right back in the top of the fourth and tied the game up at 4-4 on a Katie Scheuer home run, the first home run given up by Renner this season after 54 innings of work.
Ancilla topped off the scoring in the fifth. Smith led off the inning with an infield single and moved to third one out later on a Brittany Probasco single. After an infield ground out that moved Probasco to second, both base runners scored on back-to-back two out RBI singles from Tori Newsome and Mariah Miller.
Renner picked up her sixth win of the season, striking out six along the way. Kayla Smith had two hits for the Chargers.
“This was a total team effort,” mentioned Ancilla coach Scott Reese. “We took advantage of opportunities and shut them down at key points in the game. I’m proud of the way we started our conference season.”
The visiting Red Hawks jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the second game with one run in the first and five in the second. Madyson Price belted her first home run of the year in the bottom of the second, a solo shot, but the Red Hawks plated four in the top of the third to take a commanding 10-1 lead. Mariah Miller scored Ancilla’s only other run of the game when she scored on a Morgan Peoni fielder’s choice in the bottom of the fourth.
Ancilla (7-6, 1-1 MCCAA) hosts conference co-leader Lansing Community College on Saturday, March 28 at 1:00 p..m.