Lions Softball Takes Two From Itawamba
HANCEVILLE, AL | After a series win over Snead State, the Lions stepped out of conference for a doubleheader with visiting Itawamba. Wallace swept the doubleheader, winning 8-6 and 4-0.
Wallace State is now 36-9 overall. Itawamba falls to 25-17.
GM 1: Wallace State 8, Itawamba 6
After falling behind 1-0 in the second, the Lions got back-to-back singles from Blakelyn Austin and Leah Graves. Reese Decker grounded out with runners at 1st and 3rd but brought Austin home to tie the game at 1-1.
After the Lady Indians took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third, Wallace answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Kaelyn Jones got things started with a single. Brandy Phillips then doubled to give the Lions runners at second and third. Charli Kyser singled, driving home Jones and Phillips for a 3-2 lead. Brooklyn Sertell doubled to bring Kyser home for a 4-2 lead.
Wallace pushed the lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the fourth when Phillips singled to plate Ashlyn Burns, who had singled and stolen second.
The Lions got singles from Sertell, Austin, and Graves to open the fifth inning. Lexie Kelly then singled to drive home Sertell and Austin for a 7-2 lead.
Itawamba put on a rally in the top of the sixth, plating four runs to cut the Wallace lead to 7-6.
Ava Smith, who started the game and exited with a 4-2 lead after the third inning, reentered in the seventh to close the game. Smith earned the win after allowing two runs on four hits while striking out three. Payton Bailey pitched two hitless and scoreless innings of relief, striking out two.
Kyser led the Lions with a hit, three RBIs, and a run scored, while Kelly had a hit and two RBIs. Phillips had two hits, scored two runs, and had an RBI, while Sertell had two hits, an RBI, and a run scored. Jones, Austin, and Graves each had two hits, with Austin scoring two runs and Jones adding one.
GM 2: Wallace State 4, Itawamba 0
Three Wallace State pitchers combined to hold Itawamba to only four hits and no runs while striking out eight in the Lions' 4-0 win. Phillips started the game and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing a hit while striking out three. Madeline Howard pitched two innings of scoreless relief, striking out two, to win. Bailey pitched the final two innings and struck out three to earn the save.
The Lions took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth, when Austin drove home Kyser and Jones following an error by Itawamba. Jones singled to open the inning, and Kyser walked two batters later.
They added the final two runs in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 4-0. Phillips opened the inning by reaching on an error. She scored on Sertell's double to center. Sertell scored two batters later when Graves singled to left.
Graves finished 2-of-3 with an RBI to lead Wallace State. Sertell added a hit, an RBI, and a run scored. Jones added a hit and a run scored, while Phillips and Kyser each scored a run.
Upcoming
The Lions will start a four-game conference series with Calhoun when the Warhawks visit for a doubleheader on Thursday. Calhoun is 22-17 overall and 9-11 in conference. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games.
Calhoun is led at the plate by Kinley Holcombe, who is second in the conference with a .462 average. Keara Hall is third in the conference with 25 stolen bases.
Bronwyn Borden leads the team and is fourth in the conference with 10 wins. She is also fourth in strikeouts with 91.
The Warhawks have a combined .325 batting average with an on-base percentage of .381. They average 5.5 runs per game with 14 home runs.
They have allowed 5.1 runs per game while allowing opponents a .304 batting average with a .394 on-base percentage.