Koala Softball Falls in 10 innings to TWU as they drop Doubleheader

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Columbia College softball team dropped two very close games at home Saturday to preseason conference favorite Tennessee Wesleyan. TWU came back to edge the Koalas in game one 5-4 before outlasting CC 6-3 in 10 innings in game two.

GM 1: TWU 5, CC 4

The Bulldogs struck first going up 2-0 in the 2nd inning before the Koalas struck back on a two-run double from freshman RF Madison Cheek in the bottom half. CC then took the lead in the third inning on junior SS Sophia Caley's RBI single that brought home junior OF/SS Ashlynn Wolff. TWU would tie it in the 5th before Columbia again took the lead at 4-3 with an Elaina Seymour RBI double. However, Wesleyan would battle back with a two-run double from pitcher/1B Bailey Phillips in the 6th to retake the lead at 5-4 and Phillips would shut down the Koalas over the final two innings for the win.

Koala junior starting pitcher Ally Boyd tossed five-plus innings allowing 11 hits and 5 runs (3 earned) while walking three and striking out two as she fell to 4-3. Senior reliever Paige Branham then came on and threw two scoreless innings with a strikeout. Boyd and Seymour, a freshman 3B, led the offense with two-hit games while Wolff, Caley, Cheek and senior 1B Aliyah Crawley also recorded hits. Seymour and catcher Reagan Kelly stole bases as well.

GM 2: TWU 6, CC 3

Game two was a marathon that took 10 innings and the international tiebreaker to decide it. CC got on the board first with a Cheek RBI single in the 2nd inning that scored Caley before TWU tied it in the third. Columbia then went up by two runs in the third inning on Crawley's two-run double. Wolff and junior OF Lana Hampson recorded singles ahead of Crawley and came around to score. TWU got to within 3-2 on a solo homer in the 5th before tying it at 3 in the 6th.

Columbia then brought the winning run to third base in the 7th with one out and then 2nd base on a Wolff leadoff double in the 9th but could not bring them home. TWU then scored three runs in the 10th, as each team begins the inning with a runner on second, and went on to shut down CC in the bottom half to get their second comeback win.

Senior starting pitcher Addison Warner threw a career-high 9 and 2/3 innings allowing 3 earned runs (6 overall) on 11 hits while striking out five. Wolff, Crawley and Caley led with doubles while Wolff went 4 for 5 and Crawley 2 for 5. Seymour also singled and stole a base.

Columbia falls to 7-9 overall and 2-2 in the AAC while TWU improves to 4-2 and 3-1 in the conference.

The Koalas will next head on the road to Kentucky on Tuesday and Wednesday to battle KCU Tuesday at 2 pm and Pikeville on Wednesday at 1 pm.