Koala Softball Punches Ticket to Conference Tournament with Split at Bluefield

BLUEFIELD, Va. - The Columbia College softball team earned a split at Bluefield University on Saturday winning game two in extra innings to punch their ticket to next week's conference tournament as the #10 seed.

Bluefield rallied to take game one 4-1 over the Koalas while CC came back from an early 5-run deficit in game two to win 9-7 in 10 innings. The win was Columbia's fifth in their past six games.

GAME 2

Freshman Reliever Nealy Lockner (5-2) came on in the 2nd inning in relief of game two junior starter Maddie Vaughn and proceeded to throw the final 9 innings, her career-high, allowing just two runs on 3 hits while walking three and striking out four to pick up the much-needed win for the Koalas.

Columbia totaled 10 hits in the win led by four women with multiple hits as junior 2B Joni Littlejohn led with 3 RBI and two hits. Freshman OF Krislyn Wilder also recorded a triple and RBI among her two hits while SS Ashlynn Wolff and DH Karmen Christie also registered multi-hit games and combined for five runs scored. Sophomore 3B Elaina Seymour also drove in two runs with a single in the 4th and a groundout in the 10th that made it 9-7.

Bluefield scored five runs off Vaughn in the first inning before Wilder's RBI triple and Seymour's single made it 2-5 after four innings. Littlejohn then scored on a wild pitch in the 5th as CC trailed 6-3 after five innings. However, Littlejohn's big three-run bases-clearing double in the 6th tied the game at six apiece giving the Koalas new life. A sacrifice bunt from Christie in the 7th then drove in Wolff for the go-ahead run before BU hit a solo homer in the bottom half to send the game to extras.

Columbia then scored the game-winning run in the 10th inning as an error from Bluefield on Christie's batted ball scored T. Bakken from second base. A sac bunt from 1B Ashlyn Blackstone then moved Christie to third before scoring on Seymour's groundout. Lockner then got the Rams to line into a double play to end the game.

GAME 1

First game starter, senior Ally Boyd (3-11) was tossing a two-hit shutout thru five innings before BU got to her in the sixth hitting two home runs to take a 4-1 lead. Boyd finished throwing 5 and 1/3 innings permitting four runs on six hits while striking out four and walking none. Lockner finished out the inning striking out one and allowing a hit.

The Koalas scored their lone run in the 5th as Littlejohn led off with a single and stole second before coming around to score on a Ram error on KB Wilder's batted ball. Wilder then stole second and advanced to third on DH Karmen Christie's single. However, a hard hit lineout ended the threat. Junior Outfielder Takeirra Bakken led with two hits and a walk while junior Ashlynn Wolff and senior OF Lana Hampson also singled.

The Koalas improve to 23-23 overall and finish 9-17 in the conference to earn the 10th seed at the AAC Tournament, which begins on Monday, April 27 in Kingsport, TN. Bluefield falls to 10-36 and 6-18 in the AAC.

Pitcher Ally Boyd pictured below