MONTGOMERY, Ala.- The Gardner-Webb softball team lost both of its games on Saturday afternoon at the Alabama State Hornet Invitational.
The Runnin' Bulldogs were tied with Akron 1-1 entering the seventh inning, but the Zips scored for runs in the final inning to top GWU 5-1, and Eastern Kentucky scored two runs in the first and third inning to go on for the 4-1 victory.
Gardner-Webb struggled at the plate on Saturday afternoon, batting .109 as a team and achieving an on-base percentage of just .196. The Runnin' Bulldogs collected just five hits in 49 plate appearances.
Amanda Gomes and Jill Blank both had solid days at the plate for the Dogs, as they both batted .333 for the day. Gomes went 2-6 with a home run and an RBI, while Blank was 1-3 with an RBI and two walks.
Gardner-Webb 1, Akron 5
Devyn Terry got the nod for GWU against the Zips, and the freshman pitcher tossed a complete-game scattering 10 hits and struck out one. Erin Seiler earned her fourth win of the season for Akron, allowing just four hits and striking out 12 in a complete-game performance.
Gomes launched a solo home-run in the second inning, her third of the season, to give the Runnin' Bulldogs a 1-0 lead, but Akron came right back in the top of the third, as the first batter of the inning tied the game at one with a solo home-run.
The score would remain the same until the seventh inning. Terry got the first bater of the inning to ground out, and after allowing a single to Fruin, recorded the second out of the inning on a fly ball to center field. The Zips managed four runs on five hits in the seventh, and Seiler sent GWU down in order to send Akron to the 5-1 victory.
Gardner-Webb 1, Eastern Kentucky 4
Summer Darnell started the game for the Runnin' Bulldogs and the sophomore allowed just four hits in six innings of work, and struck out nine. Darnell has been impressive in her last two starts, combining for 20 strikeouts.
Hayley Flynn and Alex Sallberg allowed just one hit by Gardner-Webb, and the two pitchers for the Colonials combined for 14 strikeouts.
The Colonials took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first scoring their first run on a wild pitch and pushed the second run across home plate on a sacrifice.
Blank drew a walk with the bases loaded to cut the defecit to one, but Eastern Kentucky added two more runs in the bottom of the third and went on for the 4-1 victory.
Gardner-Webb concludes the Alabama State tournament on Sunday, when it faces Nebraska-Omaha at 12:00 p.m.
