BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb wrapped up day two of the Runnin' Bulldog classic 1-1, with one run separating the teams in both games.
To open the action, GWU took down Ohio by a score of 3-2, tallying seven hits and no errors.
Kasey Fava singled in her first trip to the plate.
Annicka McLaughlin moved the runner over and
Andrea Lyon ultimately batted Fava in on a single to left field to give the 'Dogs an early lead.
In the bottom of the fifth,
Adrienne Visintine stole second after being walked. Freshman
Taylor Dreher came up and hit an inside-the-park homerun down the right field line to make the score 3-0.
Kalyn Kyle pitched five innings before allowing a hit in the top of the sixth, when
Alli Stidham came in for the save.
"We got to get some good experience for our freshman pitchers," said head coach
Bailey Wigness. "I thought all of them showed some really good stuff. We are going to need them going forward so it was good for them to get their feet wet out there today."
Fava ended the first game with three hits on four at-bats.
Kayleigh Nicholson,
Taylor Dreher,
Kiara Kennedy, and Lyon were credited with the four other hits.
In Gardner-Webb's second matchup of the day, they faced off against Robert Morris in a game that ended under some rainy conditions.
Robert Morris opened the scoring in the second inning, registering three runs. However, Gardner-Webb would respond with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.
Andrea Lyon homered to left field followed by a single to left center by
Ella Christopher.
Kiara Kennedy got walked and
Alexa Key batted the runners over. Christopher ended up scoring from third on a wild pitch.
In the bottom of the third
Kasey Fava tripled down the left field line.
Annicka McLaughlin walked and stole second and then both runners reached home on a double to centerfield by
Andrea Lyon.
Robert Morris regained the lead in the fifth and added two more runs in the seventh to make it 7-4.
The rain started to pick up as the 'Dogs tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh. With the bases loaded,
Abbey Goodrum was hit by a pitch to score Fava. Christopher batted in McLaughlin on a groundout to second to make it a one-run game, but they were unable to score again.
"I liked our resiliency in the second game. We showed a lot of fight, having the winning run on second after going into the seventh down by three," said Wigness.
Sunday's games were canceled in anticipation of weather conditions.
Gardner-Webb is next in action Friday, February 17
th. The Runnin' Bulldogs will take on Nicholls State and Houston Christian on day one of a three day tournament in Youngsville, Louisiana.
