BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb University softball team battled back from a game one loss to Youngstown State and an early six-run deficit in game two, walking off Furman to split the opening day of the Runnin' Bulldog Classic
Game One - Youngstown State 16, Gardner-Webb 6
GWU opened its annual Runnin' Bulldog Classic on Friday night, with 22 combined runs and 26 combined hits in a 16-6 loss to Youngstown State
The Runnin' Bulldogs got on the board in the bottom of the first, with
Alli Stidham doing just enough on a ground-out to score
Jailyn Tineo for a 1-0 lead. Youngstown State responded with seven unanswered runs over two innings, until Stidham brought home Tineo again in the third. After three, Gardner-Webb found itself in a 7-2 hole.
Gardner-Webb rallied to cut the YSU lead to 8-5 after five innings. After one in the fourth off the bat of
LY Forte, GWU added two in the fifth. One came from a
Reese Collier RBI single, and another after
Maggie Knight reached on an error unearned.
With four runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh, Youngstown State would pull away for a final score of 16-6.
Lauren Spainhower was able to drive in Collier for the final GWU run of the game in the 7th.
Taylor Dreher led Gardner-Webb with three hits in the first game of the day, while Stidham posted a pair of RBI's, and Tineo recorded two hits, two runs and a walk
Game Two - Gardner-Webb 10, Furman 9
Things didn't start well in the late game for Gardner-Webb, with the Dawgs following the loss to Youngstown State by falling into a 7-1 hole after an inning and a half against Furman
Gardner-Webb did rally however and in a big way, scoring multiple runs in three different innings and holding the Paladins to just one in the fifth and seventh each to turn the game on its head
Collier continued a big first day in GWU colors in the first inning, driving home Tineo on a ball hit to left after a comedy of errors in the field allowed Tineo to go first to home, and Collier all the way to third. From 7-1 down, the Dawgs quickly make it 7-4 after an RBI ground-out from
Haley Yeary and a two-RBI single by
Caitlin Colley in the fourth inning
Colley and Collier again came up huge in the bottom of the seventh. Down 9-8 after Furman retook the lead in the top half of the inning, Colley singled to left center allowing Yeary, who reached on error, to score from second and tie the game at 9-9. Collier then delivered the final punch, punching one through the right side to drive in
Annicka McLaughlin, handing the Runnin' Bulldogs a wild 10-9 victory
At the plate, McLaughlin and Collier each finished with three hits, while Collier recorded four RBIs and McLaughlin scored two runs, Colley also finished the game with two hits and three RBIs
In the circle,
Kalyn Kyle picked up the win after 5.0 terrific innings of relief. Kyle allowed two runs, just one earned, scattered five hits, and walked none to hold the Furman offense at bay from the third inning onward
FROM HEAD COACH BAILEY WIGNESS
"We had a rough start in game one and the beginning of game 2two but I am very proud of the way our team battled. We just kept chipping away, never doubted that we were going to win. We've got a lot of things to improve on the rest of the weekend but it was a good win to hopefully get us rolling"
UP NEXT
Gardner-Webb returns to action in the Runnin' Bulldog Classic on Saturday, taking on Youngstown State at 3 pm and Tarleton State at 5:30 pm
