#5 Brenau Softball Burned By Lee
Cleveland, TN - The #5 Brenau University Softball Team was on the road once again, this time making their way to Lee University. After their recent loss, Shorter University clenched the top spot, leaving Brenau to find themselves at 2nd, and Lee with in reaching distance at 3rd, in the Southern States Athletic Conference. Although the Golden Tigers were troubled by the series they had played the night before, they were all in agreement that they needed to put the past behind them, and focus on what they had the ability to control now. Hoping to rally together and come back strong in their next conference game, Brenau found themselves in the regrettable situation of having to bare the appalling taste of defeat once more.
The Lady Flames swept the Golden Tigers in the first game of the series, defeating them with the score of 8-0. Eventhough the Golden Tigers were eager for a re-match during the second game, they fell short of gaining the win. Brenau lost by a single run, 6-5, in the last game of the double header. With that said, the Golden Tigers brought their overall record to 28-6, while being 12-4 in conference. The Lady Flames bumped their record to 20-11, and 11-5 in the SSAC.
In the first game, neither Brenau nor Lee could manage to put a run on the board, within the 1st inning. However, the Lady Flames overwhelmed the Golden Tigers, in the 2nd inning, when they burned them with 7 runs. After Lee took a dramatic lead of 7-0, both teams struggled to earn a single run, for the next 2 innings. It was not until the 5th, and final, inning that another run was scored; unfortunately for Brenau, the Flames shut them out with their final run. As the teams walked off the field, the board behind them lit up with the score, 8-0.
Lana Lazar (Sharpsburg, GA), Brooke Bryant (Royston, GA), and Tiffany Schandera (Columbus, GA) each went 1-1 at the plate, with a single. Both Kristina Reynolds (Bogart, GA) and Sally Duggan (Huntersville, AL) made 1 hit a piece, earning a single for the team. Anna Maness (Seagrove, NC) tried to contribute when she struck out 2 of her conference opponents, but it was not enough seeing that the Golden Tigers never managed to earn a run out of the 5 hits they had.
When the 2nd game began, the Golden Tigers started off strong, attempting to not make the same mistake twice. Brenau was big at the plate, earning 2 runs in the 1st inning, pleased to take the lead at 2-0. The Golden Tigers used the momentum to their advantage, as they acquired another run in the 2nd, watching as Lee had to handle falling behind 3 runs. The 2 teams found themselves at a stalemate, when neither team could gain a single run for 2 whole innings. On the other hand, once the 5th inning rolled around, Lee took their chance; after Brenau left the door wide open by not earning any more runs. The Lady Flames scorched a path around the bases, as they put 5 runs on the board. Throughout the entire 6th inning, Brenau was left looking at the score, which showed that the Lee was now in the lead, 5-3. In the 7th inning, the Golden Tigers were determined to get back on track, and they did just that. 2 runs were made, and Lee had no responseor so they thought. The Lady Flames definitely made sure that their fans got their money's worth because they were tied up 5-5, and waited to the last opportunity to gain the game winning run! With the score 6-5, Lee swept Brenau, for the series, which also brought them closer to Brenau in the SSAC standings.
Schandera tried to get the girls back in high spirits, when she went 3-4 at bat, earning 2 singles and a double. Jacqueline McWhorter (Columbus, GA) made it clear she was not going to give up, going 2-4, with 2 singles and 1 RBI. Reynolds helped them team out with her 2 RBIs, and Maness added another single and 1 strikeout, to her stats. Duggan went 3-4 at the plate, with 3 singles, while Taylor Shrader (Henegar, AL) racked up a homerun and a RBI. Moreover, Jenny Shepherd (Martinez, GA) blazed a trail from the mound to home plate, when she threw 8 strikeouts. For the second game, the team acquired a total of 10 hits, without making any errors.