MACON, Ga. -- The Morehead State Softball Eagles fought back from down 2-1 in the fifth inning with a five-run rally to knock off the Bryant Bulldogs 6-3 Friday in their first game of the Mercer Bear Invitational. MSU handed Bryant its first loss of of the season after it started 4-0.
Offensively, the Eagles (4-2) were led by Trinity Spear, who went 1-for-3 on the day with her second home run of the year, a walk and two RBI. Freshman Sela Pickford connected on her first career home run. Junior Darlene Montoya also chipped in for Morehead State, putting together three hits in four trips to the plate while adding a double - her sixth two-bagger of the young season. In six games, Montoya has an eye-opening .524 batting average.
Sophomore pitcher Jessie Begley (2-0) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Morehead State (4-2). The right-hander went four innings, giving up two runs, on four hits, allowing two walks and striking out a season-best five. Freshman Addie Stem also made an impact in the circle for the Eagles, starting the ballgame and throwing three innings, giving up just one hit, with three walks and three strikeouts. Bryant starter Kylie Kenney (1-1) pitched six and two-thirds innings, allowing four runs, six hits and three walks. She also struck out 11. Caroline Paolantonio came in to pitch in the sixth, but after facing five batters over one-third of an inning in which she surrendered two earned runs and three walks, without allowing a hit or striking out a batter, was removed in favor of Kenney.
"We started off a little slow at the plate. Trinity hit a home run to get us on the board and we kept building from there," MSU coach Megan Griffith said. "Darlene had a stellar game at the plate going 4-5. Ilencia (Lightbody) was on with three walks in a row and Sela hit her first home run as an Eagle. Defense played very well with an errorless game."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing 1-0, the Eagles first put runs on the board in the fifth inning. Spear put Morehead State on the board with a two-out, solo home run.
"With today's game i just wanted to take every pitch and every at bat at a time, and making sure that I'm calm and relaxed within the batters box," Spear said. "And with my home run today, it's really surprising to me as before I hit it I'm just telling myself to make contact . And the pitch that was thrown was middle inside, and once I connected with the ball and heard the crack of the bat, I just knew that it was over and I was already praising God for letting me to enjoy this game!"
The Bulldogs broke the tie and re-took the lead on a sacrifice fly heading into the sixth inning, when the Eagles got back on the scoreboard. The Morehead State offense exploded for five runs. Pickford led off with a game-tying home run on the first pitch of the inning. With the bases loaded, pinch hitter Emily Williams was plunked by a pitch, scoring Montoya with the go-ahead run. Maddy Christopher and Spear then patiently drew bases-loaded walks, and Samantha Cervantes scored on a wild pitch to complete the five-run flurry.
Bryant put one run on the scoreboard in the sixth on a home run, but Begley worked a perfect seventh to preserve the Eagles' fourth win of 2024.
GAME NOTES
» Montoya picked up three hits in the game for Morehead State.
» Begley struck out five Bulldogs hitters.
» The Eagles out-hit the Bulldogs at a 6-5 clip.
» Morehead State pitchers limited Bryant to 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
» Morehead State pitchers faced 35 Bryant hitters in the game, allowing seven ground balls and six fly balls while striking out eight.
» The Eagles drew six walks from Bryant pitching.
UP NEXT
MSU faces host Mercer at 6:30 p.m. Friday night.
