Eagles and Bears Split in Clash of Ranked Squads
By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media
Photo Courtesy of Karl Moore, Mooreshots Photos
CLEVELAND, Ga. – A battle within the NAIA top 20 and the upper portion of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) went all-square on Tuesday night as both No. 8 Reinhardt and No. 20 Truett McConnell (Ga.) took a victory in its favor, 3-1 and 5-4, respectively.
The Eagles (28-8, 12-4 AAC) earned the first outing thanks to runs in the middle innings, while the Bears came from behind to walk-off the opposition in the bottom of the seventh with two outs.
"We are never happy losing, but based on how we've been the past few weeks, we figured some things out tonight," head coach Jade Geuther said. "We were locked in from the start and throughout… We executed things we worked on in practice. We played like a top team in the country tonight; and so did Truett. That was a national tournament atmosphere and we are getting to the point where we can talk about things like that.
"All that being said, we have to come out at Bluefield and St. Andrews later this week and bring the same thing we brought tonight; but for the time being, I'm pleased with where we are at."
Game 1, W (3-1)
- Reinhardt was able to open up a 3-0 advantage after four innings – one tally in the third (Emily Loveless RBI-double) and two in the fourth (an error and a sacrifice bunt) – before a single broke up the shutout in the bottom of the fifth.
- Hits were hard to come by in game one as both squads combined for seven total knocks.
- Reagen Radke was calm in front of a lively crowd as she threw a complete-game three-hitter after going seven frames and striking out three.
- Bethany Hyde for the Bears was strong in the circle as well, as she also went seven innings and struck out five in the loss.
- Four teammates had individual hits each in the win, and on the bases, the Eagles swiped a pair of bags.
Game 2, L (5-4)
- It seemed like the hits were coming fast and furious in the second outing, as both teams gathered 11 knocks in the nightcap. The hometown team was able to keep the momentum moving into the second contest as it scored a pair of runs on a fielder's choice and an RBI-groundout.
- Ahead, 2-0, the Eagles were unable to generate any scores until late. During that time, the Bears cut their deficit by one on an RBI-groundout, and then took the lead in the bottom of the fourth on a 2-RBI double to deep right-center field.
- All would be quiet until the seventh inning caused the fans to get on their feet the rest of the night. Megan Huss hushed the crowd for a moment with a 2-RBI single to regain the advantage, 4-3, moving to the bottom of the seventh.
- After one out, a single (then another out), an intentional walk and another base-hit tied the scoreboard at 4-4. The very next batter ripped victory away from the Eagles for good as an error caused the winning run to race home.
- Alise Hooks and Emily Loveless both collected three hits and a pair of runs in game two.
Competition in the month of March is finished, so now it's time to turn the page to a six-game road swing – against three AAC teams – that begins on Thursday at Bluefield (Va.).
First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
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