Reinhardt splits doubleheader with Truett McConnell, answers Game 1 loss with six-run rally in nightcap

WALESKA, Ga. - Reinhardt dropped the opener 2-1 before answering with an 8-7 comeback win in Game 2 of Wednesday's softball doubleheader against Truett McConnell, using a six-run sixth inning in the nightcap to salvage a split at home.

The decisive stretch of the day came late in the second game. After Truett McConnell built a 7-1 lead through five innings, the Eagles flipped the game in the bottom of the sixth. Hallee Shirley delivered two hits and two RBIs in the win, and Taylor Wade added a home run with two RBIs as Reinhardt pushed across seven runs in the inning and moved in front 8-7. The Eagles then held that margin through the final frame to close the doubleheader on a high note.

Game 1 turned on small moments. Truett McConnell struck first in the top of the second when Morgan Kacalek doubled to right and Alyssa Crump followed with an RBI single for a 1-0 lead. Reinhardt answered in the fourth. Emily Pettit came around to score on Molly Stevens' double to left, tying the game at 1-1. But Truett McConnell regained the lead in the fifth when Emme Souter reached on an error that allowed the go-ahead run to score.

Reinhardt actually finished with more hits in the opener, 5-4, but could not turn that edge into another run. Stevens accounted for the Eagles' lone RBI, while Pettit scored the team's only run. Truett McConnell pitcher Elizabeth Bennett went the distance, allowing one run on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts in a complete-game win. Reinhardt committed the game's only error, and that proved to be the difference in the one-run result.

The nightcap unfolded much differently. Truett McConnell put together the bigger early offense, collecting 11 hits and four doubles while scoring once in the fourth and six more times in the fifth to take control. Grace Folds had two hits, two runs and a double for Truett McConnell, while Kacalek finished with two hits, two RBIs and a double. Cassie Boatright also drove in two runs as the visitors carried a six-run cushion into the bottom of the sixth.

Reinhardt did more with fewer chances in Game 2, scoring eight runs on five hits. Wade's two-run homer helped ignite the comeback, and Shirley's production in the middle of the rally helped erase the deficit. The Eagles overcame two errors and turned a game that appeared out of reach into a split of the twin bill. After falling by a run in the opener, Reinhardt's answer came in one decisive burst in the sixth inning.