Mars Hill earns key split with Anderson
Team Stats
Anderson
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill softball team (27-13, 8-8 SAC) split with Anderson (29-9, 12-4 SAC) Saturday afternoon, taking game one, but falling in game two.
GAME ONE: MHU 6, AU 4
Mars Hill scored six unanswered runs to come from behind and take game one versus the Trojans.
Anderson scored four in the first, highlighted by Kadence Barrick's three-run home run. In the bottom half of the frame, the Lions clawed back to within one. Maia Sholter's RBI single plated Alexis Nanney to put the Lions on the board. Jessica Senn, later in the frame, scored both Sholter and Leah Grimes with a two-run single.
Grimes, in the bottom of the fifth, tied the game at four with sacrifice fly that allowed Bri Weimer to score. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Camryn Sterling was struck by an errant pitch, allowing Sadie Cecil to score the go-ahead run. Daci Sarver's fly out to left allowed Sholter to score her second run of the game and the insurance marker for Mars Hill.
After a shaky first inning, Kamryn Akins and the Lions' defense locked in, holding Anderson scoreless for six innings. Akins struck out five, allowing just four hits in the complete game victory, her 13th of the season.
Senn led all players with two hits and led the team with two RBI.
GAME TWO: AU 6, MHU 4
The Trojans responded in the second game, scoring three unanswered runs and capitalizing on five Lions' errors to earn the split.
Tied at four entering the top of the seventh, Shelby Bandt's RBI single pushed Anderson ahead. A Lions' error allowed Carson Hobbs to reach and Bandt to score, building a two-run cushion.
Mars Hill's Jessica Senn opened the scoring with a RBI single in the bottom of the first. After a scoreless second, the Trojans leapfrogged Mars Hill as Kadence Barrick blasted a three-run home run.
A resilient Lions' team tied the game in the bottom of the third as Maia Sholter answered with a two-run home run of her own. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Brooke Hanson drew a walk, allowing Senn to score the go-ahead run.
Bandt led all players with three hits while Barrick led all players with three RBI. Sholter led the team with two RBI while she, Senn, Sadie Cecil, Sydney Hodges, and Leah Grimes each added a hit on the day.
The Lions return to the diamond on Tuesday, April 14 when they face No. 18 Lenoir-Rhyne on the road. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
