CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The (RV) Campbellsville Lady Tiger Softball team hosted Bethel University in their last home series on Tuesday afternoon. The Lady Tiger's 16-game win streak came to an end with a game one loss but came back to win game two.
Game one: Campbellsville 7, Bethel 9
With one out, Lexi Miller singled down the left field line to get things started for the Lady Tigers. Ryley Whitney reached base via walk and advanced Miller to second base. Miller and Whitey were left stranded on base to go into the second inning.
Taylor Windell reached first base on an infield error but caught in a base-running error for the second out. Ryleigh Oldham reached base after being hit by a pitch. Ashby Murt singled to left field and advanced Oldham to second. Riley Hurst was sent to base via walk and loaded the bases for the Lady Tigers. With a full count, Miller tripled with a pitch sent over the right-fielder's head and scored all three Lady Tigers. Whitney doubled on an error from the right-fielder and scored Miller. The Lady Tigers took a four-run lead over the Wildcats heading to the third inning.
The Wildcats put a runner on second base after an outfielder's error. Another Wildcat reached base off an infielder's error and scored their first run of the ball game. With two more hits from the Wildcats, they sent two runners across the plate to cut the Lady Tiger's four-run lead to just one-run. With two outs, Katy Chadwell struck out the Bethel batter out to keep the Wildcats from tying the game.
During the sixth inning, Chadwell and the Lady Tigers' defense put away all three of the Wildcats in three up, three down fashion. In the seventh inning, the Wildcats hit back-to-back singles to put two runners on base. With another single through the left side, the Wildcats sent the tying run across the plate. A double to center field brought two more runners across the plate to take a two-run lead over the Lady Tigers. With an intentional walk from Chadwell, the Wildcats had two runners on base. Before the final out was made, the Wildcats sent three more runners home to take a 9-4 advantage. In the bottom half of the inning, Miller sent a pitch over the left field fence for a solo home run. Whitney single to right field to land on first base. Peyton Blades singled down the left field line and advanced Whitney to second base. Emily Reynolds came in to pinch run for Blades. Windell singled to left field to score Whitney and advanced Reynolds to third. Sam McKee singled to the pitcher to score Reynolds and advance Windell to second. Unfortunately, the Lady Tigers fell to the Wildcats, 9-7.
In the first game, the Lady Tigers had nine total hits with two belonging to Miller. Chadwell threw 145 total pitches with a .600 strike percentage.
Game two: Campbellsville 10, Bethel 7
Karson Williams struck out the first Wildcat batter of the ball game. Williams and the Lady Tigers' defense put away the Wildcats in a quick top half of the first inning. Hurst sent a pitch over the left field fence for a lead-off home run and gave the Lady Tigers an early one-run lead. Following that, Miller reached base via walk and Whitney singled down the left field line to advance Miller to second base. Blades then sent a pitch over the left field fence for a three-run home run. After just 20 pitches, the Wildcats made a pitching change and Davis singled down the left field line. Windell reached based off an infielder's error and pushed Davis to second. The Lady Tigers loaded the bases with one out after Oldham was walked. With another at-bat but a different pitcher faced in the same inning, Hurst singled to center field to score Davis and Windell and advance Oldham to second base. The Lady Tigers took an early six-run lead over the Wildcats in the first inning.
After two infield errors, the Wildcats put two runners on base to begin the second inning. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position. A slap-hit to center field sent in both runners for the Wildcats. Two more Wildcats made their way around the bases before Whitney tagged the final out at home. During the third inning, two more runners found their way around the bases for the Wildcats to tie the game at 6. Oldham found her way to the bases with a lead-off walk. Hadlee Carter laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Oldham up to second base. Hurst singled to shortstop and advanced Oldham into scoring position at third. A sacrifice fly from Miller sent Oldham in to score and gave the Lady Tigers a one-run lead.
Williams struck out the first Wildcat batter to begin the fourth inning. With one out, the Wildcats loaded the bases and scored the tying run after a walk. Blades and Williams made the final two outs to keep the Wildcats from sending anymore runners across the plate. The Lady Tigers were put away in a three up, three down style to go into the fifth inning. An error gave the Wildcats a base runner and another opportunity to take the lead int the fifth inning. On a wild pitch, the Wildcats moved the runner into scoring position at second base. With two outs and a runner on third base, the Lady Tigers' defense made the final out of the top half of the fifth inning.
Hurst sent a pitch to the center field fence for a lead-off double in the sixth inning. A four-pitch walk sent Whitney to first base and left runners on the corners for the Lady Tigers. Knowles came in to pinch run for Whitney. For the second time in the ball game, Blades sent a pitch of the left field fence for a three-run home run. The Lady Tigers took a three-run lead over the Wildcats to go into the seventh inning. During the seventh frame, the Lady Tigers put away the Wildcats in three quick outs to end the ball game. The Lady Tigers took a 10-7 victory over the Wildcats.
The Lady Tigers had nine hits with four belonging to Hurst. Williams pitched 131 total pitches with a .656 strike percentage.
The Lady Tigers will be back in action on Friday afternoon in a double-header against Shawnee State University. The first game is set to begin at 2 p.m. ET.
