Lady Pioneers win twice to close out Pioneer Classic

March 26, 2022

by Dustin Semore, Sports Information Director

JONESBORO, Ark. – Crowley's Ridge College softball came out on the winning end of two heart-pounding games. First, the Lady 'Neers the escaped Southwestern Christian (Okla.) University Eagles by clinging to a one-run lead for the 2-1 victory. Then the girls in green made the most out of a five-error sixth inning from Ecclesia (Ark.) College en route to a 13-6 final.

Game One

Southwestern Christian – 1

Crowley's Ridge – 2

Crowley's Ridge (6-15, 0-2 CAC) started the day with a pitcher's duel with both teams combining for nine hits. The Lady Pioneers struck first in the bottom of the fourth inning when April Kennedy led off the inning with a walk. Rachel Russell then sacrificed herself to move Kennedy into scoring position; however, a throwing error not only allowed Russell to reach but moved Kennedy to third. With Kennedy a mere 60 feet away from the dish, Layne Tedder's groundout allowed the first run to cross.

Southwestern Christian (11-12, 3-11 SAC) thought they had seen the go-ahead run go over the center-field fence, but Kennedy flashed the leather by not only robbing the home run but also by tumbling over the fence while maintaining possession to keep the Eagles scoreless.

Riding high from her web gem, Kennedy then shot a single down the right-field line, eventually scoring on Kylie Cox's RBI single up the middle.

Shelby Elrod (4-7) earned the victory by tossing a 6 2/3 inning shutout with the lone run from the Eagles being unearned.

Five different Lady Pioneers collected the hits, with Bailey Jones and Russell joining Cox, Kennedy, and Tedder in the hit column.

Game Two

Ecclesia – 6

Crowley's Ridge –13

The Lady Pioneers (7-15, 0-2 CAC) and their counterparts from Ecclesia waited until the late innings to do a majority of the scoring in a wild win for the girls in green.

CRC took an early 1-0 lead over the Lady Royals (3-17) when Bailey Jones's two-out single turned into a run after Shelby Elrod singled to left field, allowing Jones's courtesy runner in McKenzie Crofford to touch home plate.

Lacey Lambright-Southern drove in a pair of insurance runs on a single to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning after Kylie Cox and Maddie Reed both reached safely.

That's when things got interesting.

Ecclesia scored six runs in the top of the sixth inning. Five of those runs were unearned after what would have been the third out extended the inning to allow for two singles and a double from the Royals to score six.

Undeterred, Brooklyn Melson led off the inning with a walk before Shelby Elrod's single drove her in. With Elrod and Lambright-Southern on base, Dru Bryant beat a throw to first, but the attempt found its way errantly rolling down the right-field line to score two. Bryant would later score on April Kennedy's RBI single. A bases-loaded hit-by-pitch brought in the fifth run of the inning. Batting around, Lambright-Southern drove in a run on a single up the middle that went through the wickets of the centerfielder to plate two runs and saw Lambright-Southern standing on third.

Back-to-back errors from the Royals had two more runs score for the Lady Pioneers to score 10 runs on five hits and as many errors.

Abby Ewing (1-0) earned her first collegiate victory in two innings of relief after Halea Wells gave up two runs in a no-decision.

CRC tallied 13 hits in game two, led by Lambright-Southern's 4-for-4 day at the plate and collecting three RBIs. Elrod had a productive day of her own, tallying three hits and driving in two runs. Russell also added a pair of hits.

Up Next

The Lady Pioneers will not have long to rest from the four-game weekend, traveling to Columbia, Missouri for a doubleheader with Stephens (Mo.) College. The first pitch from Battle High School's softball field will be thrown at 12:00 p.m.