Softball Splits With Lyon College

Softball Splits with Lyon College- Wil Teague, Sports Information Director, 2-24-24

Softball left campus early this morning to travel down to Batesville, Ark to take on the NCAA DIII Lyon College in a non-conference double-header matchup. CRC, looking to get back on the right track being on a two-game losing streak, would find their answer in the opening game but would fall in game two. Both contest's outcomes would be decided in the final inning for the dramatic photo finish.  

Game One: 

Crowley's Ridge- 5

Lyon College- 3

Batesville, Ark.- The opening game against the Scots would be relatively quiet besides two innings of play where both teams scored all of their runs. CRC took the advantage over Lyon College as Hannah Burk drove in Piper Farmer in the top of the fourth but the Pioneer satisfaction wouldn't last as the Scots reclaimed the lead with their half of the inning, scoring three runs. Both teams remained at a standstill until the junior Bailey Cupples brought the Lady Pioneers to life with her first nuke of the season to center field in the top of the 7th inning, bringing the Scot's lead to one, 3-2. The team rallied around Cupples's bomb to retake the lead 5-3 thanks to three more Pioneer baserunners reaching home. Starting pitcher Shelby Elrod drove in two of the next three with her 2 RBI single setting up Piper Farmer to put the ball in play, grounding out to first, but scoring Angel Johnson. Elrod claimed her second win of the season by shutting the Scots down in the bottom of the 7th, capping her third complete game.  

Elrod gave up 3 runs on 4 hits while walking 3 and striking out 4 over 7.0 innings. The Pioneers produced 5 runs on 6 hits. Cupples, Elrod, Dru Bryant, Burk, Maddie Reed, and Farmer all had one hit in the contest. 

Game Two: 

Crowley's Ridge- 5

Lyon College- 6

Batesville, Ark.- The second contest of the day would see more action as each team smashed out nine hits over the 7-inning contest but the big similarity between the games would be the decisive 7th inning. Senior Maddie Reed broke the floodgates for CRC as the Oklahoma native claimed the first Pioneer RBI by driving in Ashton Drake in the top of the third. Three more Pioneers quickly followed suit with Bailey Cupples, Hannah Burk, and Brooklynn Melson all singling and collecting their RBIs as the Pioneer lead extended to 4-0. The Scots wouldn't retake the lead in a big way but otherwise slowly wore the Pioneers down as they added a run here and there with Scots reaching home in the third, fifth, and sixth innings. CRC would tally up one last run in the top of the 7th thanks to a botched grounder by the Scots allowing the Pioneers to enter the game's final three outs now up 5-3. Achingly, the Scots copycatted the Pioneer's 7th inning game one performance as Lyon scored one and then rallied around it. CRC tried to extinguish the fire by making a last-minute pitching change but the script was already written with the Scots completing the comeback with a walk-off single to right field, defeating CRC 6-5.

Halea Wells started the contest for the Pioneers going 5.0 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits for the no-decision. Bailee Duhme is credited with the loss as the sophomore relieved Wells tossing 1.1 innings, and surrendering 3 runs on 2 hits. Ashton Drake was perfect in the game going (3-3), Hannah Burk added two hits with her (2-4) game and Bailey Cupples drove in 2 RBI going (1-4). 

Up Next: Softball picks up a midweek matchup on Tuesday, February 27th with a doubleheader against Ecclesia College in Springdale, Ark. #GOPIONEERS