Softball Comes Up Just Short of a Series Sweep of Flagler
The UNCP Softball team capped off their weekend of doubleheaders with Peach Belt Conference opponents on Sunday with a twinbill against the Saints of Flagler College on Senior Day. The Braves put 24 hits through both contests, 10 of which came as extra-base hits. They split the doubleheader winning the first game 4-2 and dropping the first game in extra innings 13-11. Prior to their victory in game one, they had dropped four-straight bouts with the Saints. “There’s no easy innings in the Peach Belt [Conference]. Our motto today was ‘Toughness Sunday’ and there’s just no single inning that you can take a break or take a day off or do anything to make it better. You just got to fight through it, and you can see everybody ha fight,” said Head Coach Brittany Bennett. Game 1: The Braves got on the board first in the bottom of the second and would not trail the rest of the way after a stand up double from Kaitlynn Norton brought in Jordan Adcox and Alex Watkins to give them an early 2-0 lead. A solo homer over left field from Cam Davis in the fourth and Chole’ Radford advanced to home plate following Mary Sells getting reached on a fielder’s in the fifth to put the team up 4-0. Game 2: The Braves looked to have the sweep well in hand through five innings thanks to some explosive offense in the first and third frame in which they put up four runs in each. Unfortunately, their red-hot bats went stone cold over the next four innings as the Saints rallied back to tie the game and eventually win it in extra innings. “You hate to be on the losing side of a game like that. You always want to try to win in extras [innings], but we had every opportunity to do it,” said Bennett. “I’m just generally so proud of the way the girls played today. You can not tell me they ever quit fighting and they play hard for each other and they play hard for our coaches.” Freshman slugger Cam Davis might have earned herself a catchy nickname in “Grand Slam Davis” after two of her home runs over the past two days came when the bases were loaded. Her homer in the bottom of the first in game two cleared the bases and put the Braves up 4-2. “She just puts us in a position to score runs. Even when she miss hits the ball, it goes over the fence…I want her to keep working, keep getting better in the box and keep doing as best as she can because she gives us a lot right now,” said Bennett.
