CLINTON, S.C.- The Presbyterian College softball team had to work their way to two wins on Saturday afternoon on day two of the Scotsman Invitational, but the Blue Hose were able to prevail to push their win streak to 13 games behind a 3-0 win over St. Peter's and a 1-0 walk-off past Youngstown St.
Game 1 – St. Peter's
After a 10-1 win over the Peacocks on Friday, Presbyterian was set to play them in their first game of two on Saturday. PC got on the board quickly in the bottom of the 1
st as
Layna Johnson led things off with a double. She was brought home by a triple from
Kaitlyn Tucker, and Tucker scored on a sac fly from
Lath Freeman. Presbyterian attempted to add on more with a pair of singles from
Jillian Hewes and
Rebecca Clark, but two is all they would get.
Morgan Hess was doing her thing in the circle as she struck out three of the first six Peacocks, and worked around a walk to get six of the next seven batters. Presbyterian had runners on 1
st and 2
nd in the bottom of the 4
th, but nothing would come of it as the teams went down 1-2-3 in the 5
th. After two girls reached for PC in the bottom of the 6
th, Johnson ripped one to third which loaded the bases. Tucker would draw a walk which allowed a run to score to go up 3-0. Freeman would fly out to end the inning, but that was enough run support for Hess as she went through St. Peter's in the top of the 7
th to close out the game.
Game 2 – Youngstown St.
Game two was much tougher for PC as they were facing Youngstown St.'s top pitcher. Presbyterian thought they had something going in the 1
st inning as the first two batters reached base. With nobody out, the Penguins' pitcher got out of it to end the threat.
Jenna Greene was on to pitch game two as she punched out five of the first six outs. Youngstown St. threatened in the 3
rd, but with runners on 2
nd and 3
rd, Greene got two straight outs to get out of it. PC had their own chance in the 3
rd with runners on 1
st and 2
nd, but with two outs they couldn't get anything done. The bottom of the 4
th was even closer for the Blue Hose as they had the bases loaded, but once again the Penguins were able to get out of the jam. Youngstown St. had their most opportunistic chance in the final frame, getting the first two runners to 2
nd and 3
rd. With the go-ahead run looming, Greene fanned three straight to send her team to bat for a potential walk-off. That's exactly what would happen as Tucker and Freeman both reached on walks. The faster
Kara Starnes would pinch run for Freeman, and after a Hewes fielder's choice, Hess forced one into left field and Starnes came around to score for the winning run, lifting PC's win streak to 13 games.
Notables
- After dropping their first three games of the season, Presbyterian has extended its longest win streak in program history to 13 games.
- The win over Youngstown St. is Presbyterian's first official walk-off since 2020 when they defeated Butler in 12 innings, 4-3.
- The Blue Hose continue to be lightning quick on the base paths, stealing five bases over the two games, sending their season total to 30-32.
- Jenna Greene tied her season-high in strikeouts against Youngstown St., punching out 14 Penguins through seven innings.