Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Wixom, MI - The Blue Devils softball team played conference opponent, Concordia University (Ann Arbor) in a double header on Saturday. LTU came into this game one spot ahead of CUAA in the WHAC standings, so Saturday's games both were very competitive as both teams try to make moves in the conference standings for their programs. For the most part, Game 1 was a pitching duel between both teams. Not much offense throughout from both organizations. The final score in Game 1 was LTU 6, CUAA 5. Makayla Benz and Madison Shumaker were LTU's pitchers in Game 1. Game 2 pitchers were Clover Brandt, Benz and Shumaker. LTU won Game 2 in extra innings by a final score of 7-8.
LTU ended this game with only 8 hits, 13 K's and 3 Errors.
Game 1 (LTU 6, CUAA 5): The Blue Devils could not get much offense going in this one as they did not find their first hit until the bottom of the 4th off a double from Callie Tatum. The offense finally woke up in the bottom of the 5th off a double to left center from Elizabeth Coon. Next up was leadoff hitter, Sarah Hige where she singled up the middle which then drove in Coon, for the Blue Devils first run of the game. More life from the LTU offense in the 5th inning, where Haley Mazon then came up to the dish, and blasted a 3 run home run to tie the game at 4. In the bottom of the 7th, down 5-4, LTU found themselves a nice rally at the perfect time. A couple hits started off the inning, but Mazon was the hero in the 7th where she was able to single down the left field line to drive in 2 RBI to win the game on a walk off.
How it Happened: Makayla Benz was the Game 1 starting pitcher for the Blue Devils. She finished the game pitching 4.2 innings. Giving up 4 runs on 5 hits, walking 2 batters and only 1 strikeout. Benz faced 20 total batters and gave up 1 HR. Coming in from the bullpen to replace Benz was lefty, Madison Shumaker. Shumaker finished the game pitching a total of 2.1 innings. She gave up 4 hits and only 1 run. She faced a total of 14 batters. The Blue Devils batters finished Game 1 with a team batting average of .296, 6 RBI, 13 KO's on 8 hits.
Game 2 (LTU 7, CUAA 8): Game 2 starter in the circle for LTU was, freshman Clover Brandt. Pretty solid outing for the freshman, where she pitched a total of 62 pitches in 2.2 innings. Brandt gave up 3 runs on 7 hits and finished with 4 strikeouts facing 11 batters. Makayla Benz came in on relief for the Blue Devils to try and grab another win on the day. Benz pitched 2.2 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits. 16 total batters faced. Madison Shumaker was the 3rd pitcher in Game 3. She pitched 2.2 innings. Gave up 3 hits and 1 run. She faced 12 total batters and 2 strikeouts.
How it Happened: Game 2 was back and forth all game. LTU was in some trouble early, but kept the battling and putting pressure on the CUAA defense. Haley Mazon stepped up to the plate tied the game up 3-3 in the bottom of the 3rd as she smashed her second home run of the day! That was her 4th home run of the season (she is the team leader in home runs for LTU). Benz was caught in some trouble in the 4th giving up 2 runs to give CUAA the lead 5-3. With bases loaded in bottom of the 4th, LTU was able to capitalize from a hit by pitch RBI to knot the game up at 5 apiece. CUAA scored 2 runs in the 5th and another in the 7th to take the lead 8-5. LTU was searching for some late game heroics in the 7th down 3. The Blue Devils found themselves scoring 2 runs late off of an RBI single from Sidney Croskey and another RBI single from Katie Courneya. It just wasn't enough as LTU fell short 8-7 in a close game.
The teams batting average was .419. 13 total hits and only 2 errors. Blue Devils went 4-11 with runners in scoring position
On Deck: The Blue Devils (8-7) is back on the diamond, Sunday, March 28th at home where they host Cleary University. The game will be played at Total Sports Complex in Wixom, Michigan. The first pitch for Game 1 is scheduled for 1 PM. Game 2 first pitch is scheduled for 3 PM.
