Birmingham, Ala. – Western Carolina softball continued its weekend at the Green & Gold Classic on Saturday, dropping both ends of a nontraditional doubleheader in tournament play. The Catamounts fell to Bradley, 3-1, in the opener before dropping a 12-3 result to the host Blazers at Mary Bowers Field.
Tessa Juett led the Catamounts at the plate on Saturday with a three-hit game that included a triple against Bradley before tallying a double in the setback at UAB. Freshman Sydney Dirks also joined the multi-hit column with base hits in both games, reaching base safely four times over her six plate appearances. Savannah Baldwin and Kennedy Stewman each recorded doubles in the second game of the day against the Blazers.
Game One – Bradley 3, Western Carolina 1
Bradley scored three unanswered runs after Western Carolina had grabbed an early lead, breaking the 1-1 tie with a sixth-inning, two-run double as the Braves scored the 3-1 victory over the Catamounts on Saturday morning.
Western Carolina (2-4) lit the scoreboard in the opening frame as Lily Bell reached on an error and stole second to put a runner in scoring position. The next two hitters reached as Maya McPherson drew a free pass and Dirks loaded the bases with an infield single. WCU pushed the run across on a Braves error that allowed Bell to score to give WCU the 1-0 lead.
Earning the start in the circle, Juett kept Bradley off the scoreboard in the second after the Braves used two singles and hit by a pitch to load the bases but did not score. Juett tried to help her own cause in the home half of the frame with a triple but was stranded on the basepaths.
Bradley (2-6) evened the score at one in the third with a one-out RBI single before the Catamounts limited the damage, turning their first of three double plays to keep the score even at one.
Both teams went quietly in the third and fourth innings after the Bradley RBI base knock, as only Juett reached base with a single during those two frames but was left stranded. In the fifth, Bradley got its first two baserunners on before a WCU double play erased the traffic for WCU.
The Braves took their first lead in the sixth inning with a two-run double that put Bradley ahead, 3-1. WCU looked to mount a rally in the sixth with both KJ Ammons and Juett both singling, but neither could score as a strikeout and a fielder's choice kept the deficit at two.
Both teams went 1-2-3 in the seventh as Bradley was able to claim the 3-1 victory on Saturday morning in the Green & Gold Classic.
Makenzie Martin (0-3) was tagged with the loss, allowing the two-run double in the sixth that proved to be the difference in the contest. She allowed three total hits with a strikeout and a walk in the relief appearance. Juett opened Saturday's action by scattering six hits and allowing one run in three innings but didn't factor into the decision.
Abbott Badgley (1-2) went the distance for Bradley, allowing five hits and one unearned run as she totaled eight strikeouts for the Braves en route to her first win of the season.
Game Two – UAB 12, Western Carolina 3 (5 Innings)
UAB used a seven-run second inning on Saturday afternoon to create the separation that proved to be the difference as the host Blazers earned the 12-3 victory over the Catamounts in five innings.
The Blazers got the offense going in the first inning with a two-run double followed by an RBI on fielder's choice, allowing the hosts to gain an early lead after one inning. Western Carolina responded in the second with a fielder's choice allowing Dirks to score before an RBI single from Wells cut the UAB advantage to one, 3-2, headed to the bottom of the second.
UAB (6-7) answered, though, in a big way in the home half of the frame with seven runs that started with a three-run homer before an RBI double. The inning was capped with a two-run single and RBI triple, allowing the Blazers to race the lead to 10-2 through two.
After a third inning that saw both teams go 1-2-3, Dirks got the bats going in the fourth with a leadoff single. Two batters later, Stewman doubled down the left field line. Becka Wonsick got the Catamounts back in the run column with a sacrifice fly.
UAB answered in its half of the inning with a two-run scoring play after a WCU error to push the lead back to nine, 12-3.
In the fifth, WCU was down to its final out of the afternoon before the run-rule. Baldwin's double was followed by an infield single from McPherson before Dirks was able to draw a walk to load the bases. However, WCU left them full after a foul out ended the game as UAB earned the 12-3 win in five innings.
Taylor Norton (1-1) pitched three innings, allowing six runs and three earned runs over three innings as Norton allowed five hits. Norton recorded two strikeouts on Saturday at the start of her first season. Juett appeared in the matchup with UAB, tagged with six runs in an inning of work.
Caitlin Russell (2-2) tossed the complete game, allowing three runs and two earned runs, scattering seven hits over five innings for the Blazers. She tallied one strikeout and allowed a pair of walks to score the victory.
The Catamounts finish their slate at the Green & Gold Classic on Sunday with the first pitch set for 9:30 a.m. / 8:30 a.m. CT in a rematch with Bradley from Mary Bowers Field in Birmingham, Ala. Sunday's game will have live stats via CatamountSports.com.
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