Softball splits doubleheader at day two of Flagler Invite for first win of 2024

St. Augustine, Fla. —- The Catawba College softball team picked up its first victory of the season on Saturday evening, defeating Florida Tech 6-5 after an extra-inning loss versus Barry earlier in the afternoon.

GAME ONE | Barry 4, Catawba 3 - F/8

TEAM STATS

- Barry out-hit Catawba 11-7

- Each team had an extra-base hit; Catawba had the lone homer

- Both teams committed an error

- Barry had the lone stolen base in the game

- The Buccaneers' pitchers allowed three earned runs on seven hits, striking out nine and walking four; the Catawba Indians' staff allowed four earned runs on 11 hits, striking out five and walking one

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Bri Herring went 2-for-3 with a homer, her first as a Catawba Indian 

- Aniyah King singled, walked and scored a run

- Kary Hales and Bri Gallagher added singles and scored a run and drove one in, respectively

- Alex Baquie allowed four earned runs on 11 hits in 6.1 innings

- Riley Tucker provided one hitless inning in relief

HOW IT HAPPENED

SECOND INNING

- Herring hit a two-out solo blast to give Catawba an early lead

FOURTH INNING

- King and Hales both singled to start the fourth inning

- Gallagher singled through the left side to double the lead

- With the bases loaded and one out, Kinsley Caldwell drove in another run on a sacrifice fly

- In the bottom half, the Bucs got their first two batters on base, but Baquie forced a double play to quiet the frame

SIXTH INNING

- Paige White hit a two-out double to trim Barry's deficit to a single run

SEVENTH INNING

- Catawba loaded the bases with one out, but a grounder to shortstop brought the throw home and the Buccaneers escaped the jam with no damage on the next at-bat

- BU got its first runner on and two bunts moved the runner to third

- Taylor Thompson singled to score the game-tying run

- With the bases loaded and one out, Baquie struck out a Buc before forcing a flyout to send the game to extras

EIGHTH INNING

- Catawba hit back-to-back singles to start the eighth, but Barry retired the next three

- Mac Stone-Folmar recorded a walk-off bunt single in the bottom half

GAME TWO | Catawba 6, Florida Tech 5

TEAM STATS

- Catawba out-hit Florida Tech 6-5

- The Catawba Indians had four of six extra-base hits in the game

- Catawba committed two of three errors in the contest

- The Panthers recorded all three stolen bases on the evening

- Catawba's pitchers allowed five earned runs on six hits and one walk, striking out five; FIT's staff allowed six earned runs on nine hits and three walks, striking out two

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Gallagher went 3-for-4 with a double, four RBI and two runs scored

- Tucker added a 2-for-4 outing with a double and two runs scored

- King doubled and scored

- Tucker earned the win in the circle, going the distance, allowing five earned runs in seven innings with five punchouts

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST INNING

- Florida Tech scored two runs in the first on wild pitches

THIRD INNING

- Madison Taylor singled to leadoff the third

- Gallagher later doubled to right-center to tie the game

- FIT got the two runs back in the bottom half on a stolen base and a double

FIFTH INNING

- King led the fifth inning off with a double

- Gallagher scored her on an RBI single to center field

- Caldwell drove in Gallagher later in the inning on a bases-loaded, RBI groundout

- The Panthers took the lead again in the bottom half on Mya Ogbodiewgy's homer

SIXTH INNING

- Tucker hit a one-out double to start the sixth-inning rally

- Gallagher recorded the game-tying RBI single

- Hales' double scored the go-ahead run 

SEVENTH INNING

- FIT got the go-ahead run to the plate, but Tucker closed the door for the Catawba Indians' first win this year

UP NEXT

- Catawba closes out the Flagler Invitational tomorrow, facing Barry for the third time this weekend at 11 a.m.