CARLINVILLE, Ill. – The Spalding University softball team split a pair of games against Blackburn College Tuesday afternoon in Carlinville, Illinois.
Spalding took the first game, 13-10. The win improved the Golden Eagles to 19-16 overall, 11-6 in conference play. The loss dropped the Beavers to 12-19 overall, 4-13 in conference play.
Robyn Schoen (10-8) picked up the win, Kailtyn Wade (4-9) was handed the loss, and
Amber Kilburn picked up her fourth save of the season.
Brooke Lamon led the way at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a walk, double, run batted in, and a pair of runs scored.
Samantha Klein 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs batted in, and a run scored.
Caroline Hale went 2-for-3 with a home run, two walks, a run batted in, and two runs scored.
Brianna Eatmon went 2-for-2 with a home run and three runs batted in.
LeeAnna Hundley went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, a walk, two runs batted in, and a run scored.
Mackenzie Henderson was 2-for-5 with two stolen bases, two runs batted in, and two runs scored.
The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early lead as they scored a pair in the top of the first inning. The Beavers, however, responded with a run in the bottom of the second, cutting the Spalding lead in half. Blackburn tied it up and took the lead in the fourth, scoring three runs on four hits. Spalding would respond with a bang in the next half inning, as they scored nine runs on nine hits, including a two-run homer off the bat of Eatmon, before tacking on a pair in the sixth. The Beavers made things interesting late, scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth and three more in the seventh. That was as close as Blackburn would get as the Eagles soared to victory.
The Golden Eagles dropped the second game, 12-11. The win improves the Beavers to 13-19 on the season, 5-13 in conference play. The loss drops the Eagles to 19-17 on the season, 11-7 in conference play. Jensen Ballinger (9-9) picked up the win, while
Amber Kilburn (3-1) was hit with the loss.
Kaylin Rucker had a solid game at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a double, stolen base, two runs batted in and two runs scored.
Samantha Klein went 2-for-4 with three runs batted in and a run scored.
Caroline Hale went 1-for-4 with a home run, three runs batted in, and two runs scored.
Laken Heavner went 2-for-5 with a pair of stolen bases and a run scored.
Brooke Lamon went 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored.
LeeAnna Hundley pitched in with three hits in four at-bats.
Blackburn drew first blood in this one, scoring a run in the first inning on a run scoring single. The Golden Eagles broke through in the third, as they batted around to score six runs on seven hits. The Beavers would respond with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning, cutting the Spalding lead in half. Blackburn then took the lead in the bottom of the fifth after scoring five runs on six hits. The Eagles responded with five of their own in the next half inning regaining the lead at 11-9. Spalding could not hold on, though, as they surrendered three runs in the bottom of the seventh, handing Blackburn the victory.
The Golden Eagles finish the regular season with a record of 19-17 overall, 11-7 in conference play.
