CLAREMONT, Calif. - A day after going 1-1 on its first day of action at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, the CMS softball team again picked up a split, defeating Transylvania 9-2 in the opener and then falling in a close one to Eastern Connecticut 6-5.
With the split, CMS moves to 5-7 on the year, which also includes a win over St. John Fisher and a loss to Linfield yesterday.
Abby Thompson continued her impressive hitting since moving into the starting lineup. After homering against Linfield yesterday, she went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the win over Transylvania, and then followed up with a 2-for-3 effort in the defeat to Eastern Connecticut.
In the opener, CMS trailed Transylvania 2-0 early, but tied the score with two runs in the fourth and then broke it open with seven in the fifth. Natalie Dale stole home for the first run on the back end of a double steal with Sophia Nguyen, and Thompson singled home Nguyen to level the score at 2-2.
A two-out error on a grounder from Thompson broke the 2-2 tie and opened the floodgates for CMS. Emily Nutting and Paige Zimmerman followed with RBI singles, and Emma Suh drove in two runs with the bases loaded and came all the way around to score on a throwing error. Lauren Richards went the distance, striking out six, to get the win.
CMS seemed to be following a similar path in the nightcap after falling behind 2-0. Ari Livi had a sacrifice fly to cut it to 2-1, and after a Zimmerman double, Eastern Connecticut allowed two runs to score on errors to make it a 3-2 game. The Athenas tacked on two more in the third on RBI singles from Livi and Richards to make it a 5-2 lead.
This time, though, Eastern Connecticut was able to battle back, scoring one in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth to take a 6-5 lead. An RBI double in the sixth from Carly Stoker broke the deadlock, after Stoker led off the fifth with a double to start the two-run rally to tie it.
Richards and Zimmerman joined Thompson in going 2-for-3 in the nightcap, while Livi had a pair of RBI.
CMS closes out play tomorrow morning with two more games at the Leadoff Classic against Illinois Wesleyan and Christopher Newport.
