Franklin College 6, Lebanon Valley 3 (Game One)
LVC Starters
1. Kaufman (LF), 2. A. McClain (SS), 3. Whelski (2B), 4. Shockley (1B), 5. Forsythe (C), 6. Musselman (P), 7. Noga (3B), 8. Langhans (CF), 9. Feaster (RF)
Franklin Starters
1. Thompson (CF), 2. Rodeghier (3B), 3. Weber (C), 4. Wyse (DP), 5. Hickson (1B), 6. Cain (2B), 7. Rose (SS), 8. Csikos (RF), 9. Hoffman (LF), Burch (P)
How It Happened
CLERMONT, Fla. – The Dutchmen dropped their season opener 6-3 to Franklin College on Sunday afternoon. The Grizzlies scored six runs in the final two innings to down LVC. The Dutchmen sat at 0-1 after the game while Franklin improved to 3-1 early on in the season.
Defense and pitching reigned supreme in the early-on with neither team able to get on the scoreboard in the first four frames. Through the first four innings each team was only able to muster one hit at the plate while
Sarah Musselman and Alisha Burch were on their games in the circle. At one point, Musselman retired five consecutive Franklin hitters on five pitches during that stretch.
LVC would finally break the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth as they picked up a pair of runs on three hits.
Robin Feaster laced a two-out double to left-center before advancing to third on a passed ball. Feaster would come in to score on a
Jen Kaufman single down the left-field line to put the Dutchmen ahead. Kaufman would later steal second and eventually score on a wild pitch as LVC led 2-0 after five innings.
Franklin would get their bats going in the top half of the sixth as they plated four runs on four hits in the frame. The first run came on a Sydney Rodeghier single to bring home Cassie Hoffman to cut the lead in half. Rodeghier would tie the game when she scored on a sacrifice fly. The big blow came two batters later when Sydney Rose drove in a pair on a single to left to double up LVC, 4-2.
In the top of the seventh, Franklin knocked three more hits and plated two more runs to push their lead out to 6-2 with the Dutchmen down to their final three outs. Kaufman scored in the bottom of the seventh on a
Rylee Shockley single to center to pull within three. LVC had the tying run at the plate but were unable to get the big hit at the end and fell 6-3 in the season opener.
Inside the Numbers
- Jen Kaufman led the Dutchmen offensively with a pair of hits, two runs, an RBI, and a stolen base.
- Five different players for LVC recorded a hit.
- Franklin was led by Sydney Rodeghier and Abby Hickson who each had two hits and drove in a pair of runs.
- Each team had a pair of errors in the field.
Lebanon Valley 5, Illinois College 3 (Game Two)
LVC Lineup
1. Kaufman (LF), 2. A. McClain (SS), 3. Whelski (2B), 4. Shockley (1B), 5. Hockman (3B), 6. V. McClain (P), 7. Feaster (RF), 8. Balthaser (CF), 9. Hall (C)
Illinois Lineup
1. Seggerman (RF), 2. Webster (CF), 3. Morgan (1B), 4. Dees (3B), 5. Frost (C), 6. Tepen (LF), 7. Hodge (DP) 8. Hood (P), 9. Belzer (SS), Schimpf (2B)
How It Happened
LVC picked up their first win of 2020 with a 5-3 victory over Illinois College in the nightcap of their opening doubleheader.
Victoria McClain won her first career collegiate start after tossing a complete game while also picking up a pair of doubles at the dish. LVC is now 1-1 while Illinois College falls to 0-3 on the season.
Neither team had much success at the plate in the first two innings with both pitchers keeping the other offense off the scoreboard.
Victoria McClain, making her first career start, looked poised in the circle early after striking out the side in the bottom of the second inning. The Lady Blues would open up the scoring in the third taking advantage of a leadoff walk. Sam Seggerman would knock a triple to the wall in left-center to bring home Gillian Culbreth, who was pinch running, to put LVC in the 1-0 hole.
A leadoff walk in the fourth would help the Dutchmen respond quickly. After
Kate Whelski was issued the free pass, she would eventually come around to score on an Illinois College error to tie the game up 1-1. In the fifth, LVC would explode for three runs on four hits to push their lead out to three. Whelski and Shockley hit back-to-back RBI-singles to score
Rebecca Hall and
Jen Kaufman respectively. A two-out double off the bat of McClain would bring home Shockley to cap off the three-run frame.
LVC would add an insurance run in the sixth when
Annie McClain singled home
Kylie Balthaser and headed to the bottom of the seventh leading 5-1. The Lady Blues would make things interesting in their final at-bat as they picked up a pair of runs and had the tying run in scoring position, but McClain would get the final out to seal the 5-3 win for the Dutchmen.
Inside the Numbers
- Victoria McClain won her first collegiate start with a complete game while racking up seven punch outs. She also went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and an RBI at the plate.
- Kylie Balthaser also picked up multiple hits with a 2-for-3 effort, a run scored, and one stolen bag.
- Seven different players recorded a hit and five picked up an RBI for a balanced Dutchmen attack in the win.
- Sydney Hood tossed five shutout innings with four strikeouts for the Lady Blues.
- LVC outhit Illinois College 9-3 in the win.
- The Lady Blues made two miscues in the field compared to just one for LVC.
Who's Next?
The Dutchmen are back on the field tomorrow for another pair of games down in Florida. LVC will open up the day against Houghton College at 2:30 p.m. followed by a matchup with Milwaukee School of Engineering at 4:45 p.m.
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