GULF SHORES, Ala. - The West Alabama softball defense held Young Harris College to just two runs on six hits to win 5-2 and split the final day of the Gulf Coast Invitational on Sunday. The Tigers fell to McKendree University 11-7 to open the day.
UWA improves to 2-2 overall on the season. McKendree improves to 1-4, while Young Harris falls to 6-2.
"I think we're starting to make some small adjustments, getting better pitches to hit, and really feeding off the energy," said UWA head coach
Will Atkinson."We didn't score in a lot of innings, but when we scored and we scored in bunches."
"In the first game we had a chance to win, and we just didn't execute at the end when we had two outs. We had a one-run lead and just didn't finish it up and it kind of got away from us."
The Tigers fell behind early in game one, giving up one run in both the first and second innings along with three more in the third. The Tigers answered with a five-run inning on three hits and two errors.
The Tigers put up two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 7-6 lead into the top of the seventh inning, West Alabama fell victim to a two-out rally, giving up five runs to McKendree.
Holly Magre (1-1) came in for Maci Ingram in the fourth inning to pick up the win for the Bearcats. Shaylynn Borowiak (0-1) entered the game in the bottom of the seventh, giving up five runs to take the loss.
The Tigers jumped out to a four-run lead in the bottom of the first inning of game two, and added one more run in the sixth inning. Despite giving up six hits, the Tiger defense held the Mountain Lions to just two runs, stranding four base runners.
Ashley Smart led with two runs on one hit in three at bats. She, along with
Sarah Miles each tallied a run batted in.
Amanda Medders (1-0) pitched the entirety of game two, picking up the win. Mary Catherine Smith (2-2) gave up four runs in the first inning to take the loss.
"The thing I was most proud of in the second game was the way the defense played," said Atkinson. "The defense was rock solid. We had
Ashley Smart making plays and our outfield play kept them from getting extra bases. It was nice to see the complete effort."
"Im really proud of the way this team's coming along. First weekend on the road you go 2-2; that's not bad. We'll use this as we prepare for our mid-week games this week"
The Tigers will open up their home schedule in a doubleheader against Tuskegee University on Feb. 10. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.? at the UWA Softball Complex.
