DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The University of West Alabama softball team split the bill on day one of the Daytona Beach Invitational, defeating Embry-Riddle 6-3 in the opening contest and falling to tenth-ranked Tampa 6-2, Friday afternoon from Radiology Associates Field.
GAME 1, West Alabama 6, Embry-Riddle 3
UWA opened the ballgame by loading the bases, but the Eagles' defense cleaned the house and did not give the Tigers a chance to touch home plate.
Embry-Riddle took the lead in the bottom of the first with a sacrifice fly from Emma Wood, allowing Mia Macchia to give the Eagles the 1-0 advantage.
The UWA bats exploded with vengeance in the top of the fourth, scoring all six of their runs in the stretch.
Sara Fargo kicked off the West Alabama scoring spree with a two-run single, allowing Riley Sullivan and Karley McDaniel to score.
Two batters later, a Taylor Clegg single sent Fargo across the plate to boost the Tiger lead to two runs, 3-1.
Marissa Mitchell burst the UWA lead wide open with a three-run homer to give the Tigers a commanding 6-1 lead.
Embry-Riddle struck back in the bottom of the fourth, as sac flies by Katriana Bain and Kelsey Kressler closed the gap to three runs.
The Tigers allowed only one hit for the remainder of the contest as Madison Wright hurled the final 2.2 innings in the circle to help give De Block her second win of the season in the circle.
Marissa Mitchell led the Tigers on offense with her three-run homer, while Sara Fargo added two RBIs.
Five different players for ERAU had hits in the contest, led by a double by Emma Wood.
GAME 2, No. 10 Tampa 6, West Alabama 2
Camryn Wineinger got the Spartans rolling early with a first inning two-run home run to open the scoring.
Lexie Chevalier got TU on the board in the bottom of the second inning with a sacrifice fly.
Though Madison Wright and the West Alabama defense held back the Tampa offense in the third inning, the Spartans would score twice more in the bottom of the fourth inning courtesy of RBIs by Chevalier and Avery Perkins, putting Tampa up 5-0.
Chevalier answered the bell again for the Spartans with her third RBI of the day in the sixth, boosting the deficit to 6-0 in favor of TU.
The West Alabama offense entered survival mode in the top of the seventh inning. Following a lead off single by Taylor Clegg, Marissa Mitchell followed with an RBI double into center field.
Ann Marie Stanbridge followed suit with an RBI single for the 6-2 score, but Tampa limited the damage from there with back-to-back outs to earn the victory.
Marissa Mitchell and Ann Marie Stanbridge each hand a hit and RBI in the night cap.
Lexie Chevalier led the Spartans with three RBIs in the win.
West Alabama moves to 4-2 on the season and will play four more games in the next 48 hours in Daytona Beach. UWA will open with a rematch against Tampa at 11 a.m. EST on Saturday, followed by a matchup with Eckerd immediately after.
