The UCA softball team went head-to-head in a pitchers duel with Eastern Kentucky University, ultimately falling short 3-1 on April 6.
EKU (28-10, ASUN 9-2) had sophomore pitcher Maddi Rutan on the circle, and she did not disappoint, striking out 12 UCA batters.
“We thought we prepared well, but we took 12 strikeouts, and we didn’t battle the change up well, “ UCA coach Jenny Parsons said.
“This is the 21st inning we’ve seen her [Rutan] so I figured we would figure it out at some point.”
The middle of the UCA lineup, (3,4 and 5) had zero hits in 12 plate appearances in the Sunday night game.
“Our momentum is driven by the top half of our order. Kylie Griffin, Madi Young, Addie Graham and Lily Hood, and they have done really well for us at times, but we just didn’t have it tonight, “ Parsons said.
The Bears (18-22, ASUN 6-5) had senior pitcher Bailie Runner on the circle today, and she threw 10 innings of one run ball, striking out seven and walking nine.
“She didn’t have much command of her drop ball, so we kind of switched it up midgame and went to a screwball and a rise ball, and it helped her a lot, “ Parsons said.
After Runner walked two EKU batters in the second inning, the Colonels took advantage of her mistakes and scored their first run of the game on an RBI single by sophomore left-fielder Makayla Mathis.
The score at this point was 1-0 EKU.
Although the offense wasn’t working for the Bears, the defense was noteworthy.
Freshman right-fielder Mya January fielded a single, and threw a rocket to third base to get a runner out. Senior shortstop Madi Young also made a diving catch to save a base hit.
“That’s what we live and die by is running the bases and defense, we work on it all the time. That’s why we are one of the top 20 teams defensively in the country. I tell my pitchers, all you gotta do is fill it up and get some ground balls and we’ll be alright, “ Parsons said.
More notably in the bottom of the 7th inning, UCA was still down 1-0, with one out remaining, senior designated-player Emma Robertson hit a fly ball to right field that just snuck over the wall into the visitors bullpen.
“I didn’t really see a lot of strikes today, so I knew when I did get a strike, I needed to hammer it and produce for my team, “ Robertson said.
“She’s unbelievable, “ Parsons said. “She has stepped right into the DP role. She’s taking really good at-bats and taking walks.”
In the bottom of the eighth inning, with one out, Young hit a double down the right field line. Before you knew it, UCA had the winning run in scoring position with one out.
Unfortunately for the Bears, they could not cash in, sending the game to the ninth inning.
Neither team could cash in in the ninth inning, sending the game to the tenth. EKU scored two runs in the top of the tenth, and UCA could not crawl their way back, surrendering the loss to EKU 3-1.
The Bears were able to secure a 12-4 win Monday in the first game of the double-header.
The Colonels bounced back to conclude the series with a 5-2 victory.
UCA will travel to Louisville, Kentucky to face the Bellarmine University Knights in a three-game series April 12. The series will start with a double-header Saturday, with games at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.