2021 MSC Softball Tournament Day One Recap

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COLUMBIA, Ky. – Day one of the 2021 Mid-South Conference Softball Tournament is in the books with four games taking place at Marilyn D. Sparks Park in Columbia, Kentucky.

The four-game slate began at 11 a.m. CT with game one between fourth-seeded Bethel (Tenn.) and fifth-seeded Georgetown (Ky.) followed by third-seeded Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) taking on sixth-seeded Martin Methodist (Tenn.).

Game 1 – Georgetown vs. Bethel | Box Score

In game one of the day, fifth-seeded Georgetown downed fourth-seeded Bethel 7-4 with late heroics in the seventh inning. The game began with a scoreless first inning before Bethel took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Gillian Grahn was able to come home on an error to give the Wildcats the early lead.

Three innings would pass without a score before Georgetown answered with a run of their own to tie the game at one apiece. The Tigers tied up the game in the sixth inning with Kristen Klimesh crossing home plate after a double from Lindsey Mitchell.

The Tigers came alive in the seventh as they scored six runs in the top of the inning. Madie Sims, Peyton Beger, Annie Campbell, Kylee West, Cassie Ranells, and Klimesh all scored for Georgetown, taking the 7-1 lead.

The Wildcats scored three runs in the bottom half of the inning but fell just short of a comeback. Melanie Alexander, Kayla Reed, and Morgan Hunt all crossed home plate for Bethel.

Megan Brankamp threw for the Tigers and closed the game with the win, pitching all seven innings. Brankamp gave up nine hits and struck out two for the game. Billie Douglas pitched six innings for Bethel, tossing six strikeouts and allowing eight hits. Darcie Gibson closed out the final inning with three allowed hits.

Klimesh notched a team-high three hits for the Tigers while Alexander gathered three hits for the Wildcats. Mitchell batted in a game-high two RBIs to lead Georgetown to the win.

With the win, Georgetown advanced in the bracket to face top-seeded Campbellsville (Ky.) for the third game of the day while Bethel moved to the bottom half of the bracket with their next game being played on Friday.

Game 2 – Freed-Hardeman vs. Martin Methodist | Box Score

In game two, the Lions bested the RedHawks in a game that ended in the sixth inning. Freed-Hardeman opened the bottom of the first with two runs. Kennedy Harris and Sophie Dunavant both scored for Freed-Hardeman.

The Lions tacked on solo runs in the second and third inning to move their lead to four after three. In the fourth, both sides saw additional action with Martin Methodist responding with four runs in the top half of the inning. Chloe Clavon hammered a solo home run with Courtney McFarlen, Haley Kyle, and Hannah Hayes all scored for the RedHawks.

Freed-Hardeman immediately responded in the bottom of the fourth with five additional runs to move their lead to 9-4. The Lions held off the RedHawks from scoring any additional runs in the final two innings of play. Freed-Hardeman closed out the game in the sixth inning with a grand slam from Dunavant just after Harris’ solo score in the fifth.

A total of four Martin Methodist individuals recorded a run each while seven Freed-Hardeman players scored a run or more. Harris scored a game-high four runs for the Lions while Dunavant led with five RBIs.

Morgan Crawford (15-4) was the winning pitcher after closing out the final two innings for Freed-Hardeman, allowing a hit and striking out one batter in the process. Kamryn Murdock (5-13) picked up the loss, pitching for 3.1 innings and allowing seven runs on eight hits.

Freed-Hardeman advanced to the final game of the day against second-seeded Lindsey Wilson while Martin Methodist moved to the bottom of the bracket to await the loser of game three.

Game 3 – Campbellsville vs. Georgetown | Box Score

For game three, top-seeded Campbellsville fought off Georgetown in a 5-1 game. It was the Tigers from Georgetown that opened the game with a lead-off homer from Carly Oliver to take the early lead. Campbellsville quickly answered with a score of their own in the bottom half of the opening inning with Riley Hurst coming home on an RBI double from Mia Aldridge.

The second, third, and fourth innings were scoreless with Campbellsville holding off Georgetown for another scoreless inning in the fifth. Campbellsville added three runs in the bottom of the fifth as Ryley Whitney knocked out a three-run homer to bring Aldridge and Hurst home, giving the Tigers the 4-1 lead.

After a scoreless top-half inning for Georgetown, Campbellsville scored one final run in the bottom of the sixth to move the lead to 5-1. Hadlee Carter scored after pinch-running for Hannah Judd who reached base on a walk. Carter’s score would be the final run of the game as Campbellsville held Georgetown scoreless in the seventh.

Four players notched two hits each for Campbellsville while four Georgetown players recorded one hit apiece. Hurst led Campbellsville with two runs while Whitney gathered three RBIs on the day.

Katy Chadwell (18-4) picked up the win in the circle, recording two strikeouts, four hits, and the lone run during her seven innings pitched. Sarah Claxon (8-9) recorded the loss for Georgetown, pitching in all six innings and struck out two batters.

Campbellsville advanced to Friday’s matchup between the winner of game four with Georgetown set to face Martin Methodist in the opening game on Friday.

Game 3 – Lindsey Wilson vs. Freed-Hardeman | Box Score

In the final game of the day, second-seeded Lindsey Wilson gathered the 7-2 win over third-seeded Freed-Hardeman. The first two and a half innings were scoreless as Lindsey Wilson opened the scoring with a solo run by Lexi Isable. The fourth inning would also result in a scoreless effort.

Freed-Hardeman answered in the top of the fifth inning with a solo shot of their own. Samantha Morgan hit a solo shot home run over the left-field fence to tie the ball game at 1-1. The Blue Raiders responded in the bottom half of the inning with Makea-Al Kaluau hitting a two-run homer, scoring Isable in the process to give Lindsey Wilson the 3-1 lead.

The Lions scored their final run of the game in the sixth inning as Allie Mitchell scored on a sing from Sophie Dunavant. Lindsey Wilson quickly responded with four runs in the bottom of the sixth off an Isable grand slam to give the Blue Raiders the 7-2 advantage before holding off the Lions in the top of the seventh to close out with the win.

As a team, Lindsey Wilson gathered six hits while Freed-Hardeman recorded two. Isable led the Blue Raiders with three runs on two hits and notched a game-high four RBIs. Annabelle Ramirez (25-4) recorded the win with nine strikeouts while pitching for all seven innings. Brittany Adair (17-4) recorded the loss, throwing for 5.2 innings and notching a game-high 10 strikeouts.

Lindsey Wilson advances to the 4 p.m. CT game on Friday against top-seeded Campbellsville while Freed-Hardeman is set to play at 1:30 p.m. ET in Campbellsville against Bethel.

The first two games of the day will take place on the campus of Campbellsville University while the following two games are set to take place back in Columbia, Ky.