Valkyries Struggle, Fall Twice to Lees-McRae

Valkyries Struggle, Fall Twice to Lees-McRae

DUNCAN, S.C. – The Converse (2-38, 0-10 CC) softball team fell twice to Lees-McRae (10-16, 5-1 CC) on Thursday afternoon at Tyger River Park. The Bobcats were able to collect the sweep with final scores of 6-0 and 7-2.

GAME ONE: CONVERSE 0, LEES-MCRAE 6

The Bobcats took an early 2-0 lead after posting singles runs in the first and second innings. Kara Cunningham and Alix Green both provided RBI hits for LMC. That lead ballooned to 4-0 with a pair of runs in the third. Relief pitcher Marissa Steadman did a great job of damage control, stranding the bases loaded.

Lees-McRae started the fifth off with back-to-back hits, which plated another run, pushing the lead to 5-0 before racing out to a 6-0 advantage following an RBI double by Sarah Tucker in the visitor's half of the sixth inning.

Converse was finally able to pose a threat in the bottom of the sixth, putting a runner on second with two outs. Steadman collected the first hit for the Valkyries, but Moriah Gomez was tagged out at home trying to advance on the bunt single, ending the scoring chance.

The seventh inning went down in order for both teams and LMC took game one by the final of 6-0.

GAME TWO: CONVERSE 2, LEES-MCRAE 7

Lees-McRae blew the game wide open in the very first inning, posting six runs on seven hits to jump out to a comfortable 6-0 lead following one-half inning of play.

The Valkyries were presented with a golden opportunity in the bottom of the first after the first three batters earned walks to load the bases with no outs. However, a sacrifice fly form Mackenzie Wenz was all the Vals could muster, cutting the deficit to 6-1.

Converse was able to trim into the Bobcats' lead again in the third, plating one run on one hit and one defensive miscue. Steadman led the frame off with a walk before moving to second on sacrifice bunt by Gomez. Allison Plafcan then laced a ball to third that was booted, allowing Steadman to reach third and eventually score on Meredith Quarles' RBI single down the left field line. However, LMC tacked that run back on to the lead in the top of the fourth following an RBI single by Caitlin Ray.

The Valkyries went dry over the last three innings of play and dropped game two by the final of 7-2.

Converse will now hit the road for three straight series, starting with a visit to Bristol, Tenn. on Tuesday, April 3 to face King. Game one is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.