By Reed Blaszczyk
Bellarmine softball (13-24) dropped a close one after a middle-inning rally from Kennesaw State (13-29) 4-2 in the last game of the series.
Junior pitcher Clair Lehmkuhler had the start for the Knights in the final game of the series.
“Going into the game, I knew our hitters were going to give us a chance to put up some runs for us so I felt really comfortable starting. I trust my defense to have my back as well,” Lehmkuhler said.
Things got going for Kennessaw State in the bottom of the first inning when sophomore outfielder Stella Henry drew a walk to start the inning. Outfielder Madison Miller then bunted Henry over to third, bringing up freshman infielder Ava Guzowski who then drove Henry in with a sacrifice ground ball to first.
The Knights answered back after a solo home run in the second inning by junior infielder Serenity Shemwell.
“The vibes were really good after the home run by Serenity. It gave everybody a little bit of motivation to keep going and finish the game out because when they scored in the first inning, the vibes were pretty low,” BU outfielder Madison Davis said.
The Knights answered in the third inning after junior infielder Kayla Bauer got a base hit to start the inning. Bauer, quickly got to third on a couple of wild pitches by graduate student Lindsey Kyte. Junior infielder Harlie Bickett then drove Bauer in with a sacrifice fly to right field, putting the Knights up 2-1.
In the bottom of the third, Henry struck again with a lead-off infield single. Henry advanced to third after a throwing error from BU shortstop Harlie Bickett. Guzowski drove her in after a ground ball to first base, tying the game at 2.
With the first pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning, Kennesaw State sophmore catcher Macie Howes drove one over center field, putting the Owls up 3-2.
In the fifth inning, Kennessaw tacked one more run on after Henry drew a walk to start the inning and then stole second base. Henry then got to third base after a wild pitch by Lehmkuhler. Guzowski came up to bat and drove Henry in with a sacrifice fly to right field.
“I think we had some improvements, but overall wasn’t a great game for us. I think we put ourselves in some tough situations where we got behind early and didn’t make play that we should have made. Overall, I think we hit a bit better than we have in the past, but defensively couldn’t put it together,” BU head coach Caitlyn de la Haba said.
Comments