HOOVER, Ala. - The Belhaven University Softball team opened their season with two wins on day one of the Birmingham Southern Spring Classic on Saturday, February 20. The Blazers squeaked out a close 2-1 win over Mount St. Joseph in their first game, and then saw an offensive explosion in their second game beating Huntingdon by a final of 13-7.

GAME ONE

In the first game of the day for the Blazers, neither team found a way to score until the fifth inning as Mount St. Joseph scratched the first run of the game to take a 1-0 lead over the Blazers. The Blazers trailed by the score until the seventh inning as sophomore outfielder Haley Hanson started the inning off with a single to left field and then advanced to third on a infield bunt single by sophomore catcher Anna McNeer. Hanson later scored the Blazers first run on a pass ball, while McNeer scored the winning run as junior first baseman Elizabeth Taggard hit a walk-off single to give the Blazers the 2-1 victory.

Sophomore pitcher Kennedy Carruth went the distance in her debut for the Blazers as she allowed one run on five hits with 11 strikeouts and three walks on the game and earned her first win of the season. Senior outfielder Marlee Blackwell, and sophomore second baseman Carley Ingle had two of the Blazers five hits to go along with the seventh inning singles by Hanson, McNeer, and Taggard.

GAME TWO

In the second game, the Blazers wasted no time in scoring as they plated runs in five of the seven innings including two in the second, fifth, and sixth innings, three in the seventh, and four in the fourth.

In the second inning, freshman shortstop Cade Bass reached on error by the third baseman and then later scored as freshman second baseman May Hebert reached on another error by third baseman. Hebert later scored as junior outfielder Abby Trahan reached on an error by the shortstop to give the Blazers a 2-0 lead. The Hawks tied the game in the bottom of the third inning, but the Blazers then responded with a four-run fourth inning as Haley Hanson got the offense going with a double that was followed up with a double from Anna McNeer. Hebert then reached on a fielder's choice, and Marlee Blackwell walked to load the bases for the Blazers. Elizabeth Taggard then singled up the middle plating both McNeer and Hebert as Blackwell scored on an error by the center fielder on the play giving the Blazers a 6-2 lead.

The Blazers added a pair of runs in the fifth as sophomore third baseman Allie Gordon hit a lead-off single and later scored on a single by Hanson. Sophomore shortstop Macy Ziskin was brought in as a pinch runner for Hanson and she later scored on a single by Hebert to increase the Blazers lead to 8-2. The Hawks added a solo run in the bottom of the fifth as the Blazers responded with two more runs in the top of the sixth. Kennedy Carruth reached on an error by the shortstop and then later scored as Gordon reached on an error by the third baseman. Gordon later scored on an infield single by Ziskin increasing the Blazers lead to 10-3.

The Hawks cut the Blazers lead down to three as they scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth; however, the Blazers responded with three runs in the seventh inning. Trahan drew a lead-off walk followed by a single by Blackwell, and Carruth later reached on an error to load the bases for the Blazers. Trahan scored as Bass drew a walk while Blackwell and Carruth scored on an error by the first baseman later in the game. Senior pitcher Bailey Root slammed the door on the Hawks comeback hopes as she got back-to-back swinging strikeouts to seal the 13-7 victory for the Blazers.

Freshman pitcher Jovi Jones tossed five innings in her collegiate debut giving up seven runs on 11 hits with one strikeout and three walks. Bailey Root pitched two innings of relief work for the Blazers allowing just one hit with four strikeouts and two walks.

The Blazers are now 2-0 on the season and will return to action with two more games in day two of the Birmingham Southern Spring Classic as they face off against the Piedmont College Lions and the host team, Birmingham-Southern College Panthers.

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