FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. Just when you thought it could not get any more dramatic, Methodist softball followed up its 4-3 walkoff victory in the first game of a non-conference doubleheader against visiting Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham with another walkoff triumph, a 3-2 eight-inning win in the nightcap Monday evening.
Neither win would have been possible without impressive performances in the pitcher's circle by
Brittany Jones and
Jordyn Propst. Each pitched a complete game to earn the win with Jones giving up three earned runs and Propst allowing only one earned.
The bats of
Kelsey Smith and
Ashley Benge provided a big assist, as well. Smith drove in the game-winning run of the first game, and Benge bunted in the final run in Game 2.
THE ESSENTIALS
Final scores: Methodist def. FDU-Florham, 4-3; Methodist def. FDU-Florham, 3-2(8)
Records: Methodist 6-10, FDU-Florham 0-2
Location: Don Price Field; Fayetteville, N.C.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After the Monarchs escaped the top of the eighth in Game 2 with a Devils' runner left on third, Methodist bunted pinch runner Savannah Dunn from second to third and finally… the bunt from Benge scored her.
- However, extra-innings would have never been possible without Carleigh Haywood booming a triple down the left field line in the bottom of the seventh. Haywood needed assistance to tie the game in the form of an FDU fielding error with two outs.
- In Game 1, down 3-2 with two outs and only a runner on first, Methodist needed something spectacular for a win and the Monarchs delivered the fireworks. Pinch hitting, Bri Caton delivered a dagger on a full count over the shortstop to bring Blythe Best home for the tying score and in the next at-bat, Smith sent a bomb over the left fielder's head to bring Bethany Junker home for the walk-off run.
- Trailing 2-1 in the top of the seventh of the first game, the Devils' Francesca Shipe thought she had won the game for FDU-Florham with a perfectly placed single past the diving shortstop. Shipe brought home two runs for the lead.
- Both teams scored one run in the first inning of Game 1. The game would stay a 1-1 draw until Kelsey Smith scored from a wild pitch in the sixth. The nightcap featured a 2-1 score (Devils led) from the fourth to the seventh innings.
STAT FACTS
- In close games like these, every run counts. One stat that always get parsed over more closely is players left stranded, and each team left a lot of potential runs on the base paths. In Game 1, each team failed to capitalize off of a bases loaded situation. In the nightcap, the Devils had a runner on third with no outs and couldn't score her and the Monarchs failed to convert a bases loaded in the game.
- Propst earned her first win of the season.
- Prior to the seventh inning of Game 1, Jones had given up only five hits and one earned run while Propst gave up seven hits altogether.
- Samantha Jacobs' plate discipline helped her draw a team-high two walks in the first game. In Game 2, Jacobs had two hits and a walk.
- Junker and Haywood also each had two hits in the nightcap.
UP NEXT
- Methodist is home again Friday for a doubleheader against Maryville (Tenn.) at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
- FDU-Florham continues its road trip with two sets of doubleheaders against Pfeiffer University on Wednesday and Thursday.