FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. Season Opener. Don Price Field. Two wins. Perfect poetry as Methodist softball started their 2020 season with an emphatic bang, taking a pair of games from visiting St. Andrews University in non-conference action Tuesday afternoon. The Monarchs won the first game, 5-2, and were even more impressive at the plate in the nightcap, winning 13-11.
Speaking of poetry,
Maria Kollar had a storybook day in her first action of collegiate softball. Solo homerun in Game 1. Grand slam in Game 2 and earned the win as the starter in the pitching circle. In all, the Monarchs combined for 27 hits over the two games, with
Bethany Junker leading the way with 5 hits on the day and 4 RBIs.
The second innings of both games was delightful music for Methodist. In Game 1, the Monarchs turned five hits into three runs as
Sara Darling followed up a
Brittany Jones double with a double of her own to drive in two runs. Inning two of the nightcap was even more eventful as the Monarchs hit four consecutive singles, scoring two runners to start the frame. With the bases loaded and two outs, Kollar delivered over the centerfield fence for a grand slam to put Methodist ahead 8-1.
THE ESSENTIALS
Final scores: Methodist def. St. Andrews, 5-2; Methodist def. St. Andrews, 13-11
Records: Methodist 2-0; St. Andrews 0-4
Location: Price Field; Fayetteville, N.C.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The second inning explosion in Game 2 was bookended by a pair of runs in the first and third innings. The Monarchs were aided by two errors and a wild pitch in the first, and four singles resulting in two scores in the third. There was an opportunity for more magic but three runners were left stranded in the frame.
- In the bottom of the fourth, Junker had Methodist staring at a potential mercy rule win when her single to right center brought home Savannah Jacobs and Carleigh Haywood to put the Monarchs ahead 12-3. Jacobs and Haywood had previously reached base on consecutive walks. Staring at their own mortality, the Knights' Mariah White delayed the inevitable with a two-RBI single to avoid the skunk rule. White's hit came on a full count with two outs.
- Oh-so-close to being mercy-ruled, St. Andrews battled back late to make things quite interesting in that nightcap, scoring three more runs in the sixth inning, then two more in the top of the seventh before finally running out of steam, allowing the Monarchs to earn the opening-series sweep.
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STAT FACTS
- Junker had three of the Monarchs' 12 hits in the first game, leading the team.
- Brittany Jones was a menace on the mound and in the batter's box in Game 1. She earned the win after five strikeouts and a complete game while chipping in two hits.
- Kollar did earn the win in the nightcap, but gave way to reliever Jordyn Propst in the top of the fifth. Propst eventually gave way to Taylor Jones with two outs in the top of the sixth, and the first-year player would finish the game to finish off the second Monarch win.
- The last time the Monarchs won their season opener was in 2015. This win also snaps a seven-game losing streak to the Knights from Laurinburg, N.C.
UP NEXT
The Monarchs are on the road for the first time this season when they visit Guilford College on Sunday, February 9. The opening game of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.
