Cumberland’s softball team (3-1, 2-0 MSC) defeated the University of Pikeville Bears (0-2, 0-2 MSC) 3-1 in the first game and 10-3 in the second game of a Mid-South Conference Double header Thursday at Billy Dee Ross Stadium.
In the first game, senior second baseman Tyra Graham scored the first goal when he came home after a wild pitch from Pikeville’s Megan Claypoole. Graham’s run gave the Phoenix a 1-0 lead at the end of the first inning.
The next Phoenix result came in the third inning after new outfielder DeeDee Dunn scored a goal from Madison Woodruff.
The Phoenix scored their third and final run of the game in the sixth inning after freshman infielder Ashton Whiles fired a shot into deep right field that brought senior outfielder Taylor Woodring home and the 3-0.
Pikeville’s Megan Claypoole hit a deep home run ahead of Cumberland’s Mariah Clark to end her shutdown efforts in the sixth inning.
Clark put on a solid game for the Phoenix and recorded their first win of the season. The junior right-handed player threw five strikeouts and gave up six hits in seven innings.
Both the phoenix and the bears recorded six hits each. Neither team registered an error in the game.
Taylor Woodring, Ashton Whiles, Madison Woodruff, Alexis Guzman, Lexi Riggall and DeeDee Dunn each recorded one hit for the Phoenix. Woodruff and Whiles recorded the team’s two RBIs in a 3-1 win.
In the second game of the double header, the bats went off early. Taylor Woodring scored a fielding error and gave the Phoenix a 1-0 lead early in the first inning. Mariah Clark next stepped on the plate with two runners on the base and delivered a triple home run that brought Whiles and Woodruff home.
The explosion gave the Phoenix a 4-0 lead and Clark their first home run of the season.
Pikeville scored three runs in the third inning after a double with two RBIs from Alyssa Franklin, and Carrie Boyd took one run home to close the Phoenix lead 4-3. Cumberland quickly responded in the same inning after Guzman and freshman Allyson Shoulders added RBI singles to put the Phoenix 6-3 ahead.
Cumberland took the lead 7-3 in the fourth game after Mariah Clark registered her fourth RBI of the game. Clark hit a line drive single in the middle to bring Madison Woodruff home. Cumberland continued scoring as they added two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to win the game 10-3 against Pikeville.
Senior Bela Soto took the win after scoring five innings and two strikeouts. Freshman pitcher Kaitlin Higgins came to relief for Soto and gave up a hit in two innings.
As a team, Cumberland recorded a whopping 16 hits compared to Pikeville’s four. The bears had two mistakes in the game while the phoenix had one.
Individually for the Phoenix, Madison Woodruff, Mariah Clark and newcomer Kenzie France led with three hits each. Clark hit a perfect 3-on-3 from the plate. Tyra Graham had a solid outing, going 2 on 4 and scoring an RBI.
The teams were supposed to close the four-game series with a double header yesterday.
Cumberland is slated to get back into action next Friday and Saturday with two twin bills at the University of Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky.
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