HARDEEVILLE, S.C. -- The University of Pikeville softball team wrapped up its road trip to South Carolina with a pair of losses to USC-Beaufort on Saturday. The Bears lost 15-4 in five innings in game one before falling 5-1 in the nightcap.
The Sand Sharks move to 11-3 on the season with wins in nine of their last 10 games, while UPIKE drops to 2-4.
UPIKE was outhit a combined 25-7 in the two games and failed to register an extra-base hit. Megan Claypoole pitched well in the game-two loss, throwing all six innings with four earned runs allowed on 11 hits with three strikeouts.
Chandler Kelly led the Bears at the plate after going 2-2 in game one and driving in two runs. Lee Collier and Claypoole both stole a base, but did not get a hit.
Haley Osborne and Claypoole collected the only two hits in the nightcap.
The Bears enjoyed a 2-0 lead after the top of the first inning in game one when Kelly singled home Emme Barker and Kitty Raymond. But the enjoyment was shortlived as the Sand Sharks answered with eight runs in the bottom of the frame. Despite scoring single runs the next two innings, the early deficit proved too much to overcome,
Errors were the root of the problem in the eight-run first as the Bears committed six of them. Without the mistakes, it's likely UPIKE would have been out of the inning without any of the runs scoring.
The runs came much slower in game two as UPIKE was the first team to score in the third inning on an error in right field. Barker had put the ball in the air and Jadyn Gibson took advantage when the ball was dropped.
But that would be it for UPIKE's offense as USC-Beaufort went ahead in the bottom of the third by scoring on a wild pitch and RBI single.
GAME ONE - USC-Beaufort 15, UPIKE 4 (5 inn.)
Chandler Kelly: 2-2, 2 RBIs
Lee Collier: SB, R
Megan Claypoole: SB
GAME TWO - USC-Beaufort 5, UPIKE 1
Haley Osborne: 1-3
Megan Claypoole: 1-3, 6 IP, 4 ER, 11 H, 3 Ks
UP NEXT
UPIKE hosts Alice Lloyd for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday for the home opener at Paul Butcher Field.
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