PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Ninth-ranked Lindsey Wilson started out its four-game series against the University of Pikeville softball team with a pair of wins on Sunday. The Blue Raiders took the opener 7-3, followed by a 5-0 shutout in game two.
UPIKE (23-17, 7-11 MSC) matched Lindsey Wilson (35-10, 15-5 MSC) with nine hits each in game one before being outhit 10-5 in the finale. The bigger disparity was in the field where the Bears committed a combined six errors and Lindsey Wilson had none.
GAME ONE – No. 9 Lindsey Wilson 7, UPIKE 3
Lindsey Wilson scored four runs on four hits and held off a late UPIKE rally to win 7-3 in the opener.
Blue Raider starter Taylor Slade threw all seven innings and nearly had a shutout before giving up three runs on two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
Slade improved to 5-2 with the win, scattering nine hits for three runs with four strikeouts. Hannah Skaggs drops to 11-10 after allowing seven runs, although only one was earned, with a strikeout in seven innings.
Lindsey Wilson followed up its four runs in the first inning with one in the second and two more in the third to put all seven of its runs on the board before the fourth inning.
Kitty Raymond led the Bears in the loss, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a double, while Hannah Absher went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a triple at the bottom of the order. Lee Collier joined her with two hits, and drove in a run as well on a double.
Lindsey Wilson failed to register an extra-base hit as Amber Hancock was its only player with multiple hits, going 2-for-4. The Bears and Blue Raiders finished the game with nine hits each, but UPIKE had three errors.
GAME TWO – No. 9 Lindsey Wilson 5, UPIKE 0
The Blue Raiders struck again with an early lead, only this time it was just 2-0 in the first inning, as Callum Pilgrim singled and came home on a wild throw, followed by Cassie Matlock ripping an RBI single.
After both teams came up empty in the next frame, the Blue Raiders had a quick start to the third as Alaeni Ray led off with a double, followed by Sydney Fourman hitting a home run to right field to make it 4-0.
The only run scored the rest of the way was by Lindsey Wilson in the top of the sixth when Bryanna Souels dropped a pop up that was fair by inches on the first-base line with a runner on third.
UPIKE found just five hits in the game as Jordan Gentry, Chandler Kelly, Raymond, Kelsey White and Emma Barker tallied one hit each. Lyric Houston, Ray and Cassie Hooker had two hits each to lead the Blue Raiders.
Megan Claypoole took the loss in a complete-game effort, allowing five runs on 10 hits with one strikeout and five walks. Annabelle Ramirez won in the circle, moving to 11-6 overall after getting the shutout with just five hits allowed and five strikeouts.
UP NEXT
UPIKE and Lindsey Wilson wrap up their series with a doubleheader at Noon ET on Monday at Paul Butcher Field.
-UPIKE-
