Game 1 Box Score        Game 2 Box Score

With the Lynx trailing 8-6, freshman Olivia Ryan delivered a 2-out, bases loaded double to right center to cap off a 5-run 6th inning and give the Lynx a 9-8 win over SCAC foe Austin College in game 2 Saturday evening. The game was called after 6 innings due to darkness.

Freshman Cindy Bitters came in relief of freshman Allison Conn with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the bottom of the 1st, striking out Whitney Bodine to get the Lynx out of the jam. The Kangaroos led 4-0 in the bottom of the second, when Ryan led off the inning with her second dinger of the year to narrow the margin to 4-1. Rhodes picked up 2 more in the 3rd on singles by Freshman Hillary Relyea and Conn, followed by RBI singles by Ryan and Bitters, bringing the Lynx to within a run at 4-3.

The Kangaroos added 3 more in the 4th on a 2-out RBI double by Stephanie Faith, followed by a 2-run home run by Sam Smith, giving the Kangaroos a 7-3 lead. Rhodes picked up a run in the bottom of the 4th when senior Savannah Deaton led off with a walk, then later scored on an RBI groundout by senior Amanda Lutzy.

Austin picked up another run in the top of the 6th, giving them a seemingly comfortable 4-run lead heading into the bottom of the 6th, with darkness looming. Sophomore Armanda Venezia led off the Lynx 6th with a double, then scored when Deaton beat out a bunt for a single and the throw got away from the Austin second basemen. Sophomore Jennifer Whatley doubled, putting runners at 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs and the Lynx trailing 8-5. Conn walked, and Sophomore Rebekah Moore singled to left, scoring Deaton and bringing the score to 8-6.

With 2 outs and the bases loaded, Ryan drilled a 1-1 pitch into right center, scoring Whatley, Conn, and pinch runner Lindsey Calder, capping off a 5-run 6th and giving the Lynx a 9-8 win. The game was called due to darkness in the 6th. Bitters picked up the win in relief, giving up 7 hits and striking out 5 in 5 2/3 innings. Ryan paced the Lynx offense, going 3-4 with a double, a home run, and 5 RBI.

Game 1 was no less exciting, and the reason darkness caused game 2 to end after 6 innings. Two freshman pitchers, Sara Bowen of Rhodes and Ashley Johnson of Austin, dueled for 13 innings before the Kangaroos finally came out on top with a 5-4 win. Rhodes scored 2 runs in the 1st on a 2-run home run by Moore, and held that lead until the 6th when Stephanie Faith blasted a 2-run home run to knot the game at 2.

The game remained tied at 2 until the 10th, when international tie-breaker rules went into effect. Under the tie breaker rules, each team starts the inning with a runner at second base. The Lynx and Kangaroos each scored a run in the 10th and 11th, then neither scored in the 12th, making the score 4-4 heading into the 13th. The Kanagaroos scored a run on a sacrifice fly in the 13th, and Rhodes was unable to push a run across in the bottom half of the inning, giving the Kanagaroos the 5-4 win.

Freshman Sara Bowen took the loss in the circle for the Lynx, despite notching a school-record 23 strikeouts and giving up just 7 hits and 2 earned runs. Moore and sophomore Colleen Jones each had 2 hits to pace the Lynx offense. The game was the longest in the history of Rhodes softball.