BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- Rhodes softball dropped a pair of contests to Birmingham-Southern College on Saturday, 2-0 and 3-1 opening conference play.
Game one saw Rhodes post six hits, to Birmingham Southern's four, but it was the timely fashion of the hits that would make the difference in the opening contest. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Panthers capitalized on a one out double.
The Panther runner would advance from second base to third before eventually scoring on a deep fly ball to left field. Later in the inning, Birmingham Southern would add another run on a mishandled ball by the normally stout Lynx defense. The two runs would prove enough for the Panthers to post the game one win.
Game two saw the Lynx strike first in the top of the second inning when senior
Courtney Williams scored from second base thanks to
Danielle Smith' frozen rope to the right center gap. Rhodes remained in control of the contest until the bottom of the fourth inning when Southern pushed one run across to knot the game at one a piece. The Panthers struck again in the bottom of the fifth, this time scoring twice making the tally 3-1.
The two run cushion proved too much for the Lynx to overcome. Unfortunately for Rhodes, is was a different game but the same story, the Lynx again out-hit their opponents six base hits to four, but couldn't get the ball to fall with runners on. The loss moved Rhodes to 11-5 overall and 0-2 in SAA play.
Despite dropping both games, Rhodes enters Sunday's contests with a lot of confidence knowing they hit Southern pitching well and continue to play conference leading defense.
"Some times you just have those games, they happen. You hit the ball hard but the ball doens't always get down, or bounce your way, it's frustrating but you gotta keep your head up, stand tall and know tomorrow's a new day and you are right there (from having those balls fall for base hits and runs)," Coach Wagner commented of his squad's effort. "Obviously the goal is to win every game, but there are days when you play very good softball and things just don't work out. I am proud of the way our ladies played today, and the way they carried themselves; we will absolutely be ready to play again tomorrow."
Rhodes will close out the series with the Panthers tomorrow, March 9 in a pair of games scheduled to start at 12 p.m.
