Softball Wins Opener for Split with Lyon

CARLINVILLE, IL -- Blackburn College softball won the first game of a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader with Lyon College but droppped the second game to split the two games. 

Sophomore Kenadee Frey had a team best four hits and three runs batted in. Junior Brianna Melchor tied Frey with three runs batted in while scoring three runs with three hits. 

Junior Zoe Mitchell also had three hits along with three RBI's. 

Senior Shelby Koenig posted five strikeouts and is now three strikeouts away from 100 on the season. 

The Beavers struck first in the second inning of the opener with four runs. Freshman Mailee Schoen, junior Caroline Gibson and senior Grace Mackey got it started with singles to load the bases. After an error on a batted ball by sophomore Sierra Hiser allowed Schoen to score. Gibson then scored on a single by Melchor, and Frey knocked in Hiser and Melchor to put BC up 4-0. 

Melchor added another run in the fourth run when junior Zoe Mitchell knocked her in, making it 5-0 for the win. 

Frey scored first when she scored on Mitchell's double in the first inning. Lyon tallied four runs in the third run but Blackburn answered with another run when Frey scored again, this time due to a Gibson walk with bases loaded. 

Lyon extended their lead with two runs in the top of the sixth but the Beavers answered. Gibson and Mackey both singled to open the inning. Hiser followed with a fielder's choice that saw Gibson get out, but Melchor hit a double to left field which scored Mackey and Hiser. Senior Miley Kwiatkowski continued with a single and Melchor scored on the next at bat when Frey got on with an error. Frey and Kwiatkowski stole bases and Kwiatkowski was able to score on the next at bat when Mitchell singled. 

The teams entered the top of the seventh tied 6-6, but the Scots managed to score two runs in the top of the inning to capture the 8-6 win. 

With the split, BC is now 14-13 on the season, and 6-4 in conference play. The team returns to action Monday when they visit Rose Hulman Institute of Technology for a nonconference doubleheader. They then return to SLIAC play Wednesday by hosting Fontbonne University.