Warriors roll past Hawks
By Aaron Schneider
NORTH MYTRLE BEACH, S.C. – The Waldorf College softball team cruised to an 8-1 victory over Hilbert College during the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic on Wednesday. Reinhardt University handed the Warriors a 9-3 loss to round out the day.
Maggie Hawley (1-3) earned the win for the Warriors (3-9) in the opener. The senior from Missouri Valley struck out nine batters and yielded one run as she scattered four hits in seven innings.
“Maggie had control of their hitters all day,” Waldorf coach Lexy Determan said. “Even when they had base runners, she kept the rest of the lineup at bay.”
Senior Andrea Hartmann led the Warriors, batting 3-for-5 with an RBI triple and a run-scoring double. Sophomores Taylor Bell and Hattie Hupke turned in two hits apiece. Senior Maggie Eden went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI single.
Junior Ashton May and Hawley belted run-scoring singles, junior Trista Bures tripled and senior Kaitlin Murphy contributed a single as Waldorf pounded out 13 hits.
“It was a game where we hit well and sprayed hits to both sides of the field,” Determan said. “That leads me to believe we were seeing the ball well and we were going with pitches.”
Jenna Castricone went 1-for-3 at the plate and contributed an RBI double for NCAA Division III’s Hawks (3-5). Shenique Nibbs, Anndrea Quiroga and Crystal Hailey also provided hits.
Victoria Dzaak (0-2) was hit with the loss. Dzaak tallied three strikeouts, issued two walks and surrendered four runs (three earned) on eight hits in four innings. Jaelyn Gotham relieved the final three innings, striking out a batter and allowing four runs (one earned) on five hits.
Waldorf took advantage of Hilbert’s eight errors, producing four runs off the defensive miscues.
May put the Warriors on the board in the top of the second inning with an RBI single.
Waldorf received two more runs during the third off an RBI groundout from senior Jessica Abrahamson and an RBI double from Hawley.
Hartmann connected for a fourth-inning RBI triple to give the Warriors a 4-0 advantage.
Castricone drove in a run with a fifth-inning double to cut Hilbert’s deficit to three runs.
Hartmann started a four-run sixth inning with an RBI single. Bures scored on a wild pitch. Abrahamson drove in a run after reaching base on an error and Eden added an RBI single to give Waldorf a seven-run advantage.
Reinhardt (16-7) entered Wednesday’s matchup receiving votes in the latest National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) poll. The Eagles relied on strong pitching in the six-run win.
“Reinhardt had the best pitching staff we have faced so far,” Determan said. “We did very well jumping on their pitchers and forcing them to go through three pitchers.”
Hartmann went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs against Reinhardt. Bures batted 2-for-3 and contributed an RBI single. Sophomore Kaylie Brindley finished the day with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate.
The Warriors collected 10 hits and received singles from junior Hailey Kofron, Hupke, Abrahamson and Eden.
Reinhardt’s Micalah Sacre hit 2-for-3 and cranked a three-run homer. Taylor Weeks turned in a 3-for-4 performance with a double and three RBIs. Jessica Baker went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, Maddie Evans batted 2-for-4 with an RBI double while Taylor Braselton added a pair of singles to help the Eagles to 14 hits.
Maci Mills (1-0) notched the win, striking out a batter and giving up a hit in one and two-thirds innings of relief.
Carleigh Myatt started inside the circle for Reinhardt. Myatt exited with one strikeout and two walks after relinquishing three runs on nine hits in three and one-third innings. Madison Luck struck out a batter and issued a walk while closing out the final two innings.
Brindley (1-3) received the loss. She fanned three batters, walked one and surrendered seven runs on 10 hits in five innings.
The Warriors showed promise by producing 15 base runners, but struggled to bring the runners across home plate.
“It’s tough to win games with 12 runners stranded,” Determan said. “We hit some balls hard at outfielders and weren’t able to score.”
The Eagles got an early jump on the Warriors as Sacre delivered a three-run shot in the top of the first.
Following the opener, the Warriors had little time to prepare for Reinhardt. Waldorf’s offense began to click in the fourth. Bures drove in a run off a single. Hartmann evened the score at 3-all later in the inning as she connected for a two-run double.
“We were rushed to start our game because our first game went long, so it seemed to take a minute for us to settle in,” Determan said.
Evans put the Eagles ahead with a fifth-inning RBI double. A two-run single from Weeks and an RBI single from Baker extended Reinhardt’s lead to four runs.
Weeks doubled in a run in the seventh and Baker contributed an RBI single to give the Eagles a six-run advantage.
“I give Reinhardt credit,” Determan said. “They hit the ball well and took extra bases when we didn’t finish plays. Again, these are the things we are learning from being in game situations.”
The Warriors conclude their spring break trip in the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic on Thursday by facing Roosevelt University (2-6) at 1:30 p.m. (EST) and the University of Rio Grande (7-3) at 5:30 p.m. Rio Grande is receiving votes in the NAIA poll.