COLUMBUS, Ga. — The No. 20 Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions opened the second day of the NFCA Leadoff Classic with a 14-6 loss at the hands of the Thomas (Ga.) University Night Hawks before a walk-off homer gave FHU the 6-5 victory over the Lady Toppers of Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) University in game two.
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Game 1
TU - 14
FHU - 6
Freed-Hardeman (4-5) had a big first inning offensively, helped at the start by a Thomas error. With
Natalie Gilmore on first,
Molli Deere planted a double to score Gilmore and plate the first run of the game.
Brooklyn Jimmerson would then walk. Deere would later score due to a second Night Hawk error before Jimmerson scored as half of a double steal to give FHU a 3-0 edge.
After Thomas (5-6) grabbed two runs to cut into the Lady Lion lead, Jimmerson would tap home for the second time, reaching on a single before scoring on
Brinley Cousar's RBI single to put the Lady Lions on top 4-2.
Kiersten Mesler stepped up big in the bottom of the fifth inning, driving in two runs to give the Lady Lions a 6-3 edge before the top of the sixth inning saw Thomas score eight runs on three hits with the Night Hawks drawing five walks in addition to being hit by a pitch. The Lady Lions could get no more offense going while Thomas added three runs in the top of the seventh to stun the Lady Lions with a 14-6 final.
Katelyn Bradford had a no-decision in the start, going 6 2/3 innings where she struck out one.
Brittany Adair (1-1) was charged with the loss, walking three in 1/3 inning.
The Lady Lions had eight hits, with
Brinley Cousar,
Molli Deere, and
Karli Quillin all collecting two hits. Cousar joined Kiersten Melser with two RBIs in the loss.
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Game 2
BMCU - 5
FHU - 6
The high-scoring day continued in the second game, where
Brooklyn Jimmerson and the Lady Lions walked off the Blue Mountain Christian Toppers in a 6-5 victory.
The Lady Lions (5-5) fell behind early after an RBI double in the top of the third inning gave the Lady Toppers a 1-0 lead. FHU would answer in the bottom of the inning after
Karli Quillin and
Alivia Eggleston collected hits, setting up Jimmerson to lift a sacrifice fly to score Quillin and know the game 1-1 after three complete innings.
A second sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth inning gave FHU the lead once again until BMCU (5-6) took advange of an error to tie the game in the top of the sixth. The Lady Lions hoped to have taken the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth inning after
Brinley Cousar's single was followed by
Molli Deere's second home run of the season to put FHU on top 4-2, needing three outs to end the day with a victory.
With two outs completed in the top of the seventh, BMCU had a walk be followed by two passed balls, scoring a run with a single on the next batter. The Toppers would take the lead after a single and an error allowed the tying and go-ahead runs to score to take a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning.
After a groundout,
Alivia Eggleston placed a double into center field to put the tying run into scoring position. Jimmerson would then clear the fence with a two-run blast to center where the two-run HR walked off the Toppers to give FHU the 6-5 victory.
Chloe Winters had the start, going 6 2/3 innings before
Brittany Adair (2-1) picked up the victory after facing and retiring one batter.
Brinley Cousar was 3-3 in game two, while
Molli Deere drove in three runs. Jimmerson drove in three runs with her game-winning homer being her lone base knock.
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Up Next
The Lady Lions play one more time in Georgia, facing Kentucky Christian University Sunday, February 18 at 10:00 a.m. before taking the rest of Feburary off before competing in the Gulf Shores Invitational. The Lady Lions begin against the No. 12 University of Mobile (Ala.) Rams at 3:45 p.m. on Friday, March 1.
