Lions clinch SAC postseason berth, split with UVA Wise
Mars Hill secures eight seed; first SAC tournament appearance since 2013.
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill softball team (22-22, 12-12 SAC) split with UVA Wise (21-26, 7-17 SAC) Saturday afternoon, taking game one by a score of 9-1, but dropping game two by a score of 8-7
GAME ONE: MHU 9, WISE 1 - 6 Innings
Mars Hill scored nine unanswered runs to take game one.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the first, with a runner on, Farley Park smashed a two-run home run to give the Lions the lead.
In the third, Mars Hill tacked on two more runs to carry a 4-1 lead into the fourth. Sara Rexrode's three-run bomb bumped the Lions' lead up to six.
Mars Hill clinched the win with two runs in the bottom of the sixth as Brooke Hanson plated the game-winning run with a RBI single up the middle, scoring Maia Sholter.
Park led all players with three hits while adding two RBI. Sholter, Rexrode, and Bri Weimer each added two hits apiece.
Blyth Freeman won her 10th game of the season, allowing just one run on three hits, striking out three.
Prior to the start of game one, seniors Abby King, Katie Todd, Farley Park, and Rebekah Howard were recognized and celebrated for their contributions to the program.
GAME TWO: WISE 8, MHU 7
The Cavaliers used a five-run fourth inning to earn the split in the regular season finale.
With the bases loaded in the top of the fourth, Mallory McKnight's bases clearing double pulled the Cavaliers within one. Later in the frame, Savannah Johnson's two-run home run gave UVA Wise the 6-5 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Farley Park launched her second home run of the day, a deep blast to left center field to tie the game at six.
A costly Lions' error allowed the Cavaliers to go up 7-6 in the top of the fifth, but Brooke Hanson responded with a solo home run in the bottom of the frame.
Following a scoreless sixth inning, UVA Wise's Bayleigh Allison doubled down the left field line, plating Taylor Clay for the eventual game-winning run.
Tied at one entering the bottom of the third, Mars Hill plated four, highlighted by a pair of RBI singles off the bats of Sydney Hodges and Katie Todd.
Clay led all players with four hits while McKnight led all players with three RBI. Todd led the Lions with three hits, followed by two from Hanson.
Mars Hill, with the split, secured the eight seed in the upcoming South Atlantic Conference Championships where they'll face Wingate on the road on Friday, April 25. The appearance marks the first time for the program since the 2013 season.
