Box Score 1
Kingsport, Tn. | The Lady Bears faced off against #8 seeded Montreat College (18-32 overall; 11-13 AAC) today for the second time in the Appalachian Athletic Conference Softball Tournament. Earlier in the day, the Lady Bears had an impressive outing, as they eliminated #3 seeded Union College (22-23 overall; 17-7 AAC) from the conference tournament by a final score of 8-0.
Karley Hobbs was called upon to start for the Lady Bears. Coming off a shutout of Union College earlier in the day, Hobbs looked to continue her dominance at the mound.
Montreat struck first in the bottom of the 1st inning, scoring an early run to take a 1-0 lead.
With the bases loaded and two outs, junior
Kaitlynn Hay stepped to the plate in the top of the 2nd with an opportunity to deliver for the Lady Bears. She would be walked, allowing
Brie Levy to score from third base for the Lady Bears' first run of the game.
Seven innings were not enough, as the Lady Bears were still tied with Montreat at 1-1. The top of the 8th proved to be the breaking point for the Lady Bears. After
Reba Jones had been moved to second base off of
Brie Levy's sacrifice bunt, senior
Sarah Horne rose to the occasion and hit a double to left-center to send
Reba Jones home for the lead.
Karley Hobbs' command on the mound continued, as she sat down all three batters in the bottom of the 8th to secure a 2-1 win for the Lady Bears. The game marked Hobbs' 28th win on the year, which leads the NAIA.
With the win, the Lady Bears stay alive and advance to the next round of the loser's bracket. The win also marks the Lady Bears' 37th win of the season, which is the most in the history of the program. The Lady Bears will take on #4 seeded Reinhardt University (29-24 overall; 17-7 AAC) in an elimination game tomorrow, April 28th, at 11 a.m for a chance to advance to the conference championship. This will be the second matchup the Lady Bears have had with Reinhardt in the conference tournament, losing to the Eagles in the second round by a score of 5-1.
