KINGSPORT, Tenn. (April 26, 2023) - On Wednesday, the No. 2 Truett McConnell University softball team traveled to Kingsport, Tenn. for the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament. The Lady Bears faced No. 7 Kentucky Christian University, where they dominated the Knights in a crucial day-one victory (5-1). TMU rises to a record of 34-11, 23-5 AAC.
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Lady Bears and the Knights were evenly matched with a classic pitcher's duel until the bottom of the third inning. An Isabella Sullivan single to left field sparked the momentum, followed by a sacrifice bunt from Grace Folds to move the runner into scoring position. The Lady Bears capitalized on defensive errors to push their first run of the day across (1-0). Another defensive error from the Knights allowed Justine Gorton to score the second run of the day (2-0). A Kyndall Gipson single to right field followed by an electric two-run blast from Cassie Boatright created a large margin for the Lady Bears (4-0). The bottom of the fifth featured a Briley Lawson hit by pitch and Boatright walk to move runners into scoring position combined with a Jenna O'Brien single to tack on TMU's final run of the day (5-0). The top of the sixth saw the Knights record one run on two hits but was no match for the Lady Bears as they secured a 5-1 victory.
 
LEADERS
O'Brien led the way offensively, going 2-3 at the plate with one RBI while Hailey Cronic was seen going 2-3. Boatright went 1-2 at the plate with two RBIs and one run while Folds, Gipson, and Sullivan recorded one hit apiece.

Pitcher Kyleigh Sanders went the distance, recording seven strikeouts and only allowing two hits.
 
UP NEXT
The Lady Bears are set to play at 5:00 p.m., on Thursday, April 27, against the No. 3 seed Brenau University.