The Lee University softball team held off a late Delta State University rally to earn the 9-8 win on Sunday afternoon. The victory gave Lee the sweep over Delta State and improved their record to 19-23 overall and 13-14 in Gulf South Conference play.
After the game, the Lady Flames recognized six seniors on senior day.
The Lady Flames got on the board in the bottom of the first. After a leadoff bunt single from Alexa Scalzo, Hailey Simco hit a two-run homerun over the right field fence.
Delta State tied the game in the top of the second inning at 2-2. They used two hits and took advantage of two errors to tie the game.
Lee retook the lead in the bottom of the second. Alyson Jarvi led the inning off with a solo homer. Shelby Cole and Scalzo then each got on base. Simco then added to her RBI total with a two-run double to make it 5-3 game.
The bottom of the third saw the Lady Flames add to their lead. Kylie Bohl was walked with the bases loaded to score Abygail Jarvi who was pinch running. Then Cole had a sacrifice fly to score Laney Harris and Lee lead 7-2 after three frames.
Delta State got a run back in the top of the fourth when Emma Collier drove in Kyleigh Wheaton to make it 7-3. In the fifth, Calli McConnell drove in MyCala Helms to make it a 7-4. Lee responded in the bottom half of the fifth when Kylie Bohl hit a two-run home run to give make it a 9-4 game.
The Lady Statesmen didn’t go away as Helms hit a three-run home run in the top of the sixth to make it 9-7. They got one more run in the top of the seventh but left the tying run at third base when the game ended.
Olivia Tyson got the start in the circle and went three and one-third innings fiving up three runs on three hits. Abigail Welbaum (3-5) earned the win going two and one-third innings while giving up four runs on six hits. Natalie Pruitt earned the two inning save going one and one-third innings and gave up one run on three hits.
Simco was 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI. Bohl had the three RBI on one hit in the win. Harris was the only other player to have more than one hit on the day.
The Lady Flames will wrap up the regular season next weekend in Pensacola, Fla. They will take on the University of West Florida on April 27 and 28.
Coach Emily Russell’s Thoughts:
“These senior girls have been through a lot. They can in with all the Covid restrictions and so their socialization was really limited. They formed a tight bond as a result, and it is awesome to see. These girls will be lifelong friends and they have really grown together not just individually. They played with freedom, joy, and passion and that has been infused into the program as result.”