Lady Badgers sweep four-game

series against USU-Eastern at home

 

By Doug Johnson

Guest writer

Apr. 5, 2018

 

EPHRAIM—The Lady Badger softball team of Snow College pulled off a four-game sweep of the Lady Eagles of Utah State University–Eastern this past weekend on their home field in Ephraim.

The Lady Badgers earned walk-off wins in both ends of the doubleheader on Friday, March 30, 12-11 and 5-4, and came back to win the doubleheader on Saturday, March 31, by scores of 11-3 and 8-2.

Snow sophomore outfielder Emily Adams was the hero in the series opener, smacking a walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh after the teams came into the final inning tied at 11.

Adams led five Lady Badger hitters who each had a pair of hits in the opener, including Dakota Hare, Haylie Smith, Avery Reynolds and Brooke Brown, who had three RBI with a double and a home run. Second baseman Syd Wilson had a two-run homer for Snow.

Lady Badger sophomore lefty Riley Cleverly was credited with the win after relieving starter Sydni Sorensen in the fifth with Snow trailing 6-5. Sorensen and Cleverly limited the Lady Eagles to nine singles, but both hurlers had a hard time finding the strike zone as they combined to issue 10 walks.

Avery Blackhurst and Madi Blauer each had a pair of singles for Eastern.

In Friday’s second game, it was sophomore outfielder Sarah Sandberg with the heroics as she lined a triple to right center to score Brown from first base with the walk-off run after the teams entered the seventh tied at four.

It was Sandberg’s second hit of the game to go along with her two-run double in the third when the Lady Badgers scored four times. Brown and Kylie Jeffs each had a pair of hits in the game. Brown picked up an RBI, and Smith smacked a double.

Cleverly started the second game in the circle for Snow but gave way to freshman Sadie Clark in the top of the fifth after Eastern was able to tie the game at four on a pair of unearned runs. Clark shut down the Lady Eagles the rest of the way on a pair of singles with a strikeout and no walks over the last three innings to earn the win.

In Saturday’s opener, Sorensen pitched the Lady Badgers to an 11-3 complete-game win as she scattered seven Eagle singles while striking out two and walking just one. Only one of Eastern’s runs was earned.

Five Lady Badgers again each had a pair of hits, led by Sandberg, who drove in three on a fourth-inning homer, and Brown, who also drove in three on a pair of doubles. Jeffs, Reynolds and Torri Bills each stroked a pair of hits, with Reynolds doubling in the third and Bills tripling in the first leading to Snow’s first run.

The Lady Eagles’ first two hitters in Saturday’s series finale scored: Cassidy Howe leading off the game with a home run and McKenzie Dorney singling and eventually coming around to score.

But then Lady Badger starting hurler Cleverly slammed the door and shut out the visitors the rest of the way as Snow stormed back for an 8-2 win.

After giving up three hits in the first inning, Cleverly shut out Eastern on only two more, picking up five strikeouts along the way, before giving way to Clark to get the final two outs in the top of the seventh.

Wilson had a pair of hits for Snow to drive in four runs, including her second homer of the series in the bottom of the first, which gave the Lady Badgers a 3-2 lead which they never relinquished.

Brown had her fourth two-hit game of the series, and Bills again banged out a pair of hits, both hitters stroking doubles. Adams, Jeffs and Reynolds also had doubles for Snow.

The wins moved Snow into third place in the Scenic West Athletic Conference with a record of 10-9, behind first-place Salt Lake Community College (18-2) and College of Southern Idaho (17-3).

The Lady Eagles dropped to 6-14 in conference play for the fifth spot behind College of Southern Nevada, which is 8-12. Winless Colorado Northwestern College trails the field.

This week, Snow stays at home to entertain College of Southern Nevada in doubleheaders tomorrow and Saturday, with tomorrow’s first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. at Badger Field in Ephraim.