Army Splits Opening Day in Florida

Friday, March 8

Clearwater, Fla.

10 AM

Army West Point

5-11

Central Michigan

8-11

Army West Point

Central Michigan

Maddie Kim recorded two doubles against CMU on Friday

Army Splits Opening Day in Florida

March 08, 2019 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Army West Point softball team earned a split against Central Michigan and Toledo on its first day in Florida at the USF Clearwater Parks and Recreation Showcase on Friday.

The Black Knights moved to 6-11 on the season, while the Chippewas improved to 8-11 and the Rockets dropped to 6-9.

Maddie Kim led the charge offensively with three hits, including a pair of doubles against CMU in game one. Taylor Drayton, Ashley Yoo and Carrie Reilly each added multiple hits on the day as well. Drayton smashed her first home run of the season. Reilly also had two extra-base hits with a double and a triple.

In the circle, Macey Newbary was dominant in the second game. The junior from Missoula, Mont. Scattered four hits and two walks over 5.2 innings of work while striking out three batters. Rookie Jolie Duong added a complete game effort, working around four hits and picking up a pair of strikeouts.

GAME 1: CENTRAL MICHIGAN 2, ARMY 1
HOW IT HAPPENED

Central Michigan struck first in the bottom of the opening inning when a sacrifice fly by Erika Underwood plated Shaidan Knapp who led off with a double.
Drayton evened the score on the first pitch of the fifth inning as she sailed it over the left field fence.
The Chippewas regained the lead following a leadoff home run by Knapp in the sixth to make it 2-1.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Drayton slugged her first homer of the season.
Kim notched the first hit of her senior campaign by going 2-for-2 with two doubles.
The Santa Clara, Calif., native documented the 13th multi-hit game of her career and first since May 4, 2017 versus Siena.
It was the first game where Kim recorded multiple extra-base hits since March 3, 2017 when she had a double and a homer against George Mason.
Ballesteros saw her team-best streak of reaching base in 14 straight games snapped.
Duong tossed her team-leading seventh complete game.

GAME 2: ARMY 5, TOLEDO 2
HOW IT HAPPENED

Toledo jumped out in front after a two-out hit-by-pitch kept the first inning alive.
The Rockets followed that up with a pair of hits, including an RBI single by Bekah Yenrick.
Army responded with a three-run inning in the bottom half of the frame.
It started with a double steal with Yoo and Duong that forced an errant throw by the Toledo catcher allowing Yoo to score.
An RBI three-bagger by Reilly played Duong before a double by Katie Ontiveros scored Reilly.
The Black Knights made it a 4-1 game in the next inning when Yoo drove in Megan Muffett on a bases-loaded ground out.
Yoo contributed her second RBI of the game with a two-out double down the left field line in the fourth that scored pinch runner Tessa Leman.
The Rockets were able to cut into the lead with a run in the fifth, but the Black Knights held on for the victory.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army defeated Toledo for the first time in program history and evened the all-time series at 1-1.
It was the first meeting between the Black Knights and Rockets since 2005.
Yoo produced her fourth multi-hit game of the season, tying Duong for the most on the team.
Reilly recorded her team-leading 17th hit of the season.
Newbary improved to 2-0 on the year and 11-6 in her career.
Seven of the Black Knights' 12 hits on the day went for extra bases.

COACH'S CORNER
Interim Head Coach Bob Beretta – "I was pleased with the way we bounced back in the Toledo game after a tough loss to Central Michigan in the opener. We've battled heard in every game this season, and it seems we've fallen just short in most of our setbacks. A few hits in crucial situations and we could easily have four or five more wins. But we definitely saw improvement today. We're making positive strides.

"We continue to get solid pitching from Jolie Duong and Macey Newbary. Jolie gave us a great chance to win the game against Central Michigan, we just needed one more hit to change that outcome. I was very proud of the toughness displayed by Macey against Toledo as well. She did a great job of minimizing damage in the first inning and didn't give up another run the remainder of her time in the circle. She also re-entered the game and worked out of a very difficult situation that could've changed the complexion of the entire game. That was the key moment against Toledo.

"It was nice to see our offense respond with three big runs in the first inning and jump out to that early 3-1 lead. Katie Ontiveros drove a big two-out RBI double in her first plate appearance of the season after Carrie Reilly gave us a huge lift with the RBI triple to the gap in right center to key that first inning. Ashley Yoo added a critical RBI double with two outs in the fifth to score an important insurance run.

"It was also nice to see Megan Muffett perform well and add a pair of hits in her first start of the season. I was proud of the way she capitalized on her opportunity.

"Overall, I was pleased with how we performed with runners in scoring position against Toledo. That was a dramatic improvement from where we've been. And we started to drive the ball as well. Strong pitching, extra-base hits and two-out RBIs win a lot of games. We saw lots of positives in the second game and plenty of things we can build upon. Hopefully we can carry those things into another important day tomorrow."

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