Army Picks Up Wins Over Hartford and ETSU

Saturday, February 8

Statesboro, Ga.

9 AM

Army West Point

2-1, 0

Hartford

1-2, 0

Army

Hartford

Army Picks Up Wins Over Hartford and ETSU

February 08, 2020 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

STATESBORO, Ga. – The Army West Point softball team claimed a pair of wins in its second day at the Bash in the Boro tournament. The Black Knights avenged their Friday loss to Hartford in the first game Saturday morning with a convincing 9-3 win over the Hawks. Army followed it with a 7-4 win over East Tennessee State University (ETSU), which was fueled by a six-run fifth inning.

Through the first four games of the season, Army's offense has been hot with its lowest scoring effort coming in Friday's 12-5 loss to Hartford. The Black Knights are averaging 7.25 runs per game and as a team are batting .362.

GAME 1: ARMY 9, HARTFORD 3

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Taylor Drayton notched 2 RBIs to improve her season total to five, which is tied for second on the team.
Drayton hit a solo shot in the fifth inning to mark her first home run of the season and the ninth of her career.
Ally Snelling was 3-for-4 at the plate and scored two runs.
Brook Mitchell and Megan Muffett also had multi-hit games with two apiece.
Emily Iannotti improved to 2-0 on the season, pitching four innings and allowing three earned runs.
Jolie Duong came on in relief for the remaining three innings and allowed no runs and just two hits.
The Black Knights are now 8-6 all-time opposite Hartford.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Army got things started on a strong note with four runs in the top of the first. Taylor Livingston was the first member of the Black Knights to round the bases, doing so on a fielder's choice. Drayton then came around to score on pass ball to make the score 2-0. The Black Knights added two more runs with a 2 RBI single up the middle off the bat of Muffet, which scored Madi Gilmore and Snelling.
Hartford responded in the bottom half of the first with a strong offensive showing of its own, getting three runs back to make the score 4-3 through one.
Both teams settled in defensively following the first inning, with neither scoring for the next three innings.
Drayton warmed up Army's bats in the fifth inning with an opposite field solo shot over the right field fence to make the score 5-3 in favor of Army. The Black Knights tacked on two more runs to go up 7-3 before the inning ended thanks to RBI doubles from Gilmore and Duong.
The Cadets added two more insurance runs from there. Snelling knocked in Livingston with an RBI single out to left field in the sixth and Brooke Tuttle came around to score in the seventh on a fielder's choice.

GAME 2: ARMY 7, ETSU 4

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army's six runs in the fifth inning was the most its scored in an individual frame since it had the same amount against Iona on April 3, 2019.
Snelling registered two RBIs to increase her season total to six, which leads the team.
Emily Ballesteros also recorded two RBIs and is now up to four on the season.
Brook Mitchell was 2-for-2 at the plate and added a run.
Macey Newbary pitched all seven innings and issued four strikeouts to pick up her first win of the season.
The Cadets had seven different members cross the plate to score a run.
The Black Knights are now 2-0 all-time against ETSU.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The contest started out slowly on the offensive side with both pitchers dealing early. ETSU's Kelly Schmidt retired the first six batters she faced before Army was able to get a runner aboard.
Mitchell led off the third inning with a base knock up the middle. She eventually came around to score after Duong drew a walk with the bases loaded with just one out. Schmidt was able to get out of the jam with allowing any other runs.
ETSU managed to tie it up at one apiece in the top of the fourth with and RBI single off the bat of Demi Coleman. It then jumped to a 3-1 lead after registering two runs in the top of the fifth.
Army's bats came alive in the bottom of the fifth inning. The first three batters got on base to load the bases with no outs. After Drayton went down swinging, Snelling popped a 2 RBI single into right field to even the score, 3-3. In the next at bat, Gilmore pushed a hit out to right center field, which scored Duong to give Army back the one-run lead.
With runners on the corners, Emily Ballesteros blasted a 2 RBI double to right center field, which made the score 6-3 in favor of Army. Ballesteros later came around to score on an RBI single down the left field line from Maddie Wilkes.
The Bucs did not go down with out a fight in the seventh inning. Annisa Avila crossed the plate with just one out and with a runner in scoring position to cut Army's advantage to 7-4.
Though Newbary was able to retire the next two batters to get the complete-game victory.

UP NEXT
The Black Knights wrap up their play in the Bash in the Boro tournament on Sunday with an 11:30 a.m. contest against the host team, Georgia Southern.