CLERMONT, Fla. -- After traveling all day the day before, the George Fox softball team started off their Spring Break in sunny Florida at The Spring Games. The Lady Bruins concluded the day with two losses; after their loss against Babson (9-0), Fox fell to No. 12 Simpson, with the game ending in a hardfought 5-2 loss.
How It Happened - Babson
With both teams putting up one-two-three innings —- dominating in the circle for GFU was
Riley Pirkle — the first was a quick inning, but before long, Babson was able to get on the board. The Beavers were able to find some gaps in the field, and after a few well-placed singles, the second ended with a Babson 5-0 advantage. In the next four innings, Pirkle and Fox's defense put up a wall and didn't let the Beavers score any more runs until the seventh.
In the meantime, George Fox was still finding ways to put the ball in play.
Corine Doran and
Tinley Taylor both singled in the bottom of the fourth while
Emily Benavidez recorded a single in the sixth. However, once again Babson finally broke through in the seventh, scoring four more insurance runs to widen the gap in score, leading to a Beaver 9-0 win.
How It Happened - Simpson
In GFU's second game of the day, Simpson was the first to get an early jump through their offense; after a Storm triple and some strategic bunts, they were able to take an early 2-0 lead in the first. Fox got two on base early thanks to a pair of Simpson errors, but weren't able to advance the runners. While George Fox was able to stop Simpson's offense in the second — with
Allison Heater on the rubber — the Storm remained relentless in and added two more to their score in the third, 4-0.
However, unlike the first game, the Lady Bruins were able to show off their own offense. Benavidez started off the rally with good discipline at the plate which awarded her a walk; it didn't take long before she was eventually on third thanks to a hit from
Makayla Noone that caused chaos on the field and allowed her to reach second. Soon enough, there were two runners in scoring position for
Kiley Harris and she made the most of the opportunity. With a hard-struck hit to third, an errant throw allowed both Benavidez and Noone to score to put Fox on the board and cut the score deficit in half, 4-2.
Simpson remained unfazed and in the bottom of the fourth, they were able to add one more to their score thanks to a SAC bunt and a well-placed single in a gap, 5-2. From there on out, the game became one of defense. Both teams struggled to get past each team's lockdown defense and were both unable to produce any other runs for the rest of the game. In that time, GFU was able to record a critical double play in the bottom of the sixth, and Heater continued to show presence in the circle. It all came down to the seventh, and while Doran was able to double off of a shot to left field, the Bruins couldn't continue the rally. The ranked No.12 Storm was able to take the game after the defensive battle, 5-2.
Top Performances
In their first game, George Fox recorded a total of three hits with
Corine Doran,
Tinley Taylor, and
Emily Benavidez recording one apiece. In the second game, Fox made the adjustment and was able to produce more. Doran continued her streak from the game before and had a double while
Grace Wilson and
Mia Cantu recorded one hit apiece;
Kiley Harris produced the team's only RBI. GFU also showed great awareness at the plate and recorded a total of four walks.
What It Means
George Fox is now 6-8 (2-2 NWC) while Babson rises to 6-6 and No.12 Simpson is now 15-2.
What Happens Next
The Lady Bruins will continue playing and look to improve for day two of The Spring Games on Sunday, March 22. George Fox will be going head-to head against ranked No. 21 DePauw at 12:15 EDT (9:15 PDT) for their first game of the day; Fox will then have a quick turnaround for their second and final game which is scheduled to start at 2:30 EDT (11:30 PDT) where they will be going up against Augustana (Ill.).
