TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Stillman College softball team split a doubleheader with the Huston-Tillotson University Rams, using strong pitching to win the opener 5-1 before erupting offensively for a 19-5 victory on Saturday in HBCU Athletic Conference action at the Stillman Softball Complex.
Game 1 — Stillman 5, Huston-Tillotson 1
Stillman used timely hitting and a dominant effort in the circle to control the game from the outset.
The Tigers struck in the first when
Lily Stone scored on
Anna Sullivan's RBI double down the right-field line. Huston-Tillotson answered with a sacrifice fly in the second, but Stillman regained the lead in the third as
Alex Erwin scored on Stone's RBI single.
Stillman created separation in the sixth with a three-run inning built on execution and baserunning. Stone scored again on Sullivan's RBI single,
Makynli Kidd crossed the plate on
Katelyn Lankford's sacrifice bunt, and
Molly Neal, who entered as a pinch runner and stole a base, scored on
Olivia Hobson's sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 5-1.
Karli Crocker handled the rest, tossing a complete game while allowing one run on eight hits and striking out five.
Sullivan finished with two hits and two RBIs, while Stone added two runs and an RBI.
Game 2 — Stillman 19, Huston-Tillotson 5
Stillman answered an early deficit with an explosive offensive showing, scoring in four straight innings to pull away.
After Huston-Tillotson plated a run in the first, Stillman erupted for six runs in the bottom half. Erwin scored on an error to tie the game, and Stone followed with another run on a defensive miscue.
Olivia Hobson added an RBI single to score
Avary Lumpkin,
Addison Seale followed with an RBI single to bring home Sullivan, and
Addison Nuspl capped the inning with a two-run double to plate
Gracie Fjeldstad and Hobson for a 6-1 lead.
The Tigers broke the game open in the second with an eight-run inning.
Ja'Kayla Moore scored on Hobson's RBI single, Fjeldstad followed with a two-run double, then stole home. Nuspl added an RBI triple, and Erwin launched a two-run home run. Hobson drove in another run later in the inning as Stillman extended the lead to 14-2.
Stillman continued to add on in the third as Nuspl scored on Stone's RBI single, Erwin came home on Lumpkin's sacrifice fly, and
Makynli Kidd scored on Sullivan's RBI single to make it 17-2.
The Tigers added two more in the fourth when
Jazlynn Sulton scored on an error, and Seale came home on a wild pitch, pushing the lead to 19-3.
Stillman totaled 19 hits, led by Nuspl's four-hit, three-RBI performance, Hobson's three hits and three RBIs, and Erwin's three hits, including a home run, and three runs scored.
Faith Byram earned the win, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits.
Up Next:
Stillman and HTU return to action tomorrow with the series finale set for 11 a.m. in Tuscaloosa.
