Co-Lin softball facing East Central after 1-1 World Series start
Published 9:29 am Wednesday, May 22, 2024
- PHOTO BY CO-LIN SPORTS INFO The No. 2 seeded Copiah-Lincoln Wolves will look to stay alive at the NJCAA World Series on Wednesday at 10 a.m. when they play East Central CC in an elimination game.
The No. 2 seeded Copiah-Lincoln Wolves went 1-1 on Tuesday at the 2024 NJCAA Division II Softball World Series.
Co-Lin will look to proceed in the loser’s bracket on Wednesday when they play fellow MACCC program East Central CC at 10 p.m. in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
In their opener, the Central Alabama Trojans never trailed on Tuesday and defeated the Wolves 6-2.
CACC came in as the No. 15 seed and defeated No. 16 St. Louis on Monday by a 5-4 final score.
The game was tight through the first three innings, as the Wolves got the only hit during that time via a Zykeria Cole double.
Central Alabama broke things open in the top of the fourth, getting five runs on five hits and one error.
Left fielder Morgan Brewer got the scoring started with a solo home run to put Central Alabama ahead 1-0. That was followed up by another solo home run as the next batter Brooke Milner put one over the fence too.
Things went from bad to worse for CLCC as a throwing error down to third led to another run crossing for the Trojans.
CACC then got a double and a single to build the lead out to 5-0.
Co-Lin only got four hits as the pitching combination of Hardy Erwin and Lani Varner didn’t record a strikeout but had the Wolves putting balls into play that were corralled by the defense.
One ball that wasn’t caught for an out was a two-run home run by Co-Lin sophomore outfielder Madison Moak. Moak hit her shot in the bottom of the sixth, pulling the Wolves to within 5-2.
Central Alabama got another insurance run in the top of the seventh when Brewer homered for the second time in the game.
Starting pitcher Cara Biswell took the loss for Co-Lin. She went 3.2 innings, struck out seven and walked three while giving up five hits. Freshman Emily Richarde came in as relief and allowed two hits, while striking out seven.
It was a rough start for all three MACCC schools in the national tournament. East Central, seeded No. 11, lost on Monday to No. 6 seeded Kirkwood (Iowa) 9-3. Just before Co-Lin was defeated, the No. 4 seeded Jones College Bobcats lost 4-1 to No. 13 seed Rock Valley.
Jones bounced back to beat Bryant & Stratton (Virginia) 10-8 in extra innings on Tuesday to stay alive in tournament play.
Co-Lin cruised to a win over Macomb (Michigan) by a 14-3 final on Tuesday evening.
CLCC jumped out to an 8-0 lead after three innings. Freshman Taylor Efferson hit a home run and drove in three runs.
Bailee Goodson, Moak, and Efferson all doubled for the Wolves. Moak and Goodson had two RBIs each while Abby Grace Richardson and Kinley Ainsworth drove in one run apiece.
Biswell drew the start in the circle and pitched four innings. Keegan McCorkle and Karley Rouse threw one inning each in relief.
Co-Lin swept East Central on March 27 in a regular season meeting played in Wesson. The Wolves won the opener that day 8-2 and then took the second game by a 6-5 final.