HANOVER, Ind. – Hanover (11-23 overall, 3-10 HCAC) battled Earlham in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action, winning game two in seventh inning thriller.
GAME ONE
HOW IT HAPPENED
Hanover battled but ultimately fell 6-4 to Earlham. After falling behind early, Hanover showed resilience late, scoring in three of the final four innings to cut into the deficit.
Earlham jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and gradually extended it to 6-1 by the sixth. The Panther offense broke through in the fourth inning when a sacrifice fly from sophomore
Ashley Fulton brought in freshman
Morgan Bailey.
The Panthers made their biggest push in the sixth inning as
Morgan Bailey delivered a two-run home run to center, trimming the deficit to 6-3. Hanover continued to fight in the seventh, adding another run on an RBI single from
Sydney Foy and bringing the tying run to the plate, but couldn't complete the comeback.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Bailey led the Panthers with two RBI on two hits with two runs scored.
In the circle, sophomore
Lulu Van Beek got the start pitching a complete game with seven strikeouts.
GAME TWO
HOW IT HAPPENED
Hanover used timely hitting and a strong performance in the circle to secure a 4-3 comeback win over Earlham.
Hanover struck first in the opening inning, taking advantage of an error to set the tone early.
Addison Smith reached and moved into scoring position before sophomore
Niecy Reyna delivered an RBI single to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
The game remained quiet through the middle innings as Hanover pitcher Fulton kept Earlham in check. Fulton scattered six hits across seven innings, allowing three runs while consistently working out of trouble to keep Hanover within striking distance.
Earlham broke through in the fifth inning with a three-run home run, flipping a 1-0 Hanover lead into a 3-1 deficit. Hanover responded immediately in the bottom half, cutting the lead to 3-2 when Bailey drove in Kammer with an RBI single.
Trailing by one entering the seventh, Hanover delivered its biggest inning of the day.
Lilly Cunagin opened the frame with a double, and Kammer followed with an RBI single to tie the game. After sophomore
Addison Smith reached on a bunt single, Reyna laced a double to center to put runners in scoring position. Moments later, Bailey came through again with a clutch RBI single to score Smith and walk it off for a 4-3 victory.
