NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Annah Junge reached the 400-career strikeout mark on Friday night, as the Charleston Southern softball team went 1-1 in the first day of the CSU Kickoff Tournament at CSU Softball field. They defeated the Bellarmine Knights in the first game by a 4-2 school while dropping the night cap against Saint Francis 3-2 in eight innings.
Game One
The Knights jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, as they took advantage of the Buccaneer error with two outs. The Bucs (1-1) responded in the second inning with a pair of two-out hits. With a runner on base,
Emma Villaescusa tied the game with a double. Next,
Weslin Jones brought in Villaescusa with an RBI triple.
Bellarmine tied the game in the top of the third inning, as
Blake Holtorf surrendered an RBI double; however, the Bucs responded with two of their own in the bottom of the inning, as
Cadence Walding brought in
Madelyne Lee with an RBI single. Then,
Charlee Yourman singled, and the Bucs scored a run as
Cadence Walding came around to score.
In her first appearance in two years, Holtorf picked up the win, going 4.0 innings allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits, two walks and a strikeout. She gave way to
Nealy Lamb, who picked up her first collegiate save going 3.0 innings allowing just one hit and striking out three batters.
Game Two
A pitcher's duel is how the night cap got started, as neither team scored until the fourth inning, when Saint Francis got two runs on an RBI triple as well as a throwing error by the Bucs (1-2).
Charleston Southern did not have a baserunner until the sixth inning when
Annah Junge reached second base on a fielding error by Saint Francis. After a
Linley Jones single,
Carsten Sandvig, who was pinch running at first base, stole second. She advanced to third on a throwing error that allowed Villaescusa to score. Then,
Kendal Cook tied the game with a sac fly to left field.
In extra innings, Saint Francis scored on an RBI groundout to go up 3-2. The Bucs got a runner to third base with one out, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the rally. Junge took the loss to fall to 0-2 on the season. She went 8.0 innings allowing three runs (one earned) and striking out six. She became just the fourth pitcher in school history to reach 400 career strikeouts and is now second in school history with 405.
On Deck
The Bucs continue the CSU Kickoff Tournament tomorrow starting at 3 PM, as they host Siena for the first time this weekend. They will follow that up with a rematch with Saint Francis at 5:30 PM. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
