Pitchers Set Career Highs as Softball Sweeps Harris Stowe

CARLINVILLE, IL – Freshman pitcher Shelby Koeing tallied a career high 13 strikeouts in seven innings and senior Taylor Girth posted a career best 10 strikouts in five innings to help power Blackburn College to a 5-2 and 20-0 sweep of Harris Stowe University in nonconference action Wednesday afternoon. 

Freshman Kenadee Frey led the offense with five hits, hitting two triples and a double while scoring four runs. Seniors Natalie Keith, Mckenzie Smith, and Holly Heuerman added three hits each. Four more players had two hits. 

Sophomore Breana Allen contributed four runs and sophomore Zoe Mitchell scored three runs. Junior Julianna Tabian finished the day with a team-best five runs batted in. 

The opener saw BC score two runs in the first inning. After starting with an out, Allen walked before Smith singled to advance Allen to second. Mitchell followed with a single to score Allen. After a Heuerman single loaded the bases, junior Grace Mackey hit into a fielder's choice which allowed Smith to score and put Blackburn up 2-0. 

In the fourth, Heuerman singled then stole second and got to third on a wild pitch. Senior Lexi Shaw singled to score Heuerman and put BC ahead 3-0. Harris Stowe responded with a run in the fifth inning. but Blackburn answered. After Frey tripled to start the inning, she scored on a passed ball. Allen followed with a single then stole second and got to third. She scored on another passed ball to put Blackburn ahead 5-1. The Hornets managed to score a run in the seventh but BC held on to win 5-2. 

In the nightcap, the Beavers held Harris Stowe to just one hit and scored multiple runs in each inning. Frey doubled, stole third and scored on a passed ball for the first run. Allen and Mitchell scored later in the inning to give the hosts an early 3-0 lead. The second inning saw Mackey and junior Miley Kwiatkowski both single and score on a triple from Allen. Smith followed with a single to score Allen. Tabian knocked in two more runs with a double which scored Mitchell and Smith for a 8-0 Blackburn advantage. 

The third inning featured Frey getting a run off a single from Smith. Sophomore Michelle Hollon then scored when Tabian walked with bases loaded. Keith finished the scoring by hitting a ball that resulted in a Hornet error to score Smith and Heuerman and Blackburn was ahead 12-0. 

Kwiatkoski got the scoring started in the fourth inning by getting on with a single and got to third on a wild pitch and passed ball, then stole home when Frey walked. Frey soon found herself on third and used a passed ball to score. Hollon scored on a single from Mitchell before a sacrifice fly from Tabian scored junior Jessie Cirrincione. Mitchell, Koeing, Keith and Shaw also scored runs to give Blackburn their best single inning output of the season by scoring eight runs to get the 20-0 win. 

Blackburn will return to action Friday by hosting Maranatha Baptist University in another nonconference doubleheader.