LEESBURG, Fla. — The Knox College softball team played twice today at THE Spring Games in Florida, and in both games its opposition scored early and often to defeat the Prairie Fire (0-14). Keene State (5-4) held off Knox for an 8-6 victory, and Plymouth State (8-5) won in six innings, 9-1.
The Prairie Fire surrendered three runs in each of the first two frames of the day while responding with just one run in their halves. Fifth-year Londyn Nelson, the Knox starting pitcher, helped her own cause with an RBI single for the Fire's first run, and first-year Kenzi Chandler produced another one in the second, making it a 6-2 game.
The Owls answered back with solitary runs in the third and fourth to take a six-run lead, but Knox rallied to claw back into the game. Senior Maddie Poetzinger stroked an RBI double in the fourth, and fifth-year Haylee Carpenter roped a two-run single to close the gap to three.
First-year Lauren O'Neill drove home junior Kylie Thomson, who had led off the fifth with a single, with a grounder to short. But Knox left another runner on third to end the fifth and two more on base in the sixth before going down in order in the seventh to end the game.
Olivia Souers (1-0) picked up the win with 3.1 innings of relief for Keene State, surrendering just one run on four hits. Nelson (0-5) took the loss for yielding eight runs, seven earned, while hurling all seven stanzas.
Plymouth State jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first, starting with back-to-back triples by the Bessette sisters, Kenzie and Emily, to start the frame. After two more Panther runs in the second, Knox got on the board on a single by junior Maddie Hicks, an error that allowed her to advance to third and a grounder to second off the bat of senior Morgan Bean.
Sophomore starter Charlie Davison (0-7) settled in after her rough first two innings, holding Plymouth State scoreless for the third, fourth and fifth frames. But a Kennedy Michaud leadoff double and an RBI single off the bat of Sam Durrenberger in the sixth ended the game due to the run rule.
Mackenzie Griswold (1-0) went the distance for the Panthers, allowing just two hits and one unearned run, walking one and striking out six.
Knox will have its toughest test of the season tomorrow when it faces sixth-ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh (9-1) at 12:15 p.m. For their second game of the day, the Prairie Fire will entertain SUNY Old Westbury (0-8) at 2:30 p.m. (EDT). Both contests will be played at Legends Way Ballfields in Clermont, Florida.
