RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky beat Miami (Ohio) 8-0 in five innings in the first game of a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday at Gertrude Hood Field. The RedHawks (13-15) won the second game by a score of 10-8 in eight innings. Amber Lenz hit her first career home run, a grand slam, in game one for the Colonels (19-11).
Eastern Kentucky loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first inning of game one. Sophomore Shyenne Hussey drew a walk to force in the game’s first run. Lenz followed and drove the first pitch she saw over the left field fence for her first collegiate home run, and the Colonels’ fourth grand slam of the season.
After the first inning, EKU only had one hit but led 5-0.
Miami loaded the bases with one out in its half of the second inning, but came away empty. The Colonels loaded them up again in the second with one out. Hussey was hit by a pitch to push across the sixth run of the game and leave the bases loaded for Lenz again. This time the freshman drove in one with a single to center field.
Katie Rolf’s solo home run over the left-center field fence ended the game in the fifth inning. The homer was the second of the season for the senior.
Jenn Bledsoe started and pitched two scoreless innings. She allowed one hit, walked two and struck out two. Heather Metzger (1-0) made her EKU debut, tossing the final three innings. The transfer from Transylvania University allowed two hits, two walks and struck out two.
Meredith Linch (7-8) suffered the loss after allowing only one hit. However, she hit three batters and walked four while giving up seven runs in only one and one third innings.
Lenz finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and five RBIs.
The RedHawks wasted little time getting going in the second game. Miami capitalized on a pair of EKU errors to score three times in the first inning. Breanna Robinson hit a towering shot down the left field line with a runner on to account for two of the runs.
The Colonels got two runs back in the third on Adriel Foxley’s bases loaded single that scored Michelle Lerner and Pam Webber.
After Miami went up 4-2 on Robinson’s RBI ground out in the fourth, Eastern came right back and made it a one-run game on Lerner’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning.
The RedHawks put some distance between the two teams with three runs in the sixth. Alicia Hogl’s single scored one and Christine Bills drove in a pair with a single down the left field line for a 7-3 lead.
Jena Handley led off the sixth inning with her fourth home run of the season to cut the deficit to three. The Colonels rallied in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score. EKU drew back-to-back walks to lead-off the inning. After a strikeout, Lenz singled to load the bases. Handley drove in one with a single up the middle and a second run scored on a fielding error to make it 7-6. Lenz scored the tying run on another Miami fielding error.
Miami put three more on the board in the top of the eighth. Back-to-back doubles by Robinson and Hogl pushed across the go-ahead run. Two more runners scored on Jenna McGivney’s single up the middle.
Hussey hit her fifth home run, to straight away center field, in the bottom of the eighth to set the final score.
Handley finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two driven in for EKU. Foxley, Hussey and Rolf each went 2-for-4. Robinson and Hogl combined to go 7-for-10 with five runs scored and five RBIs for the RedHawks.
The Colonels step back into conference play this weekend with a road trip to first place Jacksonville State. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m., and a single game on Sunday with a 2 p.m. start time.
