BUENA VISTA, Va. – The Southern Virginia University Softball team (13-9, 1-3) fell to conference foe and No. 12 ranked Pfeiffer University (17-9, 5-1) on a rainy Friday afternoon.
In the first match, the Falcons made quick work of the first inning, forcing two ground outs, and a foul out, while allowing just a single walk. The second half of the inning went almost as quickly, with Jacie Shumway hitting a single, but after a couple of ground outs,
Dykell Jones was caught stealing to end the inning.
Both counterparts in the second inning and Pfeiffer in the top of the third went three-up, three-down, not leaving any expectation for the excitement to follow.
In the bottom of the third,
Arianna Prymak hit a single up the middle, directly followed by a Jones double sent into left field. The action continued with Shumway driving another up the middle, sending Prymak home. Then up to bat,
Krystal Kemp homered to left center, bringing in three runners. A ground out at third base rounded out the inning, leaving the score at 4-0 in favor of the Knights.
The fourth inning led to two runs scored by the visitors, the first being a homer hit by Jaci Cook and the second being Kenzi Lyall advancing on a Caiti Mickles double. Back-to-back swinging strikeouts and a caught foul ball finished the bottom of the fourth inning for Southern Virginia, resulting in a scoreboard reading 4-2.
The Falcons opened the sixth inning with an impressive homer to right center.
Chloe Persinger traded out the starting pitcher
Arianna Prymak to continue the inning. A double by Lyall and a single by Chopko resulted in another score, tying it up at four. Persinger ended the top of the sixth with some outstanding throws, striking out Pfeiffer's Wolpert swinging.
The Knights and Falcons set into another after the typical seven innings because of the tied score. The eighth inning began with Lyall hitting a homer to right center, batting in two runners for the Falcons. The next Falcon at bat followed Lyall's lead, snatching another point in the form of another home run.
Southern Virginia's
Dykell Jones stepped up to the plate with the score now being 7-4. Due to an error in the outfield, Jones came running home, adding another tally. A score by
Arianna Prymak on an Adison Webster single concluded the scoring by Southern Virginia. A ground out at first for
Malia Davis ended the first game of the two-game series with a disappointing but hard-fought loss for the Knights in 7-6.
A short 30 minutes later, the two teams faced off again, battling heavy rain and winds. The first two innings were short, with the outfield of both teams grabbing pop flys and allowing no runs. The Falcons made the first move, scoring two runs after Adison Campbell doubled, then was brought in by a Kyndell Warren home run in the third inning.
Southern Virginia matched the score in their portion of the third inning. Matea Manulelua hit a single and, coupled with an error by the left fielder, made it home, bringing in
Katie Claytor. Pfeiffer pitcher Kali Morton struck out the next three Knight batters, ending the inning in a tie. The next three innings consisted of three batters and three outs for both teams.
The final of the 15 innings of this matchup resulted in Pfeiffer scoring two more runs, one due to an SVU throwing error from home plate to third base and the other a run batted in by a Kyndell Warren double. Southern Virginia could not even the score in the bottom of the seventh, losing the game 4-2.
The Knights will look for a comeback in tomorrow's games against Brevard College.
For the most up-to-date information regarding Southern Virginia University softball, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knight_softball on Instagram.
