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Box Score 2 ST. LOUIS – [Game One Box] [Game Two Box] Even a cold, rainy, day could not ruin the fun for the Missouri Baptist softball team. The Spartans won both contests against St. Mary-of-the-Woods on walk-off homers by Corey Pitchford and Mariah Randazzo.
Missouri Baptist (3-3) blasted five home runs on the day, including four in the second game.
In game one, senior Corey Pitchford stole the show at the plate. She smacked triple and a 2-run, walk-off home run, and tallied four putouts with one assist.
Junior Deanna Peters added two hits in three at-bats and recorded one RBI.
Missouri Baptist posted just eight hits in the contest, but made the most of its production.
Sophomore Andrea Chessor earned the victory in relief. She tossed just 19 pitches over 1.2 innings of work to earn the win. Chessor allowed two hits and zero runs over the final four outs.
Jena Trombley did not record a decision in the contest, but pitched efficiently. She gave up three earned runs on 11 hits over 5.1 innings. The senior struck out two and walked just one batter.
The game featured seven extra base hits, starting with Corey Pitchford's one-out triple down the left field line in the first inning. She scored on Payton Anderson's two-out double off the fence in right-center. Mariah Randazzo followed with a single to left-center, which scored Anderson to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead. Randazzo moved to second on Lexi Gray's walk and would later score on Deanna Peters' single through the 5-6 hole.
Trombley held the Pomeroys scoreless until the 6th inning, when SMWC tied the game at 3-3.
In the bottom of the 7th inning, the Spartans went to work. Leadoff hitter Kelsey Snider started the action with a double down the left field line. On the very next pitch, Corey Pitchford obliterated a walk-off home run to right-center field, giving MBU a 5-3 victory. The home run was Pitchford's fifth of her career.
Game two saw 22 runs cross home plate between the two schools. The Pomeroys poked 13 hits in the contest, while MBU tallied 12 hits. The Spartans had to overcome five defensive errors over the nine innings of play, but made the plays when it counted the most.
Several Spartans shined in the victory. Payton Anderson posted the gaudiest statistics in the game. She went a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish with two home runs and six RBI. The MBU catcher was intentionally walked in her final two plate appearances.
Mariah Randazzo had just one hit in the game, but it was one of the biggest of her Spartan career. She tallied the walk-off, three-run, homer to give the Spartans the 12-10 victory.
Junior Kara Pochon posted two hits in five at-bats, scoring twice, and driving in two RBI. She added a home run and a double.
Freshman Pam Diaz roped two hits in three at-bats and added a stolen base.
Freshman Madison Calvert earned the victory in relief. In her lone inning of work, she gave up just one unearned run, and recorded one strikeout.
The Pomeroys jumped on the board early with three runs on four hits in the top of the first off of starter Andrea Chessor.
Missouri Baptist answered with two runs on three hits. Corey Pitchford picked-up where she left-off in game one, pounding a one-out double off the fence in left-center. Kara Pochon followed with an RBI double off the fence in right-center, scoring Pitchford. Payton Anderson ripped a single to center that scored Pochon. MBU trailed 3-2 after one inning of play.
SMWC extended the lead to 4-2 on a first-pitch solo blast in the top of the 3rd, but the Spartans answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Kelsey Snider smacked a one-out single through the left side and moved to second on a wild pitch. Pitchford reached on a walk and the two would advance on Pochon's groundout. Payton Anderson destroyed a 2-1 pitch over the fence in left for a three-run homer, giving the Spartans a 5-4 lead. The ball took one bounce off the parking lot and rolled down the street on the MBU campus.
St. Mary-of-the-Woods retook the lead with two runs on three hits and aided by one MBU error in the 4th. They extended the lead to 8-5 with two more runs in the top of the 5th inning.
In the bottom of the 5th inning, Missouri Baptist plated two runs on one mammoth hit. Corey Pitchford reached on an error to lead off the inning. She moved to second on Pochon's groundout, leaving a base open for Anderson. The Pomeroys pitched around the dangerous Spartan catcher and Anderson worked the count to 3-0. Instead of walking the 2014 leader in RBI, the Pomeroy pitcher tossed a strike at the knees. On the next pitch, Anderson blasted a towering 2-run home run to left-center, her second long ball of the game. That cut the deficit to 8-7 after five complete innings.
The Spartans tied the contest in the next inning. Peters led off with a single to center and moved to second on Pam Diaz's sac bunt. Instead of settling for just one base, Peters took off for third when no one covered the base. She slid in safely, which moved her one base closer to tying the score. Andrea Chessor worked the count and eventually singled down the left field line to tie the game at 8-8.
In the top of the 7th, the Spartans were one out away from sending the game into the bottom half with the score tied, but the Pomeroys got aggressive. With two outs and runners on first and second, a dribbler towards short resulted in an infield hit. Instead of stopping at third, SMWC put the pressure on the Spartan defense by sending the runner home. A wild throw by Randazzo resulted in the Pomeroys taking a 9-8 lead.
As the temperature started to drop, the Spartans showed no signs of cooling down. Kara Pochon led off the inning with a line drive home run down the left field line to tie the game at 9-9.
Extra innings activated the International tie-breaker rule, which starts each half-inning with a runner on second base. Neither team could plate a runner in the 8th.
In the top of the 9th inning, freshman pitcher Madison Calvert struck out the first batter of the inning. The next SMWC batter laid down a sac bunt, but Calvert threw the ball down the right field line, allowing the runner to score from second. That gave the Pomeroys a 10-9 lead.
In the bottom-half of the 9th, Pochon moved Pitchford to third on a fly out to right field. Payton Anderson reached on an intentional walk, which brought Mariah Randazzo to the plate. With the count 1-2, she unloaded a walk-off 3-run bomb to dead center, giving the Spartans a 12-10 victory.
Missouri Baptist will host Williams Baptist on Friday at 2 pm and Lyon College on Saturday at noon.
