GEORGETOWN, TX – The Vikings were unable to come away with away with a win in Saturday's doubleheader against Southwestern, falling 16-6 in game one and 4-3 in game two.
GAME ONE (Southwestern 16, Berry 6)
It was all Pirates in the opening exchanges of game one, as the Vikings fell behind 4-0 at the top of the third.
The eager Viking bats woke up in the third frame, starting with an infield single from Ava Fouts. A fielder's choice from Elly Bennett led to her replacing Fouts at first. A single from Lauren Cothern set up a red hot Kennedy Moody, who singled and, with the help of Pirate miscues, scored three runs to make it a one-run ball game.
A thunderous response from the Pirates in the bottom of the third proved to be costly, as they scored 9 runs to blow the game open and take a 13-3 lead heading into the fourth.
Despite a 3-run response in the top of the fourth, the Vikings were unable to get necessary stops in the bottom of the fourth, as the Pirates matched them to take a 16-6 lead to end the game in five.
GAME TWO (Southwestern 4, Berry 3)
Game two was much less offensively driven, as JJ Sweat kept the Pirates at bay, allowing just one run through four innings. The Pirates added some offense in the bottom of the fifth though, pushing their lead to 2-0.
Needing an immediate response, Berry responded with Moody and Rachel Runsick earning their passes onto the basepaths. An error from Southwestern led to Moody coming home and Runsick finding her way to third. A sacrifice fly from pinch hitter Latifa Madesko tied things up at 2, as Runsick's journey yielded a run to even the score at 2.
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Southwestern matched the Vikings with two runs of their own to make it a 4-2 ballgame, leaving Berry with one last chance at the top of the seventh.
Singles from Elly Bennett and Lauren Cothern and an RBI double from Moody gave the Vikings a big-time opportunity, only down one run with a runner on third. The Pirates were able to manage the final two outs of the inning though, to edge past the Vikings in dramatic fashion by a final score of 4-3.
The Vikings look to get back in the win column on Sunday at 1 PM in the final game of their series against Southwestern.
