Lady Cats Sweep Bearcats in McKenzie
MCKENZIE, Tenn. – It was the battle of the Cats Tuesday afternoon in McKenzie as the Bethel Wildcats and the Brescia Bearcats met in a softball twin bill at Lady Wildcat Park in the Khalden Complex.
After the Bearcats took a one run lead in the first inning of game one, the Lady Wildcats answered by batting around in the bottom of the inning. The Cats exploded for six runs. Kennedy Gillespie had an RBI double which was followed by an Emma Johnson two run double. Jezabelle Quintana and Maria Murdaugh also drove in single runs in the inning.
Bethel extended their margin to 11-1 in the bottom of the second. Johnson , Quintana and Miranda Carnell drove in single runs which were followed by a two-run homer off the bat of freshman Amber Osborne.
That would complete the scoring in the game as Bethel won 11-1 in five innings.
The Cats outhit Brescia 13-3. The Bearcats had five errors in the game.
Lauren Reimsnyder fired a three-hitter to pick up the win while Hannah Hailey was charged with the Bearcat loss.
Game two saw the Bearcats take a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. The Wildcats tied the game with a two run third inning. With the game tied at four in the bottom of the seventh, Johnson scored on a Brescia error handing the Cats the 5-4 victory and the doubleheader sweep.
Johnson, Carnell and Alexis Wheeler each had two hits and drove in single runs for Bethel. Quintana and Gillespie had an RBI as well.
Each team had nine hits and four errors in the game. Maddie Locke pitched well in relief and picked up the Wildcat win.
As a sidenote to the season Bethel's Wheeler had been hit a by pitch twice and is now the all-time leader in program history with 35 HBP's. That mark ranks 7th all-time in NAIA history.
The Cats return to action Thursday hosting the Central Baptist Mustangs in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
Live stats:
https://bethelathletics.com/sports/sball/2022-23/boxscores/20230223_j2ca.xml
Watch:
https://bethelathletics.com/watch