The Snow College softball team faced off against the College of Southern Nevada Saturday in Ephraim for the final doubleheader of the four-game weekend series. Saturday's first game saw the Badgers earn a 15-7 victory in only five innings of play. However, the Coyotes would bounce back in the second game to earn a 7-6 victory. Snow College finished the weekend going 2-2 against CSN.
The Badgers entered Saturday's doubleheader after splitting Friday's twin bill against the Coyotes. Friday's first game saw CSN win 4-1, however, Snow College would respond in the second game to earn a 5-4 victory. Over the span of Friday's games, the Badgers greatly improved from the plate. After only three hits in the first game, the squad rallied for 10 hits in the second.
The Coyotes would open Saturday's game one with a run in the first inning. Snow College responded in the bottom of the first and scored seven runs on five hits. Bailey Bowers, Katelyn Slade, August Cowan, and Tasia Shibuya all singled while McCall Maxfield crushed a double, bringing in two runners. The first inning came to a 7-1 close for Snow College.
This energy continued with the Badgers as the team entered the second inning. Despite CSN scoring two runs in the top of the second, Snow College's hitting success carried on and the team added five more runs. With three runners on base, Maxfield rocked a grand slam to left field, adding even more security to the Badger's lead. After nailing a triple down the right-field line, Cowan later managed to score on a throwing error from the Coyotes. Snow College ended the second inning with a monstrous 12-3 lead.
Throughout the next two innings of play, CSN added one run to their score while the Badgers extended their lead with two. Emma Higley singled up the middle which brought Shibuya and Bowers in to score. At the close of the fourth inning, Snow College led 14-4.
The fifth inning saw the Coyotes make a last-minute push as the team scored three runs on three hits. The Badgers would end the game in the bottom of the fifth via run rule as Maxfield safely reached home on a Shibuya single. Saturday's first game came to a 15-7 close as the Badgers earned the win.
The second and final meeting between the two teams proved to be a much closer battle. Snow College remained scoreless until the bottom of the third where an error allowed Kaylee Lyman to score. Maxfield continued her hitting streak, and she brought in two more Badgers on a single to center tying the game at 3 apiece.
As the fourth inning commenced, CSN rallied for four runs, and the team jumped to a 7-3 lead. However, after that burst of energy, both teams would remain scoreless until the bottom of the sixth, where Snow College would add two runs. Thanks to a sacrifice fly and a single, Lyman and Shibuya scored, cutting the Coyote's lead to 7-5 entering the final inning of play.
The Badgers managed to leave CSN scoreless in the top of the seventh inning. With a runner on first, two outs, and a full count, Lyman delivered a clutch triple to right center, bringing Higley home and Snow College within two runs. However, two pitches later, a popped ball to second base would kill the Badger's aspirations to come back. The game came to a heartbreaking 7-6 defeat for Snow College.
On Saturday, Snow College was led in hitting by Slade who finished the day going 5-7 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Maxfield went 4-8 over the two games and drove in eight RBIs. Pitchers Brinley Ellsworth and Andrea Sweat earned victories as Ellsworth finished Friday's win with seven strikeouts and Sweat finished Saturday's win with four.
Snow College will now prepare to take on Colorado Northwestern Community College in Rangely, CO, next weekend. Friday's start times are scheduled for 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. while Saturday's will be at 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. The Badgers have a 65-8 record against the Spartans and earned a 23-3 victory in their last matchup April 28, 2022. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
