Clermont, Fla. - Lake Superior State softball opened The Spring Games in Clermont, Fla. on Wednesday with a pair of losses against Mount Union and Eckerd College.
The Lakers (3-3) began the day staring an 8-0 deficit heading into the top of the fifth and potentially last inning against the Raiders (4-4). LSSU opened the fifth frame by getting their first three batters on base before Carly Bachiu flied out to centerfield to score their first run of the game with Lindsey Pajot scoring on the sacrifice fly.
The Lakers picked up their second out of the inning on the next batter. After a Teryn Williams single to load the bases, Katie Martin Walked in a run to score Taylor Steinhelper.
Alyssa Boucher, who entered the game in the third inning to relieve starter Riley Durbano, helped her cause with a single to score two runs on the next at bat. In scoring Willams and Kylie Durre, Boucher effectively cut the Raiders lead in half at 8-4 and extended the game to guarantee the Lakers their first seven-inning contest of the season.
The Raiders responded in the bottom half of the inning with a ground out to third base by Jordan Tull scoring Jessica Kennedy and putting Mount Union up 9-4.
In the top of the sixth inning Durre belted her second home run of the season, scoring Steinhelper with the two-run shot.
With two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning, Raiders starter Allie Scali (W, 2-2) picked up her eighth strikeout of the game to squander the late comeback charge by the Lakers.
Steinhelper led the Lakers by going 4-for-4 at the plate and picked up a walk while scoring two runs. Durre and Boucher each registered two RBIs to lead the Lakers, while Boucher pitched four innings and struck out two batters in her relief appearance.
Andi Vansickle led the Raiders with a home run and two RBIs, while Logan Lehman and Jordan Tull each picked up two RBIs in the victory. Lehman went 3-for-4 at the plate and Tull was 2-for-3 and also scored two runs.
The Lakers fell to Eckerd College in their second game by a score of 15-4 after a rocky first inning in which the Tritons (11-5-1) scored 12 runs in the top half of the opening frame.
The Tritons added three runs in the second inning for a 15-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third inning the Lakers received doubles from Lindsey Pajot and Carly Banchiu to cut the lead to 15-2. Pajot doubled to right-center field to score Steinhelper and later scored on a double to right field by Banchiu. Banchiu picked up her team-leading ninth RBI on the season with her first double of the 2016 campaign.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Lakers drew a pair of inning-opening walks and a single Banchiu to load the bases. Two outs later the patient Lakers scored two more runs on consecutive walks with the bases open but the game came to a close on the next batter as Janna Gaburo (W, 5-2) returned to the mound to record the final out.
Freshman Alyssa Thayer (L, 1-2) pitched 4.1 innings and struck out three batters on 99 pitches.