Elon University softball defeated the College of Charleston 3-2 in an extra innings, walk-off thriller in a battle of the Coastal Athletic Association’s best. The two teams entered the game tied for first place in the CAA as they both boasted a 9-3 conference record, but it was Elon who came out on top after nine grueling innings of play that almost lasted three hours.
Both teams strangely mirrored each other in the first inning with a flurry of baserunners getting on base, but few runs were actually scored. Charleston started the game off hot with a leadoff double, followed by a walk. Sophomore pitcher Lia Miller looked shaky early on, triggering a mound visit from her coaches and her catches, hoping to settle her down and prevent any further damage. After getting one out, Miller walked another, loading the bases. Charleston drove one run in, but Miller got out of the jam, stranding two runners.
Elon’s leadoff hitter, sophomore Greta Hessenthaler, started Elon’s offense off with a gritty 8-pitch at-bat that resulted in a walk. Elon then proceeded to mirror Charleston’s start by loading the bases. Elon struggled to drive runners in, however, as Charleston did, too. Charleston got three straight outs, stranding all three Phoenix runners.
Miller started the second inning by allowing the first two batters to get on base, ending her day as head coach Kathy Bocock made the change to put redshirt junior Taylor Cherry in. Bocock said that the two of them work well off together because they have a very different arsenal of pitches, so putting Cherry in was Elon’s attempt at changing what the Charleston hitters were seeing. The bases were loaded again soon after, but Charleston only managed to get one runner home.
Pop-outs plagued the Phoenix early on, but senior Rachel Hartley scored in the bottom of the second inning to get Elon on the board. Cherry began to dominate, throwing three strikeouts. Neither side scored again until the fifth inning as pitchers began to take control of the game. Bocock was impressed with Cherry and said she allowed the game to settle down.
Redshirt junior Taylor Cherry pitches during Elon's game against the College of Charleston on April 4. She had three strikeouts.
“Taylor came in and threw them off track a little bit and she kept them off balance,” Bocock said. “We knew it was going to be a dog fight to score some runs and just hold them as best we could. We asked Taylor to go in the game and just keep us there so we could get some runs, and she and the defense with her did the job.”
In the fifth inning, senior Kaitlyn Wells blasted one over the right center wall for a home run, tying the game at 2-2. Wells is amid an impressive season as she leads the team in batting average and in home runs with .394 and 10, respectively. She also has the second most runs batted in in the CAA.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Elon narrowly missed on capturing the lead for the first time of the night. With two outs and redshirt junior Chloe Hatzopoulos on first base, freshman and Alamance native Kayla Wilson came into the game to pinch hit. She hit a line drive down the right field line to get onto first base and advance Hatzopoulos to third. But Charleston stood firm, striking out the next batter and ending the inning.
Going into the seventh inning, it was still tied as both teams looked to secure a go-ahead run. Despite giving up a walk, Elon escaped the top half of the inning without giving up a room, looking to walk it off in the bottom of the seventh with the top of its order coming up. Despite the best of its order hitting, Elon went 1, 2, 3 as Charleston got three straight outs to push the game to extra innings.
The Phoenix got through the top of the eighth quickly with two groundouts and a fly out, but Elon’s offense racked up three outs just as quickly.
After not letting up a run since the second inning and not letting up a hit since the sixth, Cherry was finally broken in the top of the ninth as a hit finally came with two outs. It marked the end of her day as Bocock replaced her with sophomore Anna Dew. Dew proceeded to let up two straight hits, loading the bases. Dew dug deep and escaped the inning, however, without letting up a run by forcing a fly out to right field where the ball found itself in the glove of Hartley.
Sophomore Peyton Fitzpatrick started the bottom of the ninth off for Elon with a walk. A sacrifice bunt and a groundout allowed Fitzpatrick to advance to third base. Hessenthaler almost walked it off with two outs and a 3-2 count but took the fourth ball to secure a walk. Bocock said the hitters did a good job of adjusting in the ninth inning.
“We try to talk to them and say, ‘Keep an eye on the pitcher and once you've seen that picture once, let's try to make some adjustments,”’ Bocock said. “I feel like our offense made some adjustments and, that's the thing we talk about all the time, is that we got to find ways to get to the bases, because once we get to the bases, then we can do situational hitting.”
With two runners on, senior Allee Seering walked up to the plate with her bat holding the pathway to victory. With the swing of her bat, Seering made contact with the ball, hitting it up the middle of the infield, driving in Fitzpatrick for the walk-off. Seering said confidence was key to staying focused amid the pressure of the moment.
“My mentality going into the at-bat was just stay confident in what my coaches taught us previously and what we work on every day,” Seering said. “I had no thoughts in my mind besides being confident at that moment.”
Seering said that prioritizing advancing runners over just getting hits allowed Elon to break through and get players on base during the ninth inning.
“Before that inning, my coaches really emphasized on being situationally smart in those innings, so finding someone to get on base,” Seering said. “Executing those situational plays was the key for that inning, and that's what made us successful.”
Elon plays Charleston again at 2 p.m. April 4 at Hunt Softball Park.