KINGSPORT, Tenn. - Bryan College softball dropped a tough 3-2 decision to Truett McConnell on Thursday afternoon in Kingsport, falling in eight innings in a game that came down to the wire.
The Lions tied things up in the fourth inning when
Kaycee Baldwin reached and eventually scored on a
KP Smith single through the right side, knotting the game at one after Grace Folds had given Truett McConnell the lead with a solo home run earlier in the frame.
From there, both teams traded zeros until the eighth inning unraveled things for Bryan. Truett McConnell pushed across two runs in the top half, taking advantage of a catcher's error to extend what had been a slim lead to 3-1. The Lions answered with some life of their own in the bottom of the eighth, as
Lily Taylor laced a run-scoring double down the left field line to make it a 3-2 game, but
Kaycee Baldwin lined out to strand the tying run at third and end the rally.
KP Smith was solid in the circle for Bryan, going the full eight innings and allowing just three runs, one of which was unearned, while striking out five. The loss drops her record to 12-12 on the season.
Offensively, Baldwin and
Karly Blackwell each swiped a bag, and Taylor's two-bagger in the eighth was the highlight of a six-hit afternoon. Smith also contributed at the plate with the go-ahead RBI single in the fourth.
Bryan falls to 28-2 on the season. They will take on the winner of Johnson vs Reinhardt tomorrow morning at 11:00 am.
