DECATUR, Ala. - Martin Methodist softball took to the road on Friday, February 24th to begin a string of travel as spring approaches, splitting a pair of games at the Shorter Tournament. MMC first dropped No. 19 Reinhardt College in a 9-7 win, but fell in the nightcap to Georgetown College in a 3-1 loss.
The RedHawks scattered nine hits in the opening game win, including multiple hit performances from Cynthia Takahashi and Amber Kinsey, both with two hits each. Catcher Veronika Fukunishi went yard on the day with a three-run shot, the only homerun of the game, while Takahashi scored three runs in four plate appearances.
MMC starter Chrissy Darnell allowed 11 hits in the affair, but the MMC defense stranded seven RU baserunners and caught three stealing on their way to the win. Darnell moved to 2-0 on the season with the win, as she fanned four batters in the contest.
Junior Katlin White got the starting nod in the second game and suffered her first loss of the season against Georgetown College. White struck out nine and allowed just six hits, with just one earned run in the outing.
The RedHawks collected seven hits offensively but left eight on the basepaths, falling to the Tigers, 3-1. Takahashi was again one of the leading hitters for Martin Methodist, going 3-for-4 in the final game of the day.
Georgetown jumped on the board first, plating two in the first inning, and while MMC cut the lead in half in the bottom half of the same frame, another GC run in the sixth was too much.
MMC continues play in the Shorter tournament on Saturday, facing a tough three-game day with NAIA Top 25 competition for much of the afternoon.
