MAYFIELD, Ky. - Martin Methodist College earned their first series sweep this season in conference action with a pair of wins at Mid-Continent University. The first win came in mercy rule fashion with an 11-0 score in the sixth inning, while the second game win was a last-ditch effort in the seventh inning for a 4-3 victory.
MMC wasted no time in the first game, plating their first two in the first inning with a Chrissy Darnell single and a Kandace Christopher sacrifice fly to drive in runs. A three-run second frame came thanks to a Megan McKean double, and a two-run base hit from Veronika Fukunishi.
After being silenced in the third and fourth innings, the RedHawks again came alive in the fifth and sixth to complete the game, as Fukunishi led off the fifth with a base hit, and pinch runner Jasmine Crenshaw scored on Christopher's double. Chae Ellis then plated Christopher with a single up the middle for a 7-0 lead.
The win was clinched in the sixth, as Anderson led off with a double, and went to third on Amber Kinsey's bunt single. A double-steal scored Anderson, and after Darnell reached on a walk, Christopher blasted a three-run shot to seal the 11-0 deal.
Darnell moved to 11-1 on the season with the win, and opened the second game in the circle for MMC, as the Cougars struck first. It wasn't until the fourth inning that the RedHawks came up with an answer in the form of Ellis and Christopher's back-to-back base hits that tied the game at 1-1.
The RedHawks went ahead in the fifth, as Alley Benefield would come around to score on Kinsey's single after a base hit of her own, but in the bottom of the frame MCU tied again with an RBI double.
The Cougars then used a hit and an error to plate the go-ahead in the bottom of the sixth for a grim-looking fate for MMC. In a late comeback, however, Sam Queen doubled and Anderson singled, allowing both runners to score on Kinsey's game-winning base hit for a 4-3 score that would hold true.
Chrissy Worth earned the second game win, as the pitcher of record in relief, despite Darnell's performance for nearly six innings.
Martin Methodist will head to take on Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, scheduled for 4pm.
