MARSHALL, Texas - The Coe College softball team opened play at the NCAA DIII Softball Championships on Thursday afternoon, picking up a 3-0 victory over no. 2 Linfield University at Taylor Field.
Ellie Thurow allowed just two hits in the win and marked the fifth-straight game in which she did not allow an earned run. Thurow struck out two hitters and worked around one free pass en route to her 15th win of the year while dropping her ERA to just 1.06. Thurow's offense tallied seven hits in the game and scored all three runs in the top of the sixth with RBI from
Madi Parson, Skyler Stookey and
Shaylee Dodd who recorded three-straight run-scoring hits to put their team in front. Thurow returned to the circle in the sixth with a three-run lead and made no mistakes, retiring the final six hitters in order to give Coe the tournament-opening win.
COE 3 - LINDFIELD 0
Game Facts
- Both teams went down in order to in the first but Dodd gave Coe its first base runner with a hard-hit single to right with one gone in the second. The Kohawks ran themselves out of the potential rally in the next at-bat as Dodd attempted to advance to third on a grounder but was thrown out to end the inning.
- Linfield got a two-out single in the bottom of the second for its first base runner however Thurow stranded the runner, inducing a weak pop out to second. The Kohawks threatened in the third, loading the bases with a pair of walks and a defensive miscue from the Wildcats. Parson had her first chance to give Coe the lead in the next plate appearance but came up just short, flying out to center to leave the bases juiced.
- The Wildcats had a scoring chance in the bottom of the fourth, getting two leadoff base runners before moving both up 60 feet with a sacrifice bunt. Thurow buckled down for the final two outs to eliminate the threat, forcing a pair of foul pop-outs to escape the trouble.
- The Kohawks put the lone runs of the game on the board in the top of the sixth, using five hits and one defensive error to push three home. Heather Boeckenstedt led off with a single and immediately moved to second on a sacrifice from Ruby Kappeler. Parson then drove home the opening run with a single up the middle, plating Boeckenstedt from second. Stookey kept things rolling in the following at-bat, crushing an RBI double that hit off the wall to score Parson. Dodd made it 3-0 in the next plate appearance, registering an infield single to score Stookey from third.
- Thurow remained dominant over the final six outs of the game, recording a strikeout in the sixth and seventh while retiring Linfield in order to lock down the victory.
Up Next: Coe is in action tomorrow for its second game of the NCAA Championships, taking on the winner of no. 3 Trine and no. 6 Rowan at 6:30 PM.
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