Hendrick and Newell lead Lady Pilots to triumph in 13-inning duel

Although the Lady Pilots were unable to sweep the Robert Morris Eagles on Saturday, March 17, they did capture an emotional 13 inning win. Following the extra inning pitchers’ duel that ended with a 2-1 Bethel victory, the Eagles stole an 8-6 victory in the late part of the afternoon. Natalie Newell was the Lady Pilot to give credit for the relentless pitching in the first game, as she went 13 innings and gave up just one unearned run. She gave up just three hits, no walks, and contributed a stunning 13 strikeouts. Oddly enough, the Eagles’ Lauren Huber went all 13 innings for her team as she would eventually surrender the winning run. The Lady Pilots grabbed the early lead in the first game, as Jenny Hendrick picked up her first home run with Bethel to give them the 1-0 advantage. Nevertheless, the Eagles would take advantage of a failed pick-off attempt in the top of the

sixth inning to move their runner into scoring position and eventually tie the game at 1-1. Both teams had a several looks at scoring throughout the extra innings played; however, it was not until the bottom of the 13th inning that Bethel would load the bases due to back-to-back bunt singles by Holly Weaver and Samantha Nikolich. From there, Hendrick captured her second RBI of the afternoon with a hard hit ground ball to the third basemen that was bobbled and had no chance for a play at the plate. Game two did not follow in the same fashion as the pitching duel from the first game turned into a slug fest. Kendra Zache pitched the first five innings of the game and was replaced by Brittany Smith after giving up seven runs off of seven hits. Smith would give up an additional run in the last two innings. Nevertheless, the hitting from Bethel kept the team within striking distance for most of the game. Trailing 7-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Hendrick got things going with another solo homerun. From there Ali Holsclaw and Katie Claxson scored off of a double by Courtney Cazarez. Unfortunately, the Eagles expanded their 7-6 lead with a solo homerun and then held off the Lady Pilots in the bottom of the seventh inning to claim a two-run triumph. The Lady Pilots will now prepare for a tough contest on Tuesday, March 20, when they travel to Bourbonnais, Illinois to take on Olivet Nazarene. The Tigers are currently ranked No. 15 in the NAIA poll.