Claremont- The Cardinals kept their undefeated record alive on Thursday by beating Hanover at home, 15-3 in five innings. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Madison Lapsley knocked in Alexis Ford with an RBI-single to end the game with the twelve-run rule.
After giving up one run in the top of the first, the Cardinals immediately struck back and took the lead in the bottom-half of the inning. Ford had a big RBI-double to gain the lead, 2-1, and the Cardinals never surrendered their advantage after that. Lapsley had an RBI-single, Ashlynn Marsh scored on a passed ball, and Tanner Brown had a 2-RBI double down the third-base line, giving the Cardinals a 6-1 lead after just one inning of play.
Stevens would give up two more in the top of the second, but would once again rebuttal. In the bottom of the second, Kate Chambers scored by stealing home, Maddie Ferland had an RBI infield-single, Jenna Pond had an RBI groundout, Brown had a 2-RBI double to center, and Makayla Maccioli knocked in Brown with an RBI-single. And, in the bottom of the third, Marsh drove in another run, which gave the Cardinals a 13-3 advantage after three innings.
After one and a half scoreless innings, Stevens scored the final two runs they needed to reach the twelve-run rule. Chambers had a nice sac-bunt that plated Morgan Rhoades before Lapsley’s game winning RBI.
On Thursday’s victory, Stevens head coach, Melissa Nichols, said, “Our 1-2 pitching combo has done a great job throwing strikes with very few walks. This is huge. Our defense continues to be solid. We have been aggressive offensively… scoring early, putting the ball in play and minimizing our strikeouts. Hanover continues to improve each year, putting some balls in play giving our defense some much needed work… and they came through. We have been able to move people around all year, getting everyone comfortable in multiple positions, to have all of our options available come playoffs.”
Stevens rolls to 6-0 to start their season and hosts Fall Mountain on Friday night at 6 p.m.
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