ALMA, Mich. - Alma College's softball team was stunned Thursday with doubleheader losses to rival Hope by scores of 5-2 and 4-3. Alma falls to 17-9 on the season, 6-4 in MIAA action.
In game one, Hope got things started in the bottom of the second with a leadoff homerun and a follow-up single from Rachel Tanouye. With two outs on the board, an error by Megan Knochel (Pinconning) at third base allowed Rachel Tanouye, to score.
Up 2-0, Hope led off with a Jessica Regnerus single and was moved to second on the sacrifice. Another single moved Regnerus to third and scored on an error to give Hope three runs, only one earned.
But the Scots were not laying down as Amy Gaudard (Mt. Pleasant) led off the fourth with a single and Megan Colligan (Northville/Novi) followed with a single of her own. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third and another wild pitch put Gaudard's pinch runner Andrea Lunsted at the plate. Laura Bell (Walled Lake/Western) took first on a walk and a Taylor Erwin (Fenton) single scored Erica Guitar (Croswell-Lexington), pinch running for Colligan. Trista Geier, Emily Blahnik and Sarah Seals got out in succession to end the inning.
Down by one run, Alma needed defense but Hope continued to generate runs, adding two more in the bottom of the fifth.
Pitching game one, Katie Koechling (Wheaton, Ill./North) threw six innings, striking out four, allowing five runs - three earned on eight hits to fall to 6-3 on the season.
Game two had Hope lead off with two runs in the first with Alma answering in the bottom of the inning with a Megan Knochel single, moving to second on an error in right field. Gaudard singled to put runners at the corners before Colligan flied out, scoring Knochel before Alma was out of the inning.
Hope put up two more runs in the top of the third and Alma again answered with a Colligan solo shot to make the score 4-2 in favor of the Flying Dutch.
In the fifth, Alma led off with Missy Morcom (Chelsea) single, followed by a single from Knochel. An error in center field allowed Morcom to score from second and move Knochel to second. Gaudard stepped in and ground out to shortstop followed by a Colligan fly ball to right field. Liana Easterby (Troy) ended the inning when she was caught looking.
Alyssa Gooch (Charlotte) threw 2.1 innings, allowing four runs - three earned - and five hits while Kay McDonald (Rosebush/Mt. Pleasant) threw 4.2 innings, striking out four and scattering three hits.
Alma continues MIAA play when it travels to Adrian for a make-up game this Saturday.
