On a chilly and rainy Florida afternoon, the Alma College Softball team kicked off day three of their spring trip in Clermont, taking on Lyndon State University (VT) in the morning game followed by another rematch against Hanover College (OH) in the afternoon. The Scots left the National Training Center 1-1, defeating Lyndon State 3-0, before dropping a close 2-1 decision to Hanover College.

At the conclusion of Tuesday's action, Alma now sits at .500 with a 3-3 overall record.

Game One

After earning her first collegiate win in a dominating six-strikeout performance against Davenport on Sunday, So. RHP Morgan Stratton (Grand Blanc/Grand Blanc) returned to the circle for her second start of the spring. She picked up where she left off on Sunday, striking out the first batter of the game, before forcing two groundouts.

Sr. SS Devan Olah (White Lake/Lakeland) got a single from the lead off position and advanced to second on a groundout. She would be left stranded on second as Alma ended the inning with a pop up and groundout.

Heading in to the second inning, the score from National Training Center Filed #2 was 0-0.

Stratton continued to roll in the second, striking out two-of-three batters to keep the score at zeroes heading in to the home half of the inning.

Alma failed to land any baserunners in the bottom of the second, but Stratton kept on dealing, striking out three-straight batters to keep the score 0-0 heading in to the home half of the third.

In the third, Sr OF Marie Zill (Chelsea/Chelsea) laid down a bunt, then stole second to give the Scots a runner on second with no outs. Olah knocked in a single and advanced to second on the throw to put two on with no outs for Alma.  So. SS Anna Couture (Posen/Posen) stepped to the plate and blasted a triple to score both Olah and Zill to give the Scots the 2-0 lead.

With no outs, Lea Lusk tapped a sacrifice bunt to score Couture from third and Alma stretched the advantage to 3-0 after three.

In the fourth, the Hornets were unable to land any baserunners, while the Scots left two on, and the score remained 3-0 Alma with two innings remaining.

Lusk led off the fifth inning with a single but would be caught stealing second base. So. SS Danielle Service (Mason/Mason) followed with a single and stole second to give Alma one runner on second with one out.  Service would advance on a groundout and  later be joined on base by So. 3B Jade Garcia (Kentwood/East Kentwood) who reached first on an error. With two on, the Scots would groundout to the shortstop to end the inning with no runs and two left on base.

In the final inning, Stratton proved too much for Lyndon State, forcing two groundouts and a pop out to seal the 3-0 victory for Alma.

Olah went two-for-three from plate, while Couture collected two RBI in the win. 

Stratton improves to 2-0 on the year after giving up two hits and one walk, while striking out eight batters for the complete game shutout.

Game Two

In the second game, the Scots faced a team that they are very familiar with, taking on Hanover College for third time in three days.

Olah led off the top of the first with a walk, two back-to-back pop ups followed, leaving Alma with a runner on second and two outs. Collier would single to left field to advance Olah to third putting a runner in scoring position with two outs. The next Alma batter would go down on strikes, stranding two Scots in the top of the first.

The Panthers threatened in the bottom of the inning, landing a runner on third with two outs. Fr. RHP Katie McClure (Manchester/Manchester) would force a pop up and keep the score knotted at 0-0 heading in to the second.

The second inning saw both teams leave one on base and the score remained 0-0 heading in to the top half of the third.

Following an Alma half inning which saw two strikeouts and fly out, Hanover began to take control in the bottom half of the third. 

Following a groundout, the Panthers would reach on an error, steal second and advance to third on a wild pitch - placing a runner in scoring position with only one out. A walk followed by a steal would put two on for Hanover, who would knock both in with a single by the next batter.

The Scots managed to end the inning with a groundout, stopping the scoring with two runners left on base.

Down 2-0, Collier would step to the plate and rip a triple down the right field line to give Alma a runner a scoring position with no outs. So. OF Celeste Boyer (South Lyon/South Lyon East) would pinch hit for Collier and be brought in on the next play thanks to a sacrifice fly by Sr. C Cori Witham (North Muskegon/North Muskegon). The final two batters would go down on strikes, making the score 2-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth.

With the score still tied 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Hanover threatened to open the game wide open but lucky for the Scots their defense was prepared. The Panthers tried to load the bases with one out, but Olah gunned down the runner at third to get the out and avoid the loaded bases. Hanover would single on the next play to load the bases and the pressure was beginning to mount in Florida.

The Panthers smacked a shot up the middle that bounced off of McClure, but luckily Lusk was there to pick up the ball and gun it across the diamond to get the third out and keep the score at 2-1.

In the seventh, the first two Alma batters struck out. So. 3B Jade Garcia (Kentwood/East Kentwood) would enter the game and walk, followed by a steal, to put one runner one with two outs. The next batter would strike out to saddle the Scots with the 2-1 defeat.

Collier went two-for-three including the big triple in the fourth inning. Witham recorded the only RBI Alma, while Garcia and Sr. OF Brooke Hein (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Northview) each had a steal.

In the circle, McClure drops to 1-1 on the year after giving up eight hits and four walks in six innings pitched.

The Scots have a day off tomorrow but will return to action on Thursday, taking on Capital University (OH) at 9:00 a.m. and Augustana College (IL) at 11:00 a.m.