Franklin, Ind. - The Alma College softball team split a pair of games with Franklin College (IN) on Sunday (March 17) with a 4-3 win and a 9-7 loss. McKenzie Creed (Edwardsburg, Mich. / Edwardsburg) came through with the go-ahead home run in the top of the seventh inning of game one, while the Grizzlies broke a 7-7 tie in the bottom of the sixth of game two with a two-RBI triple.

Creed with 3-for-6 on the day with three RBI and two walks. Cassidy Tucker (Coleman, Mich. / Coleman) went 4-for-6 with two doubles and Hannah Cambe (Demotte, Ind. / Kankakee Valley) went 3-for-5 for the Scots (7-5).

Jazmine Hamm (Byron Center, Mich. / Byron Center) earned the win in game one after relieving starter Skylar Crisenbery (Watervliet, Mich. / Coloma). Hamm allowed one hit and one strikeout in 1.1 innings of work. Amanda Efaw (Ithaca, Mich. / Alma) took the loss in game two, her first of the season.

In game two, Alma spotted Franklin a 7-1 lead after four innings. The Scots crawled back into the game with two three-run innings to tie the game in the sixth, but would Franklin score the last two.

How It Happened

Game 1 - Alma 4, at Franklin 3

• After the Grizzlies opened the scoring in the bottom of the third, Alma scored three in the fifth. Cambe led off the inning with a walk and Tucker and Schweiger doubled and singled to load the bases. Martin sacrificed herself to score Cambe, and Hadyn Terwilliger (Mount Pleasant, Mich. / Sacred Heart Academy) reached on an error by the Franklin shortstop, plating both Tucker and Schweiger.
• Franklin would tie the game in the sixth inning on a two-out single.
• Creed led off the seventh with her league-leading fourth home run of the year. Franklin's leadoff batter in the seventh reached second base, but Hamm struck out the next batter and forced a groundout to end the game.

Game 2 - at Franklin 9, Alma 7

• The Grizzlies started game two with two runs in the bottom of the first, but the Scots responded in the second. Madyson Piche (Sault Sainte Marie, Mich. / Sault Area) led off the inning with a single and scored on a sacrifice fly from Tucker.
• Franklin got that run back in the third inning when Shelby Mager reached first on an error and scored on a single from Natalie Weber. It added four more runs in the fourth, two of which came from a two-run home run by Mager.
• Alma cut the deficit to three in the fifth on three hits and one error. Creed doubled home Tucker and Cambe and Martin hit a sac fly to plate Schweiger.
• Cambe and Martin came through again in the sixth to tie the game at seven. With Morgan Trout (Otisville, Mich. / Lakeville) and Teah Lint (Saint Joseph, Mich. / Lakeshore) on base, Cambe doubled both of them home, then scored herself on a single by Martin.
• In the bottom of the sixth, the Grizzlies' first two batters got on base by way of a walk and a bunt single. Weber tripled both runners home to give Franklin a 9-7 lead. Alma went down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh.

Notables

• The Scots left eight runners on base in game one and seven in game two.
• Alma had success off of Alisha Burch, Franklin's starting pitcher in game two. The Scots scored seven runs (six earned) on eight hits over five innings against her. However, it only managed one hit in two innings off Danielle Wyse.
• Out of 15 total hits in game one, only two went for extra bases, both of which came from the Scots.

Up Next

Alma is scheduled to play its home opener on Saturday (March 23) against Ohio Wesleyan at 1:00 p.m.