Manchester, Ind. - The Alma College softball team swept the Manchester University (IN) Spartans, 16-10 and 9-1 in five innings, on Tuesday (April 23) in its final non-conference series of the season.

McKenzie Creed (Edwardsburg, Mich. / Edwardsburg), Hadyn Terwilliger (Mount Pleasant, Mich. / Sacred Heart Academy) and Cassidy Tucker (Coleman, Mich. / Coleman) all hit home runs as the Scots (18-16) slugged .723 over the two games. Tucker led the squad with five RBI on the day while both Creed and Terwilliger had four.

Jenna Steinhoff (Gladstone, Mich. / Gladstone) earned her second win of the season in game two. She allowed one run on five hits and two strikeouts over five innings. Skylar Crisenbery (Watervliet, Mich. / Coloma) got the win in game one, while Jazmine Hamm (Byron Center, Mich. / Byron Center) struck out four batters over three innings in relief.

How It Happened

Game One - Alma 16, at Manchester 10

• The Scots scored in every inning but the first. They had a chance to end the game by mercy rule in the fifth, but Manchester pulled to within five to keep the game going.
• The Spartans got out to a 1-0 lead after one inning; Alma came back with eight runs in the second. With the bases loaded, Morgan Trout (Otisville, Mich. / Lakeville) brought them all home with a double to right-center field. After a pitching change, Creed singled home two more runs and Terwilliger followed with an RBI single. Later, Madyson Piche (Sault Sainte Marie, Mich. / Sault Area) reached on an error by the Manchester shortstop, allowing two more runs to score.
• Terwilliger hit a two-run shot to center field in the top of the third to put Alma up 10-1. The Spartans got three runs back in the bottom half of the inning.
• Hannah Falejczyk (Manhattan, Ill. / Providence Catholic) registered her first-career RBI in the fourth inning on a single up the middle to plate Kaylee Martin (North Branch, Mich. / North Branch).
• Creed blasted her league-leading ninth home run, a solo shot, in the fifth inning. Hannah Cambe (Demotte, Ind. / Kankakee Valley) singled home Teah Lint (Saint Joseph, Mich. / Lakeshore) later in the inning to give Alma a 13-4 lead. The game would have ended due to the mercy rule (eight-run deficit after five innings) but Manchester scored four runs in its half of the inning to get back to within five.
• The Scots added one run in the sixth and two more in the seventh to extend its lead. Manchester scored twice in the ninth, but no more.

Game Two - Alma 9, at Manchester 1 (5 innings)

• Again, the Spartans scored one run in the first inning. And again, Alma didn't let it get to them. The Scots scored nine runs over five innings; seven of their 12 hits went for extra bases.
• Alma's 7-8-9 hitters brought home its first three runs of the game in the second inning: Piche singled home Terwilliger, Becca Spenner (Berrien Center, Mich. / Lakeshore) singled home Riley Terwilliger (Mount Pleasant, Mich. / Sacred Heart Academy) and Bry Chapman (Holt, Mich. / Holt) sacrificed Piche home.
• In the fourth, Spenner came up with another double to plate Piche after a leadoff triple. Two batters later, Tucker hit her third home run of the season, forcing a Manchester pitching change. Chelsea Schweiger (St. Clair, Mich. / St. Clair) was next up with a double to center field and Creed followed with an RBI double to right to put Alma up 7-1.
• Two more doubles put the Spartans away in the fifth. Martin singled to center field to begin the inning, Spenner drove her home with a double down the left field line and Tucker brought her in in the same manner.

Notables

• McKenzie Creed not only has a league-leading nine home runs this year, but those nine home runs are also tied for the second-most in a single season in Alma history. They also give her 18 career home runs, tying her for second place on Alma's all-time list with Houston Verbeck. Creed would need four more in Alma's final series against Albion to tie first-place Missy Morcom.
• Three Alma players are currently in the top five in the MIAA in RBI's: McKenzie Creed is second with 36, Hadyn Terwilliger is third with 31 and Kaylee Martin is fifth with 29.
• Chelsea Schweiger is currently one hit shy of breaking into Alma's all-time top ten in hits. She has 153 in her career thus far and is looking up at Sarah Johnson with 154 and Lea Lusk with 158.
• The Scots lead the MIAA in runs scored with 226.

Up Next

Alma ends the regular season with a doubleheader against Albion on Friday (April 26); the Britons have yet to win a conference game. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.